Korean music has taken the world by storm. Some might think it all started with BTS - arguably the biggest K pop group ever. But Korean music has been making its way onto western music charts for more than 10 years. Who remembers Psy, with his odd horse dance, insisting that Oppa has Gangnam Style?
This satirical look at the trendy Gangnam district in Seoul, South Korea smashed records - pun intended. It debuted at #1 on Korea's Gaon music chart and peaked at #2 on the American Hot 100 list. In fact, it topped music charts in more than 30 countries.
A mere three months after its South Korean debut, Gangnam Style entered the Guinness Book of Records. It was the first music video to reach one billion views on YouTube. To date, that number stands at over four billion.
If chart activity is anything to go by, global audiences are primed for all the music K pop bands and solo artists have to offer. You might not yet be sure what type of Korean music you like - you only know that you want a new sound. You might like songs from a variety of artists:
- the top boy bands
- the best girl bands
- legendary solo artists
- multi-talented entertainers
From Butter to Baby Shark, the South Korean music scene has something for every audience. Ballads and rap; traditional and modern, we want to dive deep into this delightful aspect of Korean culture. Along the way, we'll take a look behind the scenes, at the engine that cranks out all the songs and trains all the people who sing them.
Korean Music Shows
It seems no nation is immune to the excitement of discovering the next big music act. Here, in the UK, it all started with Pop Idol. Press over the show made Simon Cowell and Will Young household names.
The series' format went international. Soon, clips from Arab Idol to Portugal's Idolos popped up all over YouTube. And the Pop Idol concept evolved, creating shows like X-Factor and the Got Talent franchise.
South Korean Music Shows don't necessarily work the same way. Or, better said: South Korean idols are cultivated, not randomly chosen. The girl group Twice is an excellent case in point.
Entertainment group JYP announced they would debut a new girl group in December 2014. However, instead of a stage-ready band, the all-girl reality show Sixteen would decide the group's lineup.
In South Korea, entertainment groups - the aforementioned JYP, YG and SM Entertainment among them, routinely hold auditions for prospective idols. The candidates that make the cut are subjected to rigorous training, usually for years. These idols-in-the-making don't just learn how to sing and dance.
They're drilled in everything from how to walk to how to present themselves in public. Various combinations of talent are grouped, uncoupled and sometimes rejected. When the perfect balance of stage presence, vocal talent and appearance is struck, the idols make their debut.
Sometimes, when idol trainers can't quite decide who they like, they put the vote to the public. Other times, idol groups perform on music shows to boost their popularity. Such was the case with Blackpink. This top girl group featured on the Seoul Broadcasting System show Inkigayo almost two weeks after their debut.
That show, whose name translates to 'popular song', has been a staple of South Korean music culture since 1991. Every Sunday, it invites famous Korean people from the music industry to perform their latest songs. In Seoul and throughout the country, these music stars are called idols but not K Pop bands. In South Korea, gayo is the correct term for popular music.
The Top K Pop Bands
If you have any interest at all in popular music, you probably already know which two Kpop bands top the list: Blackpink and BTS. You may even know that Bangtan Sonyeondan - Bulletproof Boy Scouts, in English, are on indefinite hiatus. Their international fanbase, The Army, are wildly disappointed that their idols must fulfil their military service commitment. BTS members later said they want to pursue solo projects; that became the real cause for their dismay.
For now, BTS is off the world stage, even as the band's management company maintains their active press and social media profiles. That means that Blackpink is set to take centre stage, and they will do so in a spectacular way. This top girl group is set to dazzle at Coachella this year.
But the Indo Valley music festival is just one stop on their world tour. You'll have your chance to see them in the UK in July this year (2023). They will also headline British Summer Time Hyde Park.
Blackpink may seem a bit edgy for some, especially compared to Red Velvet. Red seems to have melody and happiness infusing their music. Their videos are more colourful and upbeat and their music more danceable. Red has a strong cultural vibe but they don't seem wildly popular outside of Korea.
They are massively popularity there, though. Since their debut in 2014, they've topped the Gaon Music charts no fewer than 12 times. They've also broken the record for most #1 girl-group albums on that chart.
With BTS out of the running, boy band Enhypen is set to fill their space. The same entertainment group represents both boy bands, through a partnership between Hybe, BTS's group, and CJ EMN. Belift Lab, the resulting merger, and Enhypen are new to the idol scene.
BTS fans, loyal as they are, will probably find solace in this new boy band. They have the same number of members and are quite a bit like their more famous counterparts. They even endorse the same types of products but, oddly enough, neither endorses Korean food brands.
Idol Actors
The intensive training idols undergo doesn't simply revolve around song and dance. Many learn to play musical instruments and take acting classes, too. Lee Jun-ho, star of the royal drama The Red Sleeve, started out in the boy band 2PM. During his idol training, he earned his Master's degree in cinematography at Seoul's Sejong University.
By contrast, Lee Seung-gi never aspired to an entertainment career. He was just playing with a band in high school when he was discovered. Two years later, the press was raving about his songs. Five years after his singing debut, he started acting.
It's easy to understand why entertainment companies prefer to train their idols from the ground up. Idol training is gruelling and the outcome is not always stardom. The K pop world is still mourning the loss of SHINee's Kim Jong-hyun, who took his life at the height of his fame. For some, the pressure to be perfect - and the entertainment machine that insists on perfection, is overwhelming.
However, fellow SHINee idol Choi Min-ho made the leap from song to film with relative ease. So did Lee Jun-ho's fellow 2PM member Ok Taec-yeon, recently seen in Vincenzo. Two members of the boy band ZE:A branched into acting too. They are Park Hyung-sik and Im Si-wan.
Yes, but what about girl group members? Girls' Generation offers up Im Yoon-ah, Seo Ju-hyun and Choi Soo-yong. Hello Venus sent Kwon Na-ra to the sound stage. She hasn't made many Korean films but you can catch her in a few excellent dramas.
The Balladeers of Korean Music
The South Korean music scene isn't all just K pop idols. There, you can hear every style of music imaginable, from rap to orchestra and folk to rock. But Korean balladeers manage to take everyone's breath away. Park Hyung-sik and Lee Seung-gi sing beautiful ballads but there are plenty more who do, too.
Yang Da-il's song Darling features no instruments besides strings and piano. That's all he needs to set off his magnificent voice. He has all the vocal power but not quite the range or effortless delivery that balladeer Ji Jin-seok does.
But Park Won knocks them both down a couple of pegs. He's the type of singer whose raw vocal power you can sense below his surface smoothness, just waiting to be unleashed. Park Won and Bae Suzy released a sweet song not too long ago.
Suzy's voice, warm as brandy, wove seamlessly with his. But if you want a more traditional sound from a female vocalist, Lyn (Lee Se-jin) is the singer for you. If you watch Kdramas, you've probably heard her sing because she's contributed to many soundtrack albums over her 20-year career.
Lee So-ra started as a jazz singer before embracing ballads. This famous South Korean singer plays with her voice just for fun, to the amazement of all. Her singing style, control and dulcet tones might remind you of Loreena McKennitt. By contrast, Lee Sung-hee, who discovered Lee Seung-gi, is beyond compare.
According to the Korean ageing system, Korea's National Diva - Lee Sung-hee is 60 years old. Traditional Korean music isn't her style, though. This singer-songwriter's audience, fans and even the press are as keen to gush over her as they would a pop star. She released her latest Original Soundtrack album, for the royal drama The Red Sleeve, is full of fantastic songs.
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