K-Pop: A New Era in Music
The K-Pop whirlwind has significantly changed the way people enjoy music. In the last two decades, South Korea has been creating their own kind of music. Not only made in Korea or for Korea, K-Pop had become a worldwide sensation, making it uniquely created by Korea. Gone were the days where the only requirement to be a good musician were to be good at, well, music. K-Pop had changed all that in a very short period of time. Musicians are now required to be well-rounded. Good music, good attitude, and on top of that, good appearance and performance.
K-Pop started in 1992 with the rise of Seo Taiji and Boys. The first ever K-Pop group caught people by surprise with their new sound and look. At that time, Korean music were mainly traditional songs and songs about patriotism, so Seo Taiji and Boys’s song about their struggle as teenagers were not so popular. On top of that, they combine the song with an energetic choreography, something that was not common then. The fresh combination that Seo Taiji and Boys concocted resulted in their elimination from the contest that they joined in. The judges could not be more wrong when they gave Seo Taiji and Boys the lowest score of the entire competition when soon after, Seo Taiji and Boys soared and attracted many enthusiastic fans who clearly were enamored by the new concepts that Seo Taiji and Boys were offering.
Seo Taiji and Boys changed the way music, especially in South Korea, was presented. If you take a look at a K-Pop music video and performance these days, you might begin to understand why K-Pop is so enticing for a lot of its fans out there. Everything about K-Pop presentation is just so glamorous to the point that it will just leave you in awe of how much they pay attention to the details that eventually resulted in a jaw-dropping performance or a mind-boggling music video. Unlike music videos in the past where the artists were only dancing around aimlessly with a pretty scenery as a background, K-Pop music video takes the whole production to a new level. K-Pop music videos often have a detailed storyline and included cleverly designed hints that left fans speculating and theorizing. Not only that, K-Pop music is accompanied with an intricate choreography that is specifically created to be enticing on stage. The detailed presentation combined with all of the bling that make up a K-Pop music is definitely a never-seen before formula aimed at attracting a lot more fans to bask in the excitement of it all.
Music fans interests had gradually shifted since the rising of K-Pop. Similar to Beatlemania in the 60s, K-Pop fans have initiated a new era of their own. For most K-Pop fans, music was not the only reason for them to invest so many time, money, and energy in their favorite K-Pop acts. Just take a look at BTS and their devoted A.R.M.Y fanbase. Starting in 2013, BTS didn’t get recognized immediately because they came from a small agency with an even smaller exposure in the Korean music industry. Their popularity began to skyrocket in 2016 alongside their “Love Myself” campaign. Since then, they have been consistent in delivering that message through their music, shows, and even on social media. Due to their genuine message, their fans feel connected to them and become more than willing to spend their resources in supporting BTS. BTS’s recent album, “BE”, for example. Fans were willing to buy multiple copies of the same album because BTS members said that they made the album themselves and specifically to comfort A.R.M.Y. during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite all talk about the glamorous presentation and genuine messages, one question still remains, how could K-Pop get as widespread as it is now?
