Before visiting South Korea my knowledge of K-Pop was pretty lacking. As probably the majority of westerners, the core of my knowledge was Psy due to the popularity of his hits ‘Gangnam Style’ and ‘Gentleman’. He also made a song with Snoop Dogg, which I have always found pretty entertaining.
My next encounter with K-Pop was to be at the first cultural immersion activity that was a part Korea University’s International Summer Campus’ programme. The trip featured learning a choreographed routine to Twice’s Cheer Up that we would later perform as a flash mob. Although it was great fun I had two problems with this: 1) I cannot dance and 2) listening to the same song for two hours straight definitely did not increase my interest in K-Pop. I was still pretty baffled as to why this music has such a massive following.
Then I really got a grasp of how different this music culture is to the one that I know. At the top of Lotte World mall in Dongdaemun, there is an entire floor dedicated to the stars of YG Entertainment, particularly BIGBANG, of which the shop featured masses of merch with their faces on. I was already pretty shocked; these stars were idolised on a level that I had ever seen. Back home, One Direction fans can get pretty crazy, but there aren’t any shops commemorating their existence (that I’m aware of…). I’m not going to lie my judgey hat was on and I couldn’t help wondering why the fuck their fans are so crazy that they would want to buy overpriced stuffed toys, eye masks, slippers or dog clothes clothes just to commemorate their favourite stars. It all seemed a little excessive to me.
Then came the main event, a hologram concert of Psy and G-Dragon and oh my god it was amazing. Tough to put into words, the show went beyond the boundaries of a regular concert, you can watch the trailer here to get an idea. The highlight was definitely when a phone rang in the corner and a girl answered it, causing her to be projected onto the stage with G-Dragon who was then in turn serenading her. I don’t know what it was but the weirdness of the concert really did something for me, not to mention G-Dragon’s good looks, and the music was pretty damn catchy.
After being educated by my friends that are big K-Pop fans, I think I finally started to get it. As an avid Hip-hop fan, the music is far from my regular tastes but I love the nineties vibes of the catchy tunes and carefully choreographed music videos, plus ohhhhhhh the stars are just so damn pretty. I really can’t get enough.
There are other things that make K-Pop stars unique to western stars, the most depressing being their contracts, which often begin from a young age tying them to this career path. Often guys aren’t allowed to enter in relationships, as to not put off their female fans. Then there’s the less depressing issue of their branding, K-Pop stars are not afraid of forming brand deals with multiple companies and their faces are everywhere, from beer to makeup. In the west, this often puts a major downer on a celebrity’s career but there it is totally accepted. Another unique element is that in order to be a K-Pop star, you almost definitely have to be a multitalented performer, with dance being equally essential as vocals to your career.
This unique fame is really interesting to me when all I thought I knew about being a recording artist is based on Western terms. I’m not going to lie, I really miss nineties music and this fills this hole with a modern twist. As a new guilty pleasure of mine, I don’t think my interest in K-Pop will wain any time soon, especially as I just discovered the work of Jay Park, maybe the most beautiful man alive?
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