Kpop History

Kpop is a global phenomenon and Korea’s top hit single “Gangnam Style” by Psy being placed number two on the billboard charts for five weeks and music listeners mimicking Psy “Gangnam Style” dance[1]. But how did Kpop become such a big pop culture worldwide in the 21^st century? When Kpop was created in the early 90’s it started out with western music influences such as hip-hop, techno, rap, etc because it was popular in South Korea, Seo Tai-ji & Boys in 1992 was a turning point for popular music…incorporating elements of popular musical genres in the United States[2] . Diffusion, or cultural borrowing, is also a source of change in culture[3].

Korean music industries borrowing music themes from America since it was popular in Korea. Music industry in South Korea like SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment are the largest music industries and also produces famous Kpop artists. In the mid to late 90’s boys and girls group bands began to appear; S.E.S, Fin.K.L, g.o.d, Sechs Kies are some examples of first music groups in South Korea. The idol groups were formed by these industries and each group consists of 3-5 members. South Korea’s music industries are in control of deciding the band’s dances, fashions, and music lyrics. Overall, band groups became popular in South Korea by using the music trends of hip-hop and R&B. Most of these groups became famous across Korea. For example, the girl group S.E.S consists of three members, gained success and even translated their songs into Japanese because one member name Shoo spoke Japanese. S.E.S belonged to SM Entertainment and decided to translate some of their music to Japanese to gain popularity in Japan and become “globalized” but not much success was gained for the idol group outside of Korea

During the 90’s the different groups were not highly competitive, and they all received nearly equal fame in South Korea. As mentioned before, the girl group S.E.S was a very successful in Korean territory. They were the top of the charts and very well known in their nation. In the mid 90’s DSP music industry formed a new girl idol group called Fin.K.L to compete against group idols S.E.S. S.E.S had three members compared to Fin.K.L, which had a total of four members in their group. The music industry came up with the idea if they created a new idol group with an extra member, there would be a greater chance of beating its opposite opponent. S.E.S and Fin.K.L were not the only groups competing, there were also boy bands as well. Both of these groups were receiving fame from the public, still S.E.S the unstoppable idol group always reached the top charts. The outcome of this strategy was that they received the same amount of fame as S.E.S. but it was not really competitive as the music industry predicted. In the 90's Korean music was still a slow growing industry which was only famous in Korean at the time.

As time moved on and the world stepped into a new century, Korea’s music industry took a different shift. Music industries would overspend and strategize to produce the top Kpop idols in the nation, apprenticeship is the universal strategy for nurturing girl groups, boy bands, and solo artists in the K-pop industry. To guarantee the high probability of success of new talent, talent agencies fully subsidize and oversee the professional lives[4]. In order to become a Kpop idol there are steps that must be accomplished. First when signing up with a music company the individual will be an apprentice for two years or more depending on their progress. During those years of training they get educated by the music industry,trainees hone their voices, learn professional choreography, sculpt and shape their bodies through exercise, and study multiple languages all while attending school[5]. Not only are Koreans the ones qualified to join Kpop groups; there are other members from different nations that have joined. These music industries would spend up to $400,000*[6] or more to produce the top quality of music entertainment.

Now, there is more competition between each music company, creating drastic changes among their Kpop idols. As Kpop industry’s grew, Kpop groups were also changed. Larger idol groups were formed with groups of at least 5-10 members, and each had assigned parts in their groups. Numbers did not matter anymore in the Kpop industry; still there is a new form of competition: performance. In order to make profit, music companies need idols to meet these criteria, 1) bigger groups, 2) good looks 3) sex appeal. It has been brought to the attention of SM Entertainment founder, Lee Soo Man, that the concept of music equals money and industry, in any case the more members in a group, the greater the chance for attention and fame. In the years of 2007-2008, Kpop music leaked out of Korea and reached out to its neighboring countries and went even further to the west. Kpop music has become globalized. Compared to the 90’s Kpop groups had about 6* idol groups and now the numbers grew to over 50* groups of idols and the numbers keep increasing every year[7]. Because there is more competitiveness among the idol groups, keeping up the looks to catch the public eye became necessary. Each year there are changing trends and the music industry demands the idols what image to keep in order compete with other competitors. Idol members were appearing in TV dramas, radio stations, hostesses in shows, and other types of media.