Professor Sumi Kim has adopted a way of increasing our Korean vocabulary by listening to Korean pop (K-pop) songs. This makes understanding Korean grammar hard because things like songs and poems transcend the grammatical rules of the language to sound better or to convey a deeper meaning; however, this method has made remembering words much easier because I can recall them in accordance with the catchy tune of the song. It also does help that K-pop is extremely popular now and that it’s something I really enjoy listening too.
There are probably 4 out of every 5 people who have either heard the song Gangnam Style or recognize the iconic steps that go with the song. Ever since the huge success of the artist Psy due to the extremely catchy nature of Gangnam Style and its dance, K-pop songs have slowly been taking over the music industry everywhere. There’s the first generation idols (word used to refer to a K-pop artist) like Psy and BigBang that started K-pop off on this trajectory, then there’s the current biggest K-pop group BTS which really brought K-pop to a new level internationally by winning multiple Billboard award, debuting on multiple country’s television shows, and presenting an award at the Grammys. BTS’s global takeover is challenging the music industry everywhere to do even more, because K-pop idols don’t just make music and sing, they also have intricate dance choreographies for each song which makes their stage presence unbelievably powerful, and they take part in various shows and make multiple videos for the people in their fanbase to make the fans feel connected to the idols in a way that no other artist outside the Korean entertainment industry has accomplished.
After putting in all that work, it makes sense that BTS is doing so well globally, but even within the K-pop industry BTS’s success is considered huge. Various entertainment companies are trying to compete with this by forming supergroups consisting of members from different popular bands. For example, the supergroup SuperM was formed in 2019 consisting of members from three Korean boy groups (Shinee, EXO, NCT 127) and one Chinese boy group (WayV). Think about that for a second. Ever heard of members of 4 already very successful bands being picked and put together and told that they need to work together now to make it even bigger? Even for forming BTS, auditions were held to form a group in 2010 and then the people who were picked were taken in as trainees and taught how to live life as K-pop idols for years before they finally debuted in 2013. The process in which K-pop bands are formed is not the same as in America where one tries to find a record label to release songs that they have ready. As mentioned above, K-pop idols have to get picked through auditions, then go through the who training process, and then they debut if all goes well. The training process that they have to go through is very intensive and it takes a lot of work to get through it. It is made in such a way because the K-pop industry understands the harsh reality that celebrities have to face when they make it big and their lives are constantly under a microscope with the paparazzi ready to jump at the smallest little deviance. Hence, even after a group debuts, their management helps makes sure that the group’s image is well maintained. This also means that if a K-pop groups ends up with the wrong management, things can quickly go south while the group feels too stressed out by the expectations.
After going through all this, idols have started becoming a global sensation. However, even the biggest K-pop bands haven’t fully developed respect from the Western market. This is because many people still view K-pop as some teenage girl trend and not as a respectable genre of music. Hopefully, that changes soon.
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