Theoretically Speaking, S4:E9:

What Makes K-Pop, K-Pop ? – Part 1

Well, the “K” stands for “Korean.”

And “pop” is short for “Popular.”

So “K-pop” is: “Korean Popular Music.“

There. That was easy. I guess we’re done here. Last one out, turn off the lights and lock up.
{…As is now becoming a familiar response: backstage, we hear tell-tale whimpering…}

Yes, Goodboy, I know. That trick didn’t work last week, either.

OK, here we go. Throughout this I’ll use “Korea” to mean South Korea. I don’t know what original music is like in North Korea but I’d bet five bucks that Kim Jong Un has the #1 song every week.

The Far East Network was a series of radio stations run by the U.S. Military for the troops in Japan, the Philippines, and elsewhere in east Asia, starting in WWII.

Unlike in Japan, however, the native Koreans didn’t really listen to it. Or maybe they did, but it had no effect on their music. While the Japanese incorporated American jazz, country, and rock & roll into their music, Korea just didn’t.

Through the 1950s and 60s, the big pop genre in Korea was trot.

While it gets its name from the foxtrot, it has little else to do with western music. The closest similar genre we might be familiar with could be the stereotypical lounge singer.

In the 1970s, folk started creeping its way into trot, and the 80s had a lot of ballads. Still, trot was the big genre. There was no rock or rap, in part because there was little exposure to them, and in part because they require a sense of rebellion and rebellion wasn’t allowed.

Student protests forced Chun out of office and the constitution was amended in 1986 to have direct presidential elections. 

Just prior to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, the travel ban was lifted, first for honeymooners and later for everyone else. Censorship laws were somewhat relaxed, too.

People who wanted to hear music from the outside world were able to track it down, and soon the nightclubs in Seoul were playing Michael Jackson and early hip hop.

We can start to see the seeds of K-pop in bands like Sobangcha around this time. They were a three member group and had a boy band vibe. However, their dances were simple and didn’t incorporate hip hop, and their music was still based on trot.

Jeong Hyeon-Cheol wasn’t into trot and wasn’t part of the mainstream.

He played bass in Sinawe, Korea’s first metal band. He wasn’t an original member and the band continued long after he left in 1991.

He started writing his own music and experimenting with different genres including American style rap. He wanted to add hip hop choreography and approached a dancer named Yang Hyun-suk for lessons. Yang liked Seo’s music so much that he asked to join the group and got Lee Juno, one of the best dancers in the country, to join, too. 

They honed their act and named themselves Seo Taiji And Boys. Some translations have it as Seo Taiji And Kids.

And then came April 11, 1992.

It’s not often we can say a genre started on a particular day, but April 11, 1992 is seen as the start of K-pop.

Seo Taiji And Boys had their first appearance on Korean television that evening. They performed a song they called “Nan Arayo,” which means “I Know.” It’s a break-up song.

“Nan Arayo” sounds quaint now. But its new jack swing beat and Flavor Flav sample were completely new at the time. It was edgy and rebellious. As with anything new, it had its critics. The TV program they appeared on was a talent show and the judges, mostly older people, weren’t impressed. They ranked Seo Taiji And Boys in last place. 

Teenagers thought differently. “Nan Arayo” went to #1 and stayed there for 17 weeks. Their self-titled debut album sold 1.5 million copies in a month. Their introduction of rap, electronica, reggae, rock, and metal, and lyrics criticizing society, into pop music inspired thousands of musicians to follow suit.

Korea’s music industry had always marketed music towards people in their 30s and 40s. You know, people with jobs and money. Seo made music for young people. Once teenagers heard someone raging against the machine, well, trot wasn’t going to cut it anymore.

The music industry caught on and started making music for youngsters.

Major corporations – like LG, Hyundai, Samsung, and others – saw the potential and started their own labels as money making ventures.

Seo’s lyrics got more pointed.

This worried the government and parents, who were also spooked by the band’s dreadlocks and clothes. Older folks thought Seo was a bad influence and there was a rumor that he was a satanist.

Another rumor – stop me if you’ve heard this before – was that there were dark messages in the music that could be heard by playing the records backwards.

He used his popularity and independence from any agency to criticize the government and refused for his music to be censored. That’s why one song on their fourth album had no vocals at all.

The Public Performance Ethics Committee had the power to order songs changed and/or prevent them from being released at all. They objected to a Seo song called “Regret Of The Times” that included the lines:

“Gone is the era of honest people…. I wish for a new world that’ll overturn everything….

I hope I can avenge the grudge in my heart.”

“Regret of the Times” (시대유감)
Seo Taiji And Boys – #1, Korean Music Chart, OCTOBER 1995

Seo refused to change his lyrics and put it on the album as an instrumental. Fans quickly understood why. The committee was shocked by the number of angry letters they received. In response, they tried to remove all Seo Taiji And Boys records from the market, which led to public protests in the streets. Even older people made their objections known.

This is part of the reason Seo Taiji is called “the president of culture.”

Not only did he help introduce western music to Korea, he refused to be bullied into silence.

He stood up against government interference in art and called out their corruption and incompetence. Maybe not single-handedly, but Seo Taiji And Boys made it possible for Koreans to speak their minds.

However, the pressure was getting to him. Seo decided to break up the band while recording that fourth album, which surprised Yang and Lee, though they were good enough at business to not announce the decision until after the album cycle. It sold 2.6 million copies. Then they released a statement saying that they’d done all they could and it was up to the audience to continue their work of making the world more fair.

Chaos ensued. Students didn’t go to school. There were street protests and suicide attempts. That’s how big a deal Seo Taiji and Boys were in Korea in 1996.

Not only were teenagers quick to buy K-pop records, they were quick to start K-pop groups.

They weren’t the only ones. Entertainment agencies began putting acts together.

The first to break through was SM Entertainment’s band H.O.T. It’s spelled “hot” but pronounced as individual letters which stand for “Highfive Of Teenagers.” (Remember, kids, when you name your band: you may outgrow it. The members of Sonic Youth are in their 60s and 70s now.) 

SM’s founder, Lee Soo-man, saw the results of a poll of teenagers about what qualities they like in singing groups.

Once he understood that, he found five good looking boys who could sing, rap, and dance, and named them H.O.T. With their bright clothing, ever-changing hairstyles, and semi-rebellious lyrics, they were the first huge manufactured K-pop band.

However, the idol training system that’s now in place was in its infancy in the 90s.

You might remember from the J-pop article that Japanese talent agencies train idols how to sing, dance, and perform. Japanese fans can watch an idol’s improvement over time. There are similar agencies in Korea except the idols don’t often perform in public until they’re deemed ready. Korean fans generally see only the finished product, and look forward to an idol’s “debut.” Having a good debut is crucial for the rest of their career.

In 1997, the Asian financial crisis put an end to all the labels and agencies started by corporations who knew nothing about music or the music business. Samsung, Daewoo, and the others lost money and closed their music divisions.

The labels and agencies started by musicians and others with industry backgrounds survived.

The years from Seo Taiji and Boys TV appearance to 2003 is known as the First Generation of K-pop.

It’s characterized by the influence of American pop and hip hop, sweetly romantic and/or rebellious lyrics, colorful outfits and hair, and the simultaneous rise of independent artists and manufactured groups that mimic those artists.

The training system was just being created.

While I didn’t think this would be a two-parter, we’ll cover the remaining three generations in a future installment.

계속 지켜봐 주세요.

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