Welcome to the VCC Kpop thread!
Feel free to post anything related to Kpop here! Share your favorite groups music videos or albums, or ask for recommendations. Show us your favorite idol variety shows. Find a new kpop song that you're obsessed with lately? Tell us about it so we can get obsessed too! You're welcome to talk about Kpop's less than savory side too. As long as it's kpop, it's welcome here!
What is Kpop?
Kpop, short for Korean Pop, is a genre of music originating in South Korea. It's pulls influence from many different genres of music, including hip hop, R&B, jazz, rock, and electronic. If a genre exists, chances are good that there's a kpop song that been influenced by it.
Kpop primarily revolves around boy bands and girl groups, and as a consequence is a very visual genre, with groups heavily relying on intricate dance routines and flashy music videos. The popularity of the genre exploded globally in the late 2000's and early 2010's, and fans can now be found all over the world.
A Brief History of Kpop
The modern form of Kpop traces it's roots back to the early 1990's, when the popular group Seo Taiji and Boys began experimenting with musical styles and elements found in foreign contemporary music. From the mid-90's, Kpop grew in popularity around Asia as groups like g.o.d, H.O.T., Seshs Kies, Shinhwa, and Fin.K.L entered the music sphere with songs that heavily appealed to teenagers and young adults. The early 2000's saw an even bigger increase with groups like TVXQ and Big Bang achieving new heights in popularity, along with solo artists like BOA, Rain, and Se7en.
In the mid to late 2000's, Kpop began to reach western audiences, largely thanks to the internet. The popularity of the genre continued to grow exponentially in the decade spanning 2010 to 2020, and doesn't show many signs of stopping. Many groups have also established themselves as artists outside of South Korea, particularly in China and Japan, where they often release albums in the country's native language. Some have also started promoting in the US and Latin/South American markets as well.
Many groups last about seven years (as Korean law dictates their contracts can last no longer than that), so there's is constant turn over in the industry. Popular groups in 2020 include BTS, EXO, Black Pink, Red Velvet, GOT7, NCT, and Monsta X. Many long established groups, such as Big Bang, Super Junior, Shinhwa, Girls Generation, and SHINee still maintain their popularity in the ever changing landscape.
Kpop and the Hallyu Wave
Kpop is one of the keystones in what is known as the Hallyu Wave – the global spread of Korean popular culture. Interest in Kpop has lead to an increase of other genres of Korean music. Most notability is K-Hip Hop, but K-Rock and K-R&B have also been garnering numerous fans from all pockets of the globe.
Hallyu consists of far more than just music, however. Korean television programs (particularly K-Dramas), movies, and Manhwa have also seen a sharp increase in fans. Beyond the scope of entertainment, Korean food and the Korea language have also become more popular, as fans of entertainment expand their interest in Korea as a whole. The Hallyu wave has resulted in a measurable uptick in tourism for South Korea.
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