What is K-Pop? A Parent’s Primer

You likely don’t need to follow Plugged In’s music reviews to know that K-Pop dominates the music industry. From the streaming charts to teens’ social media accounts, K-Pop has quickly become the defining genre of music both global and local.

The mainstream appetite for K-Pop has steadily grown in recent years. Spotlight research conducted a survey measuring the success of K-Pop. The survey found that not only does K-Pop dominate in Asian countries like Japan and South Korea, but the second-largest spike in popularity is largely driven by younger listeners in North America.

What’s more is global boy and girl groups, such as BTS and Blackpink, intentionally cater toward younger fans, turning musical loyalty into their greatest ally and predictor of long-term success. Oh, and throw in the absolute juggernaut of the Netflix animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters as the latest display of K-Pop’s ever-growing reach in media and culture.

What is K-Pop?

K-Pop is an abbreviation for the catch-all of “Korean popular music.” Yet, much like pop music, that label has grown to encompass more than its original ideas.

K-Pop’s initial growth began in the 1990s as a portion of Korean subculture that was anything but mainstream. The underground acts originated as teen-idol shows where either a solo or group act cultivated a large youth following before being signed by a larger music label.

You’d recognize the influences. West-coast hip-hop. Dance music. Hints of R&B and rock. Even rap has started to infiltrate the genre. But what separates K-Pop from its counterparts is the emphasis on visual style, performance, and choreography.

Surprisingly, singing is often a secondary emphasis for most K-Pop groups. The intense and detailed dance choreography is the priority, alongside the careful creation of an instantly identifiable style specific to each group. And often, each group’s look, style and sound is rigorously managed by the group’s label (though, as we’ll see, that is changing).

It’s also common for a K-Pop group’s fashion choices to also play a critical role in their distinction from other groups.

The music itself arrives light, promoted as easy listening for teenage fun and perfect for parties. That constant celebration of what feels good can seem appealing at first, but it can quickly turn detrimental if listeners aren’t careful. 

Genres and Groups

To both praise and critique, the highest performing acts of K-Pop rely on the “idol system.” This refers to a process where a potential star is identified in their youth, selected, and trained to dance, sing, and speak foreign languages before officially releasing music. Typically, a label will identify several trainees and place them in a boy or girl group along with a marketing plan to support the group’s first album.

This is partially how BTS and Blackpink quickly rose to global prominence. Their supporting labels were strategic in their positioning and marketing of their group’s talent. However, what these two groups benefitted from alongside their 2010s counterparts was an increase in English verses alongside traditional Korean lyrics. The introduction of English into K-Pop instantly diversified the genre and increased the worldwide appeal. 

K-Pop’s history is often divided into generations, and K-Pop is effectively in its Third and Fourth Generation of bands.

Third Generation K-Pop Groups

BTS

Often compared to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in terms of musical impact and reach, BTS is at once the culmination and gold standard for modern K-Pop music. Beginning with classic K-Pop songs about forlorn love and the dance floors, BTS instantly reached a new level of success. Lately, their songs have drifted into political topics such as Asian caste systems, government scandals, and mental health support. Even a decade removed from their arrival, BTS is still the boy band that steers the K-Pop industry.

Blackpink

Blackpink is BTS’ female counterpart in terms of setting the K-Pop standard. One of the unique parts of the girl group is that each member has her own solo act. Their songs often discuss themes of female empowerment both in business and romantic relationships. They’ve cited the Spice Girls, TLC, and Lady Gaga as key influences on their musical tone and performance style.

Seventeen

Seventeen was on the front end of Third Generation K-Pop groups, paving the way for the later success of BTS and Blackpink. Their reliance on Korean TV and social media captivated younger audiences and developed the strategy for how to effectively market K-Pop across the world. Still active, the group has undergone several changes both in members and style as they’ve shifted to focus more on songs about self-change and loving yourself despite difficult circumstances.

Fourth Generation K-Pop Groups

Ateez

The fourth generation of K-Pop is starting to revolt against the idol system, and Ateez is a product of that subversion. Built around a rapper and punk rock style, the group’s popularity largely relies on an underground social media presence uncommon for traditional K-Pop groups. With this, their intensity and showmanship can also lean darker than other groups.

Stray Kids

Stray Kids blends the pop sensationalism common to K-Pop with darker, moody themes of self-reflection. The boy band has pushed K-Pop into new territory with lyrics discussing anxiety, self-harm, and depression, while still retaining elements of the original form. They fashion themselves as pioneers and tend to use their bombastic compositions to stand out from their counterparts.

NewJeans

NewJeans aesthetic is a return to Y2K fashion from the early 2000s alongside dance house music that could fit into a Justin Timberlake album as easily as it does for K-Pop. The pun in the girl group’s band name extends not only to fashion but to the new waves they’ve made in K-Pop. Their music slides neatly into the joyful side of K-Pop songs. Their music largely relies on common pop topics such as love, late-night drives, and finding the latest party in town.

Concerns to Note

As is common here at Plugged In, we know that few forms of entertainment are immune to content concerns. K-Pop, for all of its promotion of happiness and freedom, also contains problems that extend beyond the music.

Sexual Imagery

In K-Pop, it’s not always about what’s in the song. As noted previously, fashion and dance choreography are often more important than lyrics. A quick search of most K-Pop music videos reveals inappropriate portrayals of revealing outfits and treatment of women in romantic relationships. Additionally, some lyrics can often objectify physical aspects of a romantic partner.

Profanity

Even though K-Pop songs can blend various languages, it is worth noting the common presence of profanity in several forms. Whether it’s a song about staying out all night on the dance floor or begging a former lover for another chance, K-Pop often uses profanity to communicate these strong emotions.

Mature Themes

Recent K-Pop groups have expanded their music to focus on political and social issues, such as mental health and social justice. Some of these songs focus on situations specific to Asia. Others however wade into trickier topics such as suicide, genocide, and LGBT politics. Paired with K-Pop’s lighter pop music, it can unfortunately lessen the weight of these discussions for impressionable young fans who require wisdom.

Conclusion

As we noted in a similar article about the rise of anime, it’s unfair to categorize all K-Pop music as good or bad. For the most part, the music avoids violent imagery. Instead, the genre has historically prioritized finding the good in everything from a romantic relationship to the progression from teenage years to young adulthood.

However, the later generations of K-Pop boy bands and girl groups have started to shift the emphasis towards sexualized choreography and illicit fashion trends as part of their respective images.

Our advice at Plugged In is to approach K-Pop as you would most pop, hip-hop, and rap music. With caution, wisdom, and discernment.

K-Pop is as much a visual form of entertainment as it is a musical one. We encourage parents to navigate the highs and lows of K-Pop (and all forms of media) alongside their child rather than apart. Using this guide to teach them to identify problematic parts and separate those from the uplifting aspects will build lifelong media habits and boundaries.