K-pop or how Korean youth live. A Brief History of K-Pop J-Pop, K-Pop, K-Hip-Hop, J-Rock and Others

Post 03/13/2017 Super User 3616

Nowadays, various trends in culture are sweeping one after another. What have we not seen over the past few years! However, there are things that are steadily gaining popularity and spreading throughout the world. And today I will tell you about such a popular subculture as k-pop and explain what it is and where it came from.

K-pop is musical genre, which arose in South Korea and containing elements of Western electropop, hip-hop, dance music and modern rhythm and blues. Surely everyone remembers the stylish PSY, who took over the world with his song Gangnam Style in 2012? So this was just the beginning, because k-pop continues to slowly but surely capture the world and the sympathies of young people.

K-pop artists are confidently making their way not only to the Asian market, but also to the rest of the world. The Internet has allowed young guys with bright hairstyles not only to become stars, but also to make their creativity the basis of a new youth culture, which, in some cases, develops into a cult. Their concert tours span countries: USA, France, Germany, Chile - K-pop fever spreads quickly and regardless of geography. And Russia is no exception.

Representatives of this genre with their music make it to the top of the most authoritative charts (for example, the American Billboard). BTS, one of the famous K-pop groups, with their album Wings stayed at 26th position for 2 weeks, next to Adele. Before this, no K-pop group had managed to reach such heights, which speaks volumes about the power of their songs and the speed at which they gained popularity.

But how do people become interested in this genre? To understand this, I decided to talk to two Russian-speaking K-pop fans and find out how they discovered this culture.

Alina: ""My sister told me about k-pop because she was studying it at the time. Korean. I was about 12 years old at the time. At first I wasn’t attracted to K-pop songs. But after 2 years, I accidentally came across one of those songs that my sister played for me and I decided to listen to it. As a result, I sat for 2 hours listening to the songs of this group. My sister, having learned that I liked the songs, began to send me other groups and dramas. I was amazed by the synchronicity and complexity of the dance of K-pop artists. They made everything so easy and beautiful, but if you try to repeat it, you will understand that it is hellish work to learn their choreography. That's how I became interested in the K-pop genre.""

Irina: "I discovered K-pop by accident. One day I was looking for something to watch and was offered one “movie” (later I realized that it was a drama). The drama was called "Let's Go, Handsome Men." And after watching it, I started looking for music and met the group Boyfriend. From that time on, I began to become interested in Korea and this culture. This was about 4 years ago. That’s how I slowly learned about k-ror. Maybe it's fate. What attracts me to k-pop is that most songs have deep meaning. Sometimes they helped me a lot in difficult times. Well, where would we be without their choreography, it is, as always, complex, beautiful and rhythmic. The attitude of the artists towards the fans shows their sincerity, they show themselves as they really are, and this is very touching."

In Russia, k-pop has just begun to gain its popularity, but it is doing so faster and faster. Thanks to the activity of the community of Russian fans, K-pop artists began to be published in the well-known magazine for young people “All Stars”, and their clips were shown on Russian television. All this tells us that, having emerged as a musical genre, K-pop has turned into an entire subculture with millions of fans among young people around the world.

Hello, I would like to talk about one of your hobbies, K-pop, but first, please introduce yourself.

My name is Alice and I'm a K-popper. It's a disease.

Let's move on to the first question. I heard that before becoming a direct participant in the Korean music group, a person must undergo quite serious training. Can you comment on this?

People who train in agencies are called trainee . A large number of trainees debut every year. A lot is released every year. Let's say five idols . Some can come and literally debut in three months, while others can stay there for up to twelve years. The leader of the group EXO, for example, trained for nine years and studied a lot, not only vocals and dancing, rapping or something else, but also languages ​​and etiquette.

What are the agencies you mentioned? How can you get into them?

For example, Big Three - these are large agencies called " entertainments » in Korea - people are often recruited through simple selection. That is, they have selections once a year, of course, not all over the world, but, let’s say, one of the Big Three companies announces recruitment for different languages.

Please tell us about the process of releasing a new album by the band.

What's a must-have in K-pop when releasing an album: Maybe you don't spoilers the song itself title , but they can, for example, post some “pieces” from the new album. But, in particular, it happens like this: they announce the release, probably about two weeks, maybe a week and a half in advance. Everyone is waiting, and a couple of days before the album’s release, the company begins uploading teasers. Moreover, there can be as many teasers as you like, although most often there are one or two. Then they release a video, this is mandatory. We released the album and released the video.

Is there anything coming right after the album release?

Yes, there will be further promotion, without it it will be very difficult for groups, especially not very famous ones. The group has been moving forward for a month. It's the first week comeback stage . That is, people are still showing their song, dance and performance on various shows along with other groups. The awards ceremony begins next week. During the three weeks of the show, each group's sales and views will be calculated and a score will be calculated from this. If your score is higher than your opponent's, you receive a reward. There is such a thing as double or triple crown . Let's say one group won every day for three weeks (against famous bands This happens). Then she gets the triple crown at one of the shows.

They say that the huge number of K-pop fans is insane. What can you say about this?

I can comment on this in just one word: sasaeng. Sasaeng fans . Such fans in K-pop and generally in Asia are very common among, probably, the female audience. These are very inadequate people who can
With talk their biases or just your favorite band.

Are there any gestures or rituals that fans can use to publicly express their love for the band, say at a concert?

If we talk about good fans who simply love either the group or the bias... In general, in Korea, every group has so-called light sticks . They are different shapes and different colors, it all depends on the group. And very often fans express their feelings with color. These sticks really support the groups. Let’s say there’s some kind of award show going on, and at this award show you have the opportunity to just be a fan and support your favorite.

And the last question: does it happen that the band members themselves and their agencies express gratitude to the fans or try to do something nice to please them?

At concerts it happens that fans of some pairings can often ship one participant male group with another. And in the agencies themselves there are special people who monitor fan activity. They see that there are, for example, two participants whom they really want to see together (they can be written about fanfiction or video edited). These band members are then approached and asked to "interact" in front of the fans. It is called fan service .

What is k-pop?

K-pop (/keɪ pɔp/, an abbreviation of Korean pop) is a musical genre that originated in South Korea and incorporates elements of Western electropop, hip-hop, dance music and modern rhythm and blues. Having originally emerged as a musical genre, K-pop has grown into a large-scale music subculture with millions of fans among young people around the world.

What if you ask yourself? What's your answer?

You won’t tell people information from the Internet. You will tell them what you know personally.

K-POP is a genre of music that combines several styles of music.

K-POR is a separate world that takes us into our imagination.

Every time you listen to K-pop, the thought may flash through your mind about how you didn’t notice this before or how good it is that you finally heard this genre.

Can you remember your world before k-pop? You listened to Russian and American songs. You didn't have much anticipation, different theories and fantastic clips. You just listened. All the performers might seem like the same type to you, copying the style of others. But in K-pop it's not like that.

You can't see the second BigBang, the fifth Super Junior, the twenties Girls Generation. Everyone has their own style of songs. Is it possible to listen to only one K-pop group? You have such a wide choice, so why not use it?

Many people know such situations as someone insulting you just because you listen to Koreans. You can't convince them, and they can't convince you. What needs to be done?

Nothing. Should you give up k-pop for someone else's opinion? Should you hide what you like but still accept a style you don't like because it's popular? If you did this, then you are simply ruining your personality.

Personality is a unique gift that every person has. Only you can decide who you will be.

You shouldn't care about other people's opinions. You are who you are. And you will change when you want and only for your own sake.

Some people say that K-pop is a childish and frivolous genre. But who said you have to listen to adult music? Everyone is growing, but no one wants it. If k-pop makes you happy, then listen to it as much as you want.

K-POP is a genre that is becoming popular every year. It's taking over the whole world.

Maybe we regret that we didn't force this genre earlier when there were 2NE1, f(x), TRAX, Shinhwa, HOT and SES. But we are glad that he is with us right now.

Considering modern musical styles, one cannot help but pay attention to the increasingly popular genre of K-pop. In Korea itself, where it originated, K-pop is not just music, it is youth subculture, whose fans are millions of young people around the world. So, let's try to figure out what this direction is and what its features are.

How and where did K-pop originate?

The abbreviation itself – K-pop – comes from the English “Korean pop” – Korean pop . How does it differ from ordinary foreign “pop”? K-pop combines hip-hop, electro-pop, dance music and rhythm and blues. The style originated in South Korea in the early 90s. One of the authors music magazine Rolling Stone described K-pop as "a blend of hip Western music and high-energy Japanese pop" that "hunts listeners' heads with hooks, sometimes English language" K-pop mixes various styles, singing and rapping are combined, but Special attention there is a focus on action and powerful visuals. It is noteworthy that Koreans themselves call almost any direction of Korean pop music K-pop, however, world listeners only accept compositions performed by so-called idols (or idols) as this style.

Their position is to be a pure and bright ideal for their fans. The appearance of the performers is very important. Slender, well-groomed, perfect makeup and hairstyle, fashion clothes, bright hair color, an abundance of accessories - all this distinguishes young Korean stars.

Development and popularity

Initially, K-pop was only known within the Asian region. But the development of Internet technologies allowed him to break through this barrier and gain enormous popularity all over the world. The popularization of K-pop was carried out rapidly through the use of social networks and numerous applications for mobile devices. As the number of K-pop fans has grown, interest in general culture South Korea, and this interest is so great that the BBC has released documentary about K-pop “Nine Muses of the Starry Empire.” According to BBC spokeswoman Fiona Forouzanian, this work is intended to introduce people from different countries with the world of Korean show business. The film tells the story of how ordinary korean girls during the year they were preparing to become stars, what obstacles stood in their way, oh difficult relationship with producers and managers, etc. The film was presented to the general public at the Amsterdam Film Festival and was received very well by the audience.

"Star Factory" in Korean

The training of future K-pop stars is very interesting. Many bands are managed by music agencies who control vocational training and the career of the future performer, for which, according to some sources, approximately 400 thousand dollars are spent. Developed here whole strategy for training young artists. Boys and girls aged 9-10 years are invited (they are called “trainees” - interns), who live in the same house, like in a camp where strict rules are established. During the day, children go to school, and in free time attend singing, choreography, and acting classes. Perhaps that is why fans are amazed by their impeccable preparedness and splendor theatrical performances, excellent choreography and excellent performance by Korean artists. Vivid images of musicians, rhythmic melodies, colorful videos, varied vocals mixed with hip-hop - all this characterizes K-pop.

Criticism

Despite the army of millions of fans, there are also many opponents of K-pop music, who criticize it for its “conveyor production” and “commercial orientation.” Critics believe that many K-pop artists simply mindlessly imitate American pop musicians, their lyrics are superficial and, at times, even meaningless. The compositions are “infectious, but not original,” as New York writes. Some say this musical style oriented to to a greater extent not for the music, but for the external effect. For example, most participants K-pop groups improve their data with plastic surgery, and fans like not so much their songs as the attractive appearance of the performers.

Performers

Most popular group from South Korea is a 5-member boy band Big Bang, which debuted in 2006. In their country, the team received the title “Artist of the Year”, and in Japan they became best newcomer. In 2011, Big Bang represented the Asian region at the MTV EMAs, where they were awarded the "Best international artist" Among the boy groups, we can also name EXO and Super Junior.

Among women's groups It is worth noting Girls' Generation or SNSD. The girls have long occupied the top lines of the charts in South Korea and Japan, but they also strive to conquer Western audiences by performing songs in English. In addition to SNSD, 4minute, 2Ne1, Wonder Girls and others are popular in Korea.

Among solo performers Singer PSY thundered throughout the Internet with his video “Gangam Style,” which broke all records for views on the YouTube portal.

Korea. Ulzzang subculture

On this moment olzhang is a subculture that arose on the basis of a stylistic movement in South Korea and came out into the world from the Internet, where boys and girls with cute faces posted their photographs, of which there could be more than 1000 pieces, and ran their own blogs. The fashion of this trend gained its greatest popularity in 2005 in the wake of a photography competition " But-popularity on the Internet" in "Cyworld" (Korean social network), in which users voted for the most stylish photos. First fashion olzhang appeared in Korea, then spread to China and Japan. And now this fashion has captured the whole of Asia.
From Korean slang (짱 - jjang) means "best" or best face, which means " best face" or "beautiful". As a result, in ordinary life usually olzhang these are those who have an attractive face and appearance.