Ever since PSY released the international hit Gangnam Style in 2012, high school students from Seoul to Anderson have been going crazy for K-pop, or Korean pop. K-pop owes its popularity to its new and different sound, foreign lyrics, and availability on streaming platforms and in concert halls.
Now you may ask why is K-pop so popular. The answer to that is because groups like Girls Generation, Stray Kids, BTS, BlackPink, and Twice became very popular in the US for their amazing talents and visuals. Especially Bts and BlackPink they became very popular for their talents and amazing stage presence.
The K-pop trend is nothing new to Korean students, though, it’s been around since the 1990s. The first K-pop group was called Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992. They performed their music on TV for the first time on April 11th, 1992. They were known as the pioneers of integrating rap into K-pop. Though they didn’t know it yet, they paved the way for the formation of many groups with tons of companies producing tons of groups and soloists each year. With SM Ent being established in 1995, JYP Ent in 1997, YG Ent in 1998, Cube Ent in 2006, and Big Hit Ent in 2005 which later changed into Hybe Labels. These companies happen to be the most popular, there are tons of other companies but they are the main ones which currency have tons of idols.
How are K-pop idols or groups formed? The answer to that is they can be formed by becoming trainees for a period of time before the company or entertainment debuts them, which could take months or even years. They could also be formed on a survival show like Produce 48 which made the group Iz*one or like how I-Land formed the group Enhypen. The most recent survival shows are Boys Planet which formed the group Zerobaseone or ZB1, and A2K which formed the group VCHA. They could possibly be made in different ways but these two are the most common.
Korean pop or the term “K-pop” has many different musical elements and genres within its umbrella. Also within Korean Pop, it can sometimes include Korean hip-hop, rock music, electronic music, and so much more. K-pop can contain mostly Korean and English lyrics but it can also contain other languages such as Spanish and Japanese.
Within the dancing aspect, the movements are repetitive and most of the time addicting to look at. Also, they focus a lot on hard-hitting, synchronized movements, with the members switching positions constantly as well as changing formations. This takes a lot of time and practice to get the choro perfected as much as they can. Which could take around a few months to a year to release a new album. Also, the moves/songs are meant to match the group’s concept like ENHYPEN their theme is vampires but their concept is “To come together to connect, discover, and grow together to form a new act”.
Why do students at AHS like K-pop? Students might like this kind of music because the style is much different than what we have here. People could also find an interest in how the idols sing and dance live, especially with all of the crazy movements they have to do. Also, it could be because the idols always thank their fans first when winning an award or just in general because without them they couldn’t have been where they are today. Idols always show much love to fans, their companies/staff, and especially their members. Now let’s hear from some of our students. Skylar Miller states, “Their songs are better than half of the music on earth”. Jay says “My favorite K-pop group is Aespa, they taught me how to feel confident and love myself”. Isham Mitchell states “I like it because it’s very catchy and I like the cinematic music videos some groups do, they’re very eye-catching”. Someone who would like to stay anonymous says “They have many kinds of songs in K-pop like 1 artist can have many kinds of songs. To be honest, there looking good, but things that they do sometimes are incredible/talented like they can dance, sing, model, and or become an actor”. Last but not least Savone Mead states “I got into kpop because of BTS, I heard their song Coffee and I was like let me listen to more so I decided to try out more groups and I like it now”. Hopefully, this helps you to understand a little bit more about how Kpop works.
