K-Pop!

Discussions, observations and musings on Korean pop music. Go.

I'll start with a slight OT: Tokyo's JR Yamanote line is promoting 2PM's single Winter Games.

I'm excited for Rain's comeback. His new singles are pretty good.

I absolutely love North Korean pop music, but the only K-pop song that I've ever heard that I liked was Gagnam Style. Any suggestions?

For comparison, here's an example of NORTH Korean pop music^note This particular song was popular enough that you can actually find South Korean cover versions:

Well, EXO's "Growl" was probably one of last year's biggest hits, and I think that it's more than well-crafted enough to earn that spot. K-Pop in general is a very visual medium - choreography and art direction are every bit as important to the experience as the music itself.

I listened to that when I was sober and I thought it was crap. Then I listened to it when I was drunk and thought it was great. Then I listened to it sober again and thought it was crap. The only conclusion I can draw is that everyone in South Korea is a raging alcoholic

I might be wrong, but shouldn't music be first and foremost an auditory medium? I listen to 99% of my music when I'm doing something else.

Not entirely true - it's hardly a universal thing, but music tends to leave a deeper impression when the it brings its own set of experiences to the listener. K-Pop without choreography is like MJ without the moonwalk, Guns N' Roses without the air guitar, or Wagner without the helicopter gunships. It just doesn't happen.

I'd listened to MJ for years before ever having seen any of his videos and had no idea that Guns N Roses was associated with air guitar until this very moment.

EDIT: I guess my real question is, is there any South Korean pop music that sounds like North Korean pop music?

edited 19th Jan '14 2:58:19 AM by Yongary

Well, art is subjective first and foremost I guess.

SK pop music that sounds like that? Hmm, can't name anything off the top of my head. Closest thing I know is the intro for the K-Drama Jewel in the Palace.

Also, Jinro and Lotte soju are apparently the world's most sold brands of alcohol, so you might be onto something there. :P

EXO is my go-to k-pop group, along with SHI Nee. I favor SM in general. And Growl was my jam.

I like K-Pop because it has a very nice rhythm (even though I don't understand Korean lol) and those choreography too.

As a trivial note, K-Pop artists have to train first before performing.

Despite being a Korean myself, I only very recently decided to get into K-Pop.

So far, I'm listening to IU and A-Pink (Eunji is love <3), and broadening the scope from there.

Oh, and Mr. Chu is stuck in my head.

edited 27th Aug '14 4:12:56 PM by dRoy

This is stuck on my head.

I don't care for the dance nor lyrics, but I like the music.

Damn this thread is dead as hell (but still on the first page so), but I'm going to throw in my two cents. K-pop is all about well-crafted, catchy song and synchronized dance. If you pay attention to just the singing you might be underwhelmed in some cases (note some cases, not all). Overall, it's a very visual medium, which is why music videos are a huge deal when it comes to k-pop. Here's some recs: DBSK - Mirotic, Mamamoo - Piano Man, Taemin - Danger, Kara - Step, Girl's Day - Expectation, Junsu - Flower, Akdong Musician - Melted, f(x) - Rum Pum Pum Pum, IU - Twenty-Three, Lee Hyori - Miss Korea, Jaejoong - Just Another Girl, Kyuhyun - At Gwanghwamun, SNSD - Catch Me If You Can, and Shinee - View.

I'm pretty biased towards girl groups/female solo artists, which is pretty obvious I think, and I know that's a lot of recs but it's a pretty varied mix of groups/artists/genres. Because while k-pop has become a sort of genre itself, there are a lot of different styles within.

edited 20th Feb '16 8:03:04 AM by redkeep

Clearly, when they do music videos, they don't do it halfway. Sometimes you wonder where the hell they find the budget.

For a less choreography-based example, I find the clip of Almyeon Dacheo by Lim Kim pretty funny. (also, Lim Kim is gorgeous, but that's anoher matter >.>)

edited 20th Feb '16 11:22:37 AM by Lyendith

I personally have fallen HARD for BTS after seeing them in Melbourne last July. To the point where I can't choose a bias full stop. It's literally impossible, they're all so lovable.

edited 13th Mar '16 5:49:40 AM by ReikoKazama

Although I don't care much for TWICE, but my God, I find Like Ooh Ahh" freaking addictive.''

So, TWICE's new song, Signal.

Oh my fucking God, I hate this song so much.

I like this English cover of Like Ooh-Ahh:

BTS gave a speech at the launch event for UNICEF's Youth2030 strategy.

Edited by eagleoftheninth on Sep 25th 2018 at 11:21:51 AM

Edited by Soble on Apr 9th 2019 at 8:17:10 AM

Ex-f(x) member Sulli was apparently found dead at her home.

Heard about her mental health struggles and issues with toxic fanbase over the years, but... damn.

Here's a video essay by Elliot Sang that examines misinformation and distorted narratives that circulate around K-pop.

It specifically looks into widespread (if well-intentioned) generalizations often made regarding exploitation and creative control among idols, often taking a few cases and making it seem like it's a trait inherent to the entire Korean pop scene - starting with Cuck Philosophy's "The Late Capitalism of K-pop".

Edited by DNAe on Mar 2nd 2020 at 2:38:52 PM

I'm a big fan of kpop, my favorite groups are NCT and Loona. Any other nctzens or Orbits here? (This thread isn't very active, I wonder if anyone will answer lol)

Edited by Peridorito2000 on Apr 26th 2020 at 7:49:24 AM

Video essay by bby gang about the problem of "the dark side of K-pop" narrative (which is too often repeated by media), using the documentary series VICE Investigates's "K-pop Machine" episode as a reference. (including an interview with Kang Haeryun, a Korean journalist who was interviewed there about the Burning Sun scandal and later criticized VICE for falling into that "dark side of k-pop" narrative - mentioning that narrative's orientalist tendencies)

A lot of people and media outlets take real issues and tragedies within Kpop and/or Korean society, mix it all together, and generalize it to the entire industry as if it's inherently bad or (most often) worse than other industries, often under the false pretense that most fans aren't aware or vocal about those very issues.

Edited by DNAe on May 22nd 2020 at 5:24:39 AM

I'm surprised that this thread is so tiny... I suppose most people who are in this site for the tropes don't discuss the presence of fire motifs in Tomorrow By Together's storyline for example lol

Speaking of TXT... Remember when we all thought their concept would be all cute and magical and have no death at all? Yeah... I feel like CROWN as a debut was quite the Madoka trailer kind of plot twist, huh? Pretty sure Yeonjun's death (twice, technically) in Eternally is going to be the TXT equivalent of Mami's death in Madoka Magica, as in stuff gets REALLY real from here... Also, screw that cat, somebody please give Soobin and baby Hyuka a hug, and someone also save Beomgyu and the book. (Spoilers for TXT's new MV and the first half of Madoka Magica)

Edited by rosesandpickpockets on Jun 29th 2020 at 7:11:16 AM