By Madison Bolt
In the ’60s and ’70s, there was the British invasion with the Beatles arriving in America. Next the 80’s came with the rise of rock, R&B, and pop genres with artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Run D.M.C, and LL Cool J. Then, the 2010s introduced society to the world of Korean pop, which has created a new genre of pop music in the Western music industry.
In 2012, the first Korean song hit the Western market; PSY’s 2012 single Gangnam Style. The song became a hit. It was a catchy, upbeat song where one listen would lead to people dancing and getting the tune stuck in their heads. In South Korea the song debuted as number one on the Gaon Chart. In the United States the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and by the end of the year it had topped the music charts in over 30 countries. In September of that year “Gangnam Style” was recognized by Guiness World Records as the most “liked” video on YouTube, at the time. As of February 2022, the music video has more than 4.32 billion views.
Despite its popularity, many people do not realize that there is a darker meaning behind the upbeat song and catchy tune within its lyrics. Since the lyrics are Korean, many people only listen to the beat. However, when listeners lack an understanding of the lyrics, they fail to recognize what PSY is actually doing. He is bashing the upper echelon of South Korea that live in Gangnam and saying they are rich, vain, and trying way too hard.
After the hype of Gangnam Style began to subside, K-Pop was not heard much in the Western market until recently. In 2018, K-Pop hit its stride into the mainstream Western market, with history-making moments like BTS’ 2017 nomination and victory at the Billboard Music Awards: BTS’ 2017 performance of their song DNA at the American Music Awards. While there had been previous nominations of groups such as EXO, they were never taken seriously. The significance of both the nomination and performance showed that a new era of music acceptation is beginning; that academies and award shows are seeing K-Pop as a global musical genre.
BTS, also known as Bangtan Sonyeodan, has paved the way for other K-Pop artists and groups to enter into and gain recognition in mainstream Western markets. Groups such as Blackpink, NCT, Exo, and more are beginning to gain recognition and nominations in American award shows since the start of BTS’s achievements in the Western music industry. Hopefully, K-Pop’s growth and influence will grow and gather more fans as the years continue. Personally, I hope that this music genre grows so that more people can experience and understand the hard work that these idols put into their profession; that they are just like any other famous person. I hope it helps to drop any stigmas or bad views that people have about Asians or this genre. While these songs may be in Korean, music transcends language and is something everyone can enjoy. Why not enjoy and experience new types of music together?
About the Author
Madison Bolt is a Media Studies Major with a concentration in Journalism. Madison is a part of this year’s graduating senior class and will be receiving her diploma at the end of this semester, May 2022. She hopes to use this article to educate people about how the genre of Korean Pop music came to the United States and became a part of the Western Music Industry.