Kpop Essay

1284 Words6 Pages
K-pop (an abbreviation of Korean pop) refers to a musical genre originating in South Korea, which comprises a wide variety of musical and visual elements. Although in a larger scope K-pop may include any genre of South Korean popular music, outside of the country, it is often used to refer to songs produced by K-Pop idols and their respective management agencies. Musicians who have collaborated with various K-Pop idols include many notable recording artists from the African American hip hop community, such as Akon, Kayne West, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and will.i.am. By tapping into social media networks, the ability of K-pop to reach a previously inaccessible audience via the Internet is a driving force in the recent exposure and popularity of the genre. Since the mid-2000s, the K-pop music industry has experienced double digit growth rates. In the first half of 2012, it grossed US$3.4 billion and became the 8th largest digital music market in the world. Currently, the spread of K-pop from Asia to other parts of the world as part of the Korean wave is most visibly seen in parts of South America, Northeast India, Mexico, Turkey, as well as in major immigrant hubs of the Western world as most consumers of Korean cultural products have an Asian, African, Middle Eastern, or Eastern European background. The hallmarks of K-pop are: • Diversity of audiovisual content: Although K-pop generally refers to South Korean popular music, some have considered it to be an all-encompassing genre comprising an entire spectrum of musical and visual elements. The French audiovisual organization Institut national de l'audiovisuel defines K-pop as a fusion of synthesized music, sharp dance routines and fashionable, colorful outfits combining bubblegum pop with the musical elements of electro, disco, rock, R&B, and hip-hop. • Systematic training of singers: The biggest
Open Document