What is K-Pop?! Blog Series- Part 1: The Definition of K-Pop

K-Pop. My goal is to share every last bit of knowledge I have on this subject with my readers, but, to put it simply, it's a LOT of information. To make the process easier, I have chronologically organized this article into parts. (If I didn't it would end up being a 25 thousand-word-long piece, and nobody wants that.) Click the linked title of each part to be taken to its blog post. After you are done, click the link below the article to move on to the next part, or come back to this page. By the end of it all, you'll be completely informed about everything that involves K-Pop (that I know of, at least). I hope you find this information helpful!

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My Basic Definition of K-Pop

K-pop stands for Korean Pop music.It is South Korea’s version of the pop genre, hence its name being the combination of the language and the genre itself.

With that said, K-Pop does have a twist that anyone can instantly recognize.It isn’t about the fact that the songs are mostly sung in Korean, it’s about the uncommon composition and production choices being made by Korean musicians and producers. I could name almost any K-Pop idol group and guarantee that, although a lot of their albums might be generic pop, that probably isn’t the case when it comes to their main singles.People from the rest of the world can easily notice the “out there” musical choices being made in K-Pop title tracks. (Update: Each year, to my displeasure, this practice is actually becoming rarer and rarer. The more those in the K-Pop industry try to appeal to the foreign masses, the more "Western sounding" their music becomes. Hopefully, sometime soon, they will divert back to their roots.)

Here’s a song which fits that description:

Though many people use the word K-Pop to refer to all popular Korean music, that is simply incorrect. There are exceptions, which I will discuss in future articles but, for the most part, K-Pop is a genre performed by girl or boy groups (there are some co-ed special cases, e.g. the group K.A.R.D.) Since its inception back in the early 1990s, with groups such as Seo Taiji and Boys (1992-1996), those in the business have followed a "system" by which they discover talent and create K-Pop groups.

It goes as follows:

1. Korean entertainment companies (eg. SM, JYP, Starship Entertainment) scout talented, and good looking, young people and/or hold auditions.

2. They sign a "training contract" with those they believe are talented enough.

3. They train them in, primarily, singing and dancing, but many agencies also coach their trainees on music compositions/production, public relations (how to act in front of the camera), modeling, acting, foreign languages, etc.

4. K-Pop is an audio-visual form of entertainment, so every song (especially the main singles) have choreography. K-Pop idols are expected to be able to sing while executing complex dance routines (examples 1, 2, 3).

5. Companies pick and choose the best amongst their trainees and put them together to debut as a girl or boy group of four to 13 members (usually).

6. Each group must have, at least, a rapper, main singer, main dancer, visual (most good looking), leader, and maknae (youngest member) of the group. Each member can fill out one or more of the required positions.

7. The group's music, wardrobe, music videos, choreography, and overall concept (basically everything), is chosen by their company.When signing their contract, idols give their agency the authority to promote them however they see fit. Each year, agencies are giving their idols more artistic jurisdiction over their music, but, for the most part, company executives will always make the final decision. So much so, that companies even have a say on idols’ personal affairs (more on that in future articles).

There you have it. That is K-Pop, simplified to its most basic form.This is the least amount of information one must know in order to say they actually know what K-Pop is. It might feel like I'm just making your poor brain suffer from information overload, but, what can I say, K-Pop is more complex than what people think. This industry isn’t about a bunch of pretty boys and girls dancing and singing while wearing makeup and fun outfits, a lot of thorough preparation is put into these groups, by both the agency and the idols, and real K-Pop fans understand that. Are you a real K-Pop fan? If you aren’t, do you want to be? If the answer is yes, continue on to my next articles, where I break down everything I know regarding K-Pop. By the end of it, I guarantee, you’ll have all the information needed to be a true netizen (K-Pop Fan).

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To continue on your journey towards becoming a woke K-Pop listener, click the links below!

Part 2: What’s Up with the English words? I’m Confused Now

Part 3: That Seems Like a Hard Life...Do they HAVE TO Train?

Part 4: All Must Train, but do they All Make It?

Part 5: Western vs Korean entertainment industry: when being "fake" is just another part of the job.

Part 6: Friends or Competitors?: The making of a K-Pop boy/girl-group

Part 7: TO BE DETERMINED...