Being that I teach primarily 4th-6th graders, I'm constantly inundated with and benefited by knowing a little something about the Korean popular music (K-pop) scene. I've also been here long enough to start seeing a shift in trends and an emergence of something new.
Korean music has, for as long as I've witnessed it, been characterized by excessive cuteness and feelings. As a whole, there is nothing in the mainstream outside of love ballads and dance music. Even the dance music has always been lyrically identical to the ballads, with only the addition of a Backstreet Boys style collective dance to go along with the beat. The whole "scene" is fairly shallow and unoriginal, to speak plainly (not to say that the American pop scene is any different, but just to characterize).
Lately, however, I have seen a shift in Korean music that has been noteworthy. There are three parts to this change. The first step was 2NE1. Whereas for ten years, the artists have dressed similarly and safely, 2NE1 brought a whole new style to the table. Since their introduction of vertical hair and outrageous outfits, the entire music industry has followed closely behind. Half the time they look like George of the Jungle should have watched out for that 5th Element. The pictures speak for themselves.
Debuting early last year, 2NE1 is certainly no longer a latest development. However, I think that their advent paved the wave for what was to come. What started as simply different clothes and attitude soon spread into the lyrical aspect of K-pop. In the past several months there's been a shift from the typical, ballad style lyrics to a new format. Korea, for some time now having been dominated by the girl group, has constantly been plagued with the same song to a different tune. Either "omg I like him soooooo much. what should I do? my heart won't stop beating!" or "we broke up! there's no one in my heart but you! even now I can't stop thinking about you!" (sadly, the format barely differs when guy groups perform). Lately, however, I've witnessed the emergence a new trend toward songs about women standing up for themselves, much in the style of Beyonce. The prime examples of this would be the nearly simultaneous releases by groups SNSD, Kara, and now Lee Hyori, all of which saw the once cute-to-the-max take on a role with more independence, maturity, and substance.
This week I've seen what I hope to be the next step. Fairly new group f(x) releases their song NU ABO with positive reception. Blood type in Korea acts as a substitute for zodiac signs, predicting a person's personality and relationship compatibility. In 4 varieties, this uber-homogeneous society has summed up all personality possibilities. Finally, f(x) steps up to the plate and questions this "ABO" system, claiming that they are not A, AB, B, or O but in fact an entirely "Nu" blood type. In a country where sharing and following is a powerful cultural status quo, a dominant pop group is directly challenging the uniformity. High five to these girls for doing something original in K-pop (gasp!), though in my eyes they may just be a vessel for the build up I've been witnessing off and on for almost 5 years.
In completely related and yet still unrelated news, apparently the President has decided to use K-pop group 4minute as broadcast propaganda to the North?
Korean music has, for as long as I've witnessed it, been characterized by excessive cuteness and feelings. As a whole, there is nothing in the mainstream outside of love ballads and dance music. Even the dance music has always been lyrically identical to the ballads, with only the addition of a Backstreet Boys style collective dance to go along with the beat. The whole "scene" is fairly shallow and unoriginal, to speak plainly (not to say that the American pop scene is any different, but just to characterize).
Lately, however, I have seen a shift in Korean music that has been noteworthy. There are three parts to this change. The first step was 2NE1. Whereas for ten years, the artists have dressed similarly and safely, 2NE1 brought a whole new style to the table. Since their introduction of vertical hair and outrageous outfits, the entire music industry has followed closely behind. Half the time they look like George of the Jungle should have watched out for that 5th Element. The pictures speak for themselves.
Debuting early last year, 2NE1 is certainly no longer a latest development. However, I think that their advent paved the wave for what was to come. What started as simply different clothes and attitude soon spread into the lyrical aspect of K-pop. In the past several months there's been a shift from the typical, ballad style lyrics to a new format. Korea, for some time now having been dominated by the girl group, has constantly been plagued with the same song to a different tune. Either "omg I like him soooooo much. what should I do? my heart won't stop beating!" or "we broke up! there's no one in my heart but you! even now I can't stop thinking about you!" (sadly, the format barely differs when guy groups perform). Lately, however, I've witnessed the emergence a new trend toward songs about women standing up for themselves, much in the style of Beyonce. The prime examples of this would be the nearly simultaneous releases by groups SNSD, Kara, and now Lee Hyori, all of which saw the once cute-to-the-max take on a role with more independence, maturity, and substance.
This week I've seen what I hope to be the next step. Fairly new group f(x) releases their song NU ABO with positive reception. Blood type in Korea acts as a substitute for zodiac signs, predicting a person's personality and relationship compatibility. In 4 varieties, this uber-homogeneous society has summed up all personality possibilities. Finally, f(x) steps up to the plate and questions this "ABO" system, claiming that they are not A, AB, B, or O but in fact an entirely "Nu" blood type. In a country where sharing and following is a powerful cultural status quo, a dominant pop group is directly challenging the uniformity. High five to these girls for doing something original in K-pop (gasp!), though in my eyes they may just be a vessel for the build up I've been witnessing off and on for almost 5 years.
In completely related and yet still unrelated news, apparently the President has decided to use K-pop group 4minute as broadcast propaganda to the North?
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