With 1 414 645 794 YouTube views and counting, “Gangnam Style” hardly needs an introduction. If you haven’t seen the music video - either voluntarily or by coercion - you must have been living under a rock this year. Armed with a catchy tune, infectious choreography and a quirky music video, Korean hip-hop artist Park Jae-Sang, a.k.a PSY, single-handedly captured the hearts and dance-floors of audiences across the globe. Heck, the trademark “horse dance” even sent one Brit to his grave. With a Super Bowl commercial (selling pistachios?), a New Year’s Eve performance at Times Square and multiple stints on daytime television shows, PSY has become one of the most successful offerings of the Korean Wave, or Hallyu, a term coined to define the growing interest in South Korean culture and entertainment that has swept across Asia, and is gradually making its way to American shores.
The Korean music industry has rapidly expanded to become a multi-billion dollar business, and churns out legions of young pop-stars on a monthly basis. Over the past few years, many big names in Korean entertainment like Rain, SE7EN, BoA, the Wonder Girls and Girls’ Generation have tried to break into the American scene. However, most of these acts failed to generate enough buzz to be taken seriously. Then along comes PSY, a 35-year-old performer who, unintentionally, proceeded to explode onto the international scene. So, how did he do it? In recent interviews, PSY himself admits to having no idea how his single sparked an international sensation. In fact, he often wonders if anyone, including himself, will ever be able to top “Gangnam Style” s success. Whether he can follow up with another hit or not, the song has had a significant impact not only on popular culture as we know it, but also on how the rest of the world perceives South Korea. Picking up on this new trend, several big names in American music, including Will.i.am, Kanye West, Swizz Beatz and Teddy Riley, have started collaborating with Korean artists in the hope of creating the next big thing.
It must be noted that, unlike his contemporaries, PSY remained true to his image and did not try to anglicize himself for his international debut. He performed in Korean (although the “Heyyy, sexy lady!” hook seemed to transcend national boundaries) and was pleasantly surprised by the warm reception he received.
South Korea has also been reaping the benefits of PSY’s success. It was recently reported that registration has risen dramatically for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), a written test for non-Koreans interested in pursuing a career or education in South Korea, from 2692 applicants in 1997 to 151,166 in 2012. Korean tourism organizations also see the benefits of cashing in on the growing interests of international tourists. The Gangnam district in Southern Seoul has become a local hotspot for high-end fashion boutiques and plastic surgery clinics. District officials expect to develop a ‘Hallyu Start Street’ by 2015, paving a section of the street using stones set with Korean celebrities’ handprints, not unlike Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The entire project, a very ambitious investment, may cost up to 20 million U.S dollars. And to think that it all began with a viral music video.
So the next time you hear that all-too familiar beat, turn it up and jump onto your saddle, because Gangnam fever is here to stay.
rhea d’costa
Preface
I’ve been listening to kpop (south Korean pop music) for about three years now, but only recently has this genre hit the main stage here in North America. It seems that this new popularity can be attributed to PSY and the all-female nine-member group, Girl’s Generation. I’ve been so hooked on kpop these past couple years that I started to learn the Korean language (Hangeul) and have recently applied to teach abroad in Korea after I graduate from McMaster this year.
However, I’ve got a huge problem with Canada’s current image of kpop. Everyone around me seems to think Korean pop just sprang out of nowhere in the past couple months. So, I’m here to share some of knowledge about kpop.
1. What is Korean pop?
Pop music that’s sung in Korean.
2. How is kpop different than North American pop music?
Short answer: it’s not.
Long answer: Korean pop music in the last decade has become increasingly similar to North American pop music, with catchy lyrics, hot dance moves, fashion, and sex. You can think of Kpop as Katy Perry, Rihanna, N Sync, and Britney Spears all combined - but Korean.
3. Who are the most popular kpop stars in Korea?
For girl groups, you’re looking at Girl’s Generation, 2NE1, Brown Eyed Girls, Sistar, and Wonder Girls. For all male groups, Teen Top, Nu’est, Big Bang, Super Junior and Shinee all come to mind.
4. How popular are these groups?
Girl’s Generation’s video “Gee” garnered 91 million YouTube views alone. To put this into context with a North American celebrity, Britney Spears’ “Till The World Ends” video received 105 million views.
5. Why haven’t these groups tried to break into the North American market?
Breaking into a music market where the language of the music isn’t your native tongue is obviously extremely hard. If any of you have tried learning a new language past the age of infancy, then you are aware of the difficulties that come with language learning, so don’t judge. However, kpop artists’ language skills have really progressed over the past decade thanks to Korea’s commitment to educational reform.
What does this mean? North America is about to start seeing a heck of a lot more Korean performers (or at least I hope).
Take Away Message
Korean pop is awesome and everyone should YouTube the artists I mentioned above. And if you’re like me, this will act as a procrastination method so intense that you’ll end up with a far more comprehensive understanding of kpop than your midterm material.
By: Kieran Healey
