K-pop
|
|
K-pop is an abbreviation for Korean pop. The term refers to Korean popular music, specifically South Korean popular music (there is practically no popular music industry in North Korea).
Korea has its own pop industry with native singers. Many of the Korean pop stars and pop groups are well known in East Asia and other parts of Asia. K-pop often emulates American pop music, and usually features young, sexy performers. It is a highly profitable industry, and in 2004, the 17 year old singer BoA earned a US $9 million gross profit for her recording company in a single tour. Her salary alone exceeds a million a year.[1] (http://www.jpopmusic.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42016)
The emergence of the group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a turning point for Korean popular music, as the group incorporated elements of American popular musical genres of rap, rock, and techno into its music. The tremendous success of Seo Taiji and Boys in Korea and such similarly experimental groups as Panic set the trend for the present generation of K-pop groups and artists.
Following Seo Taiji and Boys, dance-oriented acts were dominant in the Korean popular music scene of the 1990s. Recently, rock music has made some headway into the mainstream, with acts like Yoon Do-hyun Band gaining national recognition.
Famous K-pop groups and singers include:
Popular artists who diverge from the traditional K-pop sound include Lee Jung Hyun, a female techno artist and equivalent of America's Moby; 1TYM, a four-member rap troupe; and Wax (Korean band), a female alternative rock group. South Korea is also home to a few hardcore "gangsta'" rappers, including Jinusean, Drunken Tiger, and PSY, whose flippant and humorous sound is similar to Eminem's.
Trot is a less popular genre of K-pop, which was influenced by Japanese songs during the occupation and popular until Japan's defeat in WWII. Following WWII western-style new music became the mainstream of K-pop. However, a trot singer Jang Yoon Jung produced a big hit trot song, UhMuhNah!, in 2004.