The success of the Korean popular music is the self-congratulation of a country whose history is characterized by colonialism. This role and success of the genre is exemplified in the South Korean government’s attempt to promote the music as well as the 2011 K-pop World Festival that attracted artists from across 16 nations interested in the genre. The Korean popular music acts as an epicenter of attention for the country as its success is taken as an indication of the nation’s influence in the global socio-economic and political spheres. Profoundly, the music is marker of the country’s national and cultural evolution as it interacted with other societies, which was the origin of the Korean popular music. The music is an identifier of the “Korean modernity”, which is an amalgamation of musical traditions, styles, and influences such as minyo , chapka , yuhaengga , and sinminyo , which are also its origins, that emerged between 1900 and 1950 (Shin & Lee, 2016). Therefore, K-pop originated from these musical traditions as a hybrid of naturally transplanted and grown culture.
Korean popular music incorporates numerous traditional musical instruments and styles that define its cultural heritage. One of the common instruments in the genre is the gaegum , a 19 or 21 stringed instrument. The instrument is comprised in such as ToppDogg’s “Arario” and VIXX’s “Shanri-La”. Another major instrumentation of K-pop is the Piri , a brass wind instrument corresponding to a bamboo flute. DreamCatcher’s “Piri” is an example record that extensively utilizes the instrument. Haegum is a popular traditional musical instrument in Korea widely used in K-pop. It is a 2-string percussive instrument played with a bow. An example of a popular song that uses it is “The Chaser” by INFINITE. Taepyeongso is another major Korean musical instrument that has found its place in the K-pop music. It is a wind instrument comprising of a double-reed played similarly as a saxophone. The instrument is evident in the AUX rock band’s performance at WOMEX 17, PSY feat. Snoop Dogg’s “Hangover”, and “Follow” by MONSTA X. Other traditional musical instruments evident in Korean popular music include gayageum such as in “Shanri-La” by VIXX, samul nori as found in B.A.P’s “No Mercy” and janggu in BTS’s “IDOL”.
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Traditional folk and classical performances characterize Korean popular music. An example is the pungmul , which constitutes singing, dancing, and drumming, as found in ToppDogg’s “Arario”. Another style evident in the K-pop is the use of pansori , which is a storytelling style using drums to create a musical background. It is used in such as BTS’s “IDOL”. Notably, Shangri-La” by VIXX is founded on “The Peach Blossom Land”, a Chinese fable. Similarly, “Niliria” by BIGBANG’s G-Dragon exploits a traditional Korean folk song in the same name in its musical composition. Additionally, most K-pop music incorporates other traditional elements into its performances. For instance, Korean mask dances are evident in several songs such as “Arario” as well as the use of traditionally-inspired dressing, such as BTS’s handbook -inspired clothes in the “IDOL”.
K-pop has seen extensive changes over the years as more external cultural and technological influence continues to occur. The most profound era of K-pop was in the 1990s where the genre rose to prominence. Music during the period was an identifying factor of the national position and changes relative to global and local interests. The country had seen massive economic and political changes such as the lifting of the travel ban that exposed it to external musical forces. The result was the dire need by the public for newer music from the traditional one such as trot, which was also politically oriented, especially by the youth. As such, the new K-pop genre was arguably a way for the youth to showcase their liberation from political influences and embracement of global cultures. It incorporated a combination of Western musical performances such as hip-hop and rock as well as Japanese popular music.
“ Classroom Idea” by Seo Taiji, Yang Hyunsuk, and Lee Juno is one of the initial K-pop songs that signifies the cultural evolution in Korea. The song was the first of its kind to dissociate itself from the political ideas mainly attributed to Korea’s colonizers and delving more into the country’s culture. The song is also suggestive of the changing paradigm of the public, especially the young who were also continually exposed to the global cultures, to seek more liberation from politically influenced music. It meets these objectives by criticizing the country’s culture of education as well as incorporating Western music elements and styles such as hip-hop and beatbox to appeal to the young generation. Subsequent K-pop artists have embraced similar critical approaches such as BTS in “2 Cool 4 Skool”, and Shinhwa in “Resolver” and the amalgamation of different musical aspects from other cultures. Therefore, the song and the new K-pop music effectively met its objective,
References
Shin, H., & Lee, S. A. (Eds.). (2016). Made in Korea: Studies in popular music . Taylor & Francis.
Lie, J. (2012). What is the K in K-pop? South Korean popular music, the culture industry, and national identity. Korea Observer , 43 (3), 339-363.
