K-pop is a musical genre originating in South Korea that is characterized by a wide variety of audiovisual elements. Although it comprises all genres of "popular music" within South Korea, the term is more often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music covering mostly dance-pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, hip-hop, R&B, etc.
In 1992, modern K-pop was ushered in with the formation of Seo Taiji & Boys, whose successful experimentation with different music styles had sparked a paradigm shift in the music industry of South Korea. As a result, the integration of foreign musical elements has now become a common practice in the K-pop industry.
Seo Taiji & Boys which consist of from left; Yang Hyun-suk, Seo Taiji and Lee Juno. Yang Hyun-suk is currently the owner of South Korea's leading entertainment company,YG entertainment.
By tapping into social networking services and the video sharing platform YouTube, the K-pop industry's ability to secure a sizable overseas audience. Since the mid-2000s, the K-pop music market has experienced double digit growth rates. In the first half of 2012, it grossed nearly US$3.4 billion, and was recognized by Time magazine as "South Korea's Greatest Export".
Search volume for kpop since 2008 according to Google Trends.
Number of kpop fans has been increasing over the years.
First gaining popularity in East Asia in the late 1990s, K-pop entered the Japanese music market towards the turn of the 21st century. In the late 2000s, it grew from a musical genre into a subculture among teenagers and young adults of East and Southeast Asia. Currently, the spread of K-pop to other regions of the world, via the Korean wave, or also known as Hallyu wave is seen in all parts of America and Europe regions.
TVXQ (Tong Vfang Xien Qi) is a leading kpop boy group in Japan which has a huge popularity. They consist of Xiah Junsu, Micky Yoochun, Hero Jaejoong, Max Changmin and U-know Yunho. They were later split in 2009.
Girls' Generation or better known as SNSD gain popularity in Japan through their hit song, Gee.
Japan accounted for almost 68% of all K-pop export revenues, ahead of China (11.2%) and the United States (2.1%). The sale of concert tickets proved to be a lucrative business as fans were willing to fork out large sums to see their idols. For example,TVXQ's Tohoshinki Live Tour in Japan sold over 850,000 tickets at an average cost of US$109 each, generating a total of $US92.6 million in revenues. Over 60% of the K-pop industry's export revenue is derived from the sale of concert tickets.
Rain was the first K-pop music artist to perform at Japan's biggest concert hall, the Tokyo Dome in front of 40,000 fans. The show was sold out within two days after the tickets went on sale. The Wonder Girls enter the US Billboard Hot 100 music chart with their single "Nobody", which was widely noted for its music video's viral spread after having surpassed 50 million views on Youtube.
Rain
Wonder Girls' Nobody
S.M Entertainment, one of South Korea's biggest and leading entertainment company holds its first concert outside the Asian continent with the SMTown Live'10 World Tour in Los Angeles. This precedes two sold-out concerts at the Zenith de Paris a few months later in France. The original concert at Staples Centre in Los Angeles grossed over US$1 million, and took the 9th position on the Billboard Boxscore Chart.
SM Entertainment artists
Kpop artists also gain recognition in western countries such as America. BIGBANG faces off competition from the American pop icon Britney Spears and the German singer Lena Meyer-Landrut to clinch the 2011 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Worldwide Act. Girls' Generation appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman and Live! with Kelly on January 31, 2012, and February 1, 2012, in the United States where they performed remixes of the English version of "The Boys", marked the first time that a Korean musical act has performed on each of the shows.
Big Bang's Fantastic Baby gain a total of 105.5 million views.
SNSD makes a historical appearance at Live! with Kelly.
The longest running boy band Shinhwa, who debuted in 1998, made a return to the entertainment industry, after a four-year hiatus during which band members served individual mandatory military services on 2012. PSY's "Gangnam Style" becomes the most viewed video on YouTube and it was awarded the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video, and became the first video on YouTube to hit a billion views.
Shinhwa
Psy's Gangnam Style
BIGBANG's labelmate 2NE1 concert at Prudential Center in New Jersey was chosen as "Best Concerts of 2012". Cube Entertainment releases an official version of the "Gwiyomi" song, sparking a massive Internet meme among Asian Internet users. f(x) become the first Kpop group to perform at 2013 SXSW South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.
2ne1
f(x)
On April 2013, Super Junior extends the Super Show 5 Tour to Buenos Aires, and Lima, making it the largest K-pop tour in South America
Girls' Generation is awarded with the "Video of the Year" at the 2013 YouTube Music Awards for their music video "I Got A Boy".
Girls' Generation Tiffany receiving the award on behalf of her group.
f(x)'s 2nd album "Pink Tape" was the only K-pop album listed by Fuse TV as one of the "41 Best Albums of 2013.
2NE1's album Crush debuts at No. 61 on the Billboard 200, setting the record for the highest-charting K-pop album in the United States.
The three biggest agencies in terms of revenue are S.M. Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, often referred to as the "Big Three", whose stocks are traded at the Korea Exchange, In K-pop these record labels also function as agencies for the artists. The three biggest agencies in terms of revenue are S.M Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, often referred to as the "Big Three", whose stocks are traded at the Korea Exchange. In K-pop these record labels also function as agencies for the artists.
Korean fan clubs play an essential role in K-pop, their structure and operation is different from Western fan clubs. Each club has its own name and color. For example, TVXQ fans are called "Cassiopeia" and their official color is "pearl red"; SS501 fans are named "Triple S" and their fandom color is "pearl light green"; and Super Junior's fan club is called "E.L.F." and they use the color "pearl sapphire blue". Colors play an important role in fandoms, as fans express their unity and loyalty this way, especially in concerts where other artists also perform: fans from a certain fan club create their own sectors with the represented colors, usually with light sticks or official balloons and create a "Kpop Ocean". If a color is already taken, fanclubs of new artists cannot choose them unless the color they want is taken by a soloist or a group of a different gender. As colors are limited some artists do not have an official color, Big Bang fans for example hold crown shaped yellow light sticks, while Se7en's fans are represented by the number 7.
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Lightsticks of certain fan clubs.
EXO became the first kpop group to reach the mark of 1 million seller albums in 12 years.
Also when it comes to kpop, this well known boy group,EXO which consist of 12 members and is split into two groups EXO-K and EXO-M is the hottest and most famous boy group in South Korea. They gain their recognition through their hit song, Growl. Among the other songs from this group who debuted in 2011 is MAMA, Wolf, Miracles in December and their latest hit Overdose.
Kpop also generally contribute to the worldwide fashion sense. More and more people are following the trend of koreans when it comes to dressing up and make-up. Big Bang's leader, G-dragon is one of the well known people in the fashion industry.
G-dragon
South Korea is emerging in the 21st century as a major exporter of popular culture. As part of the Korean wave, K-pop has been embraced by the South Korean government as a tool for soft power abroad, particularly towards youth.
