K-pop kraze in America
By Ruth L.
Published June 2019
South Korean pop culture
(K-Pop) has become a global phenomenon with the rise of bands such as the
Bangtan Boys (BTS) and has gained significant recognition in the United States.
Korean culture has
become prevalent in the beauty and entertainment industry with its skin care
regimens, dramas and band groups. The K-pop fan base has grown to become
multicultural with fans admiring the detailed cinematography, melodies and
choreography.
“I feel like K-pop idols
have a varied list of talents. They focus more on certain categories such as
dancing, presentation and the way they compose themselves in public. I feel
that American artists are geared more towards one or two things rather than a
whole variation,” said freshman Diya R.
A factor that tends to
stand out to the public is K-pop’s group mentality and carefully choreographed
dances.
“The choreography
[stands] out a lot and American artists are more often soloists. Korean idols
work in groups and they each have their own roles. I think that makes K-pop
unique,” said junior Wonjeong C.
This year, K-pop groups
such as BTS, Blackpink and EXO have cemented their name in the western
entertainment industry. BTS became the first Korean group to perform at New
York’s Citi Field stadium and to win two
Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, according to billboard.com. They also performed on
televised events like the Billboard Music Awards and Saturday Night Live,
attracting a large crowd.
“BTS performed at the
Billboard Music Awards and that’s how I [was introduced to them],” said
freshman Matthew P.
Some students have
credited K-pops recognition in the U.S to the growing Asian representation in
media.
“It was very surprising
that suddenly around this time, K-pop arose because K-pop has always been
there, but never recognized [by] the west. Asians [are] accepted more now than
in the past. Even when I was younger, there were times when my friends
stereotyped me. Even though there are still stereotypes, I think that the world
has accepted the [Korean] culture more and that’s why K-pop became so popular,”
said Wonjeong.
Others believe that
social media, such as YouTube or Instagram, has contributed to the rapid growth
of the K-pop fanbase in the U.S.
“People like the bands
and share them with other people. The music videos are catchy and [the groups
are] dancing,” said sophomore Angela W.
Due to language barriers,
many believe that it is harder for international fans to connect with the K-pop
groups, but that may not be the case.
“Even international fans
that don’t understand the language [can still understand from] the music videos
[that] explain the stories of the songs. They all connect. Even though [fans]
can’t understand what the lyrics are saying, you still get it by the music
video and you can tell by their emotions when they sing their songs,” said Matthew.
Some also pointed out
that there are alternative solutions to overcoming the language barrier.
“You can look up the
lyrics to get an idea of what the song is and after a while, you start to learn
some of the words,” said freshman Marianne K.
After two decades of
K-pop, it has finally piqued the curiosity of millions of Americans with their
concerts being sold out nationwide.n
Ruth L.
Published June 2019