K-pop has also had a hand in shaping the government’s cultural diplomacy - what researcher Milton C. Moreover, the South Korean government, excited by the financial benefits of the Korean Wave, has taken steps to subsidize entertainment endeavors.Īccording to Digital Chosun Inc., revenue from the country’s music exports jumped an incredible 113% between 20 - and that was at the start of the decade, a full year before the explosion of PSY’s “Gangnam Style.” (More on that later.) The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, for example, has helped expand the popularity of K-pop by establishing Korean Cultural Centers and, with the help of South Korean consulates, organizing K-pop concerts in other countries. Thanks in large part to social media platforms like Tumblr and Twitter, as well as sites like YouTube, Korean music was able to gain fans across the globe. Over the last decade, the larger “Korean Wave” - or the spread of Korean entertainment, from TV shows to music - has helped K-pop find footholds in the U.S. ![]() Pictured: BLACKPINK performs during the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on Apin Indio, California. In 2003, TVXQ and BoA proved that K-pop was anything but a trend, popularizing the genre in Japan and parts of East Asia. seemed like something of an anomaly - that K-pop’s popularity outside of South Korea was destined to remain a blip. K-pop Becomes a Valuable Resource to the South Korean Governmentīefore PSY and BTS, there was the boy band H.O.T., which rose to international fame in 1996, launching an entire subculture referred to as K-pop “idol” culture - wherein a group has a very active and dedicated fanbase. K-pop fans are incredibly active online Billboard reported that “ 2018, K-pop artists and related content were referred to in 5.3 billion tweets globally.” Additionally, Spotify reports that the number of folks listening to the genre has grown since 2015, with K-pop’s share of listening increasing by roughly 65% annually for the last four years. Regardless, “Gangnam Style” undoubtedly helped K-pop break into the mainstream.Īnd K-pop has continued to thrive in - and thanks to - digital spaces. ![]() The song reached #1 in over 30 countries, went 10x Platinum in Australia and 5x Platinum in the U.S., and holds the record for the “most liked” video on YouTube with over 16 million “thumbs up.” Although the video now has upwards of 3.3 billion views, it’s thought of as a bit of a one-hit wonder in the States. Pictured: PSY performs his internet sensation “Gangnam Style.” Credit: Eva Rinaldi/Flickr/Wikimedia Commons Not only was this a huge moment for K-pop, but it was also a huge moment for music in general as “Gangnam Style” became a viral phenomenon - and became the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views. In 2012, PSY’s “Gangnam Style” hit YouTube and, soon after its release, the music video began garnering 5 million views a day. But how did K-pop go from being celebrated by one pocket of the internet to mainstream darling? Well, there are quite a few factors at play, but there’s one pop culture touchstone that we probably all remember well: “Gangnam Style.” “Gangnam Style” Helps K-pop Break Into the Mainstream Globally sold out within 20 minutes, which is quite a feat for a non-English-speaking musical act. ![]() These days, K-pop boy band BTS has taken the world by storm: The group’s first stadium concert in the U.S. Apart from celebrating its hybridity, K-pop also leans heavily into sleek fashion, mesmerizing audiovisual content and - perhaps above all else - incredible dance and choreography. This more modern form of South Korean pop music has been influenced by numerous genres - hip hop, gospel, folk and so on - and musical styles from around the world. The term “Korean pop,” most often abbreviated as “K-pop,” originated in the 1990s but gained widespread popularity in the early 2000s, replacing the term “Gayo,” which was used to refer to pop music created in South Korea.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |