Project 2 - History and the Nation

Hi Asia 327,

Evidently, Korean music has become an international chart phenomenon in recent decades due to their infamous mixture of addictive melodies, polished choreography, production, and attractive Korean performers. In this essay, I will be discussing how videos and performers in the Korean music industry have changed and stayed the same. However, I argue that due to its constant evolving industry that K-pop produced today has largely transformed in comparison to K-pop produced over two decades ago.

It is evident that in aspects where K-pop has remained the same in the 1990s and today is with the large amount of money spent and time put into their productions. Many of the artists go through years of training in all aspects of how they present themselves, dance lessons and vocal training. In terms of musicality, K-pop in the 1990s and today are both internationally appealing with their catchy upbeat tunes. In addition, while comparing to music videos now and the 1990s, I noticed a familiarity in production themes with American/European artists. While watching the Youtube playlist of K-pop videos from the 1990s, I noticed that Baby Vox’s video for “Betrayal” had similar themes with the Backstreet Boys in their “As Long As You Love Me” video with the choreography, flashy reflective clothing and the music beats of the song. In addition Baby Vox, an all-girls group, I found similarity with the Spice Girls production. On the other hand, when I watched K-pop rappers from the 90s, their videos had similar characteristics to Eminem and other American rappers where the resemblance was uncanny. Moreover, K-pop has been largely known for its cultural hybridity in which many K-pop songs also feature English lyrics to reduce language barriers which are still found today (Baek 2015: 731).

In Jung’s article, it discusses how the music industry has been largely impacted by the diverse availability of cultural products which has actively increased their international popularity. In the 1990s, the early Hallyu or Korean wave was driven by TV hits however now the latest international exposure has been through Korean idols and bands (Jung 2015: 74). This transnational pop has gained this recognition through major social media spaces which can be easily circulated or consumed on a wider scale which includes Youtube. With this, the industry and consumers both become equally important players in the social networking relationship which has taken over a decade to establish (Jung 2015: 85). Therefore, making it easier for the industry to exploit to their maximum using minimal efforts in time and money. With this being said, the performers are largely affected by the media as it also evolves their performances and behaviour on camera.

In Son’s article which focuses on “trot” which is Korean music historically known as a symbolic composite of traditional values which is popular among older adults (Son 2006: 67). What is interesting is that trot focused on old traditional values which are now slowly coming back to current music. Nonetheless, in supporting my argument on how music has changed, trot is a prime example in how Korean music has evolved with different meanings through the negotiation of music, politics and public consciousness in Korea (Son 2006: 72).

In ways, the music evolved historically in Korea especially since the mid 19th century, Korean music was focused on pureness as their politics changed as they used to see American values as the opposite of communism (Son 2006: 58). So in the 1990s, Korean music became more focused on culture and international appeal rather than being heavily centred on nationalism which is where their music originated from. Hallyu/the Korean Wave in which K-pop stars have always been internationally famous however like the global music industry it is always changing. With discussion on the Kim Sisters, their music evolved during their growth as their music always catered to an international audience particularly the American audience. Music and culture tie hand in hand, therefore as societal perspectives change such as sex appeal, norms, and style, the music evolves as well.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree that Korean music has largely changed since the 90s or not?

- Melissa

Baek, Young Min. “Relationship Between Cultural Distance and Cross-Cultural Music Video

Consumption on Youtube” Social Science Computer Review, Vol.33, No.6 (2015): 730-748.

Jung, Eun-Young. “New Wave Formations: K-Pop Idols, Social Media, and the Remaking of the Korean Wave” In Hallyu 2.0 The Korean Wave in the Age of Social Media, edited by

Sangjoon Lee and Abe Mark Nornes, 73-89. Michigan.: University of Michigan Press, 2015.

Son, Min-Jung. “Regulating and Negotiating in “T'ûrot'û," a Korean Popular Song Style.” Asian Music, Vol.37, No.1 (2006): 51-74.