Whether you're interested in learning Korean, want to find out more about Korean culture, or are just looking for a new style of music to check out, you might be interested in K-pop.
Before we talk about some of the biggest K-pop groups, let's take a look at what K-pop is and what makes it so popular.
What Exactly Is K-Pop?
K-pop is Korean pop music, but there's more to it than just being popular music from South Korea. Much like Western pop music, K-pop is more than just a genre.
The K-pop sound can be hard to define because it draws upon pop, hip-hop, R&B, electronic, rock, and many other musical styles, but what really defines K-pop is everything that comes with the music.
The music itself is generally very catchy with unforgettable melodies that will stick in your head for days after hearing them.
K-pop acts are all-around performers and their music usually comes with highly choreographed dance routines that are as intricate as they are imitable, making them hugely popular with their fans.
It's very common for K-pop to be performed by groups with specific roles for different members of the group. It's not uncommon for K-pop groups to have specific roles for singers, rappers, dancers, etc., allowing fans to pick a favorite and ardently support them.
Visually, K-pop is known for its distinctive fashion, makeup, hairstyles, and overall look. Every act is very recognizable by its look and this pairs well with the high production value of the music, videos, and performances to create a polished final product.
K-pop is also heavily marketed with performers interacting regularly with their fans through social media, press appearances, fan clubs, fan meetings, and many other activities. Part of the success of K-pop is down to how actively artists promote themselves and how much buzz their armies of fans generate for them, too.
South Korea has actively promoted its cultural exports for some time now and following the start of the Korean Wave in the late 1990s that spread to Southeast Asia, Korean culture is now global and the national government is happy to continue supporting and promoting it, especially as it serves as a political tool on the international stage.
What Makes K-pop so Popular?
K-pop is now a global phenomenon and there are many reasons for it. For one, the music is written to be catchy, memorable, upbeat, and energetic, making it appealing to a broad range of potential fans.
The music is also impeccably produced and famous for its high production values as we mentioned before. Musically, K-pop is a high-quality product and while this mightn't appeal to everyone, it certainly appeals to lots of people.
We mentioned that K-pop is also heavily promoted and the marketing behind K-pop acts is second to none. Not only do the top acts have marketing teams and strategies that would be the envy of almost any other artist on the planet, but their marketing strategy also evangelizes fans who are happy to promote their favorite artists and share their music, videos, and social media content all over the internet.
Fans are intimately connected to their favorite artists who work tirelessly to build passionate fan communities and keep them engaged with their music and everything else they do. The result is that K-pop acts are a highly marketable asset that their promoters and fans are willing to endlessly promote.
To make sure that the hype train keeps going, K-pop acts regularly collaborate with artists from around the world, thereby introducing them to new audiences outside of South Korea and in potentially lucrative international markets.
So who are the most popular K-pop acts?
The First Popular K-pop Acts
K-pop has actually been around for a while, but there were a few influential artists that paved the way for today's K-pop performers.
These K-pop acts are part of the Korean Wave (Hallyu), the cultural phenomenon that popularized Korean culture around the world including Korean movies and TV
Scholars tend to divide the Korean Wave into the first generation (Hallyu 1.0), between the late 1990s and 2008, and the second generation (Hallyu 2.0) from 2008 to present.
Naturally, the first popular K-pop acts are part of this first generation that became popular in nearby Southeast Asian countries and China, in particular.
Seo Taiji and Boys
Seo Taiji and Boys was a K-pop act that debuted in 1992. Their combination of pop and rap was quite the departure from Seo Taiji's previous musical endeavor Sinawe, which was a heavy metal band.
The group was one of the first South Korean musical acts to gain popularity outside of the country, especially in other Asian countries.
H.O.T.
H.O.T. (Highfive of Teenagers) was a four-piece boy band and the group that pioneered the idol group, the highly-manufactured and marketable model that makes K-pop as popular as it is.
Naturally, it wasn't technically the group that did this but rather SM Entertainment, the Korean entertainment agency behind the act.
Debuting in 1996, H.O.T. was famous for its high-energy performances and catchy music and helped make K-pop more internationally popular in the late 1990s.
BoA
BoA is a South Korean singer and though she was a solo act, she's widely considered the Queen of K-pop and responsible for popularizing Korean music in Japan, allowing other K-pop artists to also break Japan.
Following the Second World War, cultural exchange between Japan and South Korea had been quite limited and BoA was one of the first artists to capitalize on the warming of the cultural relationship between the two countries.
TVXQ
When TVXQ started in 2003, they were a five-piece boy band and instantly became hugely popular in South Korea and across Asia. TVQX was created by H.O.T.'s producer when the latter disbanded.
Wonder Girls
Wonder Girls were one of Korea's first girl groups to gain international fame. Founded in 2007, their international success was helped when their single “Nobody” went viral and made the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009.
Girls Generation
One of the most popular girl groups in South Korea was started in 2007 by Smtown Entertainment. They have international as well as domestic success and are one of Smtown's most successful groups ever. The former 9-member group has had a strong music run over the years and still continues to release music from time to time.
2ne1
This famous girl group was started in 2009 by YG Entertainment and was also a well-known rival to Girls Generation. The former 4 member girl group has had renowned success domestically and internationally as well.
Big Bang
Big Bang is one of the most recognized K-pop groups created also by YG Entertainment. They have become one of the most successful boy bands in the world and have amassed fans globally even though they do not release music anymore.
Who Are the Most Popular K-Pop Groups Now?
The success of the first-generation K-pop artists was impressive at the time and definitely paved the way for current K-pop artists, but the global reach and popularity of some of today's most popular K-pop acts is orders of magnitude greater than the earlier acts we've just mentioned.
This isn't to say that these acts are better than the ones that came before them. Instead, it's a testament to just how popular Korean music, especially K-pop, has become across the world in the last few decades.
Here are some of the biggest K-pop acts from the second generation of the Korean Wave.
TXT
TXT or Tomorrow X Together is a boy band that was founded in 2019 by Big Hit Entertainment (HYBE Corporation), the group that manages BTS, another massively popular K-pop group.
ITZY
ITZY is a girl group from JYP Entertainment, the entertainment group behind Wonder Girls. The group also debuted in 2019 and was immediately met with critical acclaim, picking up lots of different awards and accolades for new artists.
TWICE
TWICE debuted in 2015 and is another K-pop girl group with a global fanbase. The group was also created by JYP Entertainment.
BLACKPINK
BLACKPINK is one of K-pop's most popular girl groups and has a huge following around the world. Since 2016, they've been delighting fans with catchy songs, impressive visuals, and incredible performances.
Some of BLACKPINK's most popular songs include “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du”, the most viewed music video by a K-pop video, “Kill this Love”, the biggest music video debut in YouTube history at the time, and “How You Like That”, which went and smashed the YouTube debut record that BLACKPINK had set.
BTS
If you've only heard of one K-pop act, it'll probably be BTS. This is the biggest and most successful K-pop act both in South Korea and around the world.
Their fanbase group, which is known as ARMY, is famous for their fanatical support of the group and has played a big role in helping them achieve global fame.
Popular BTS songs include “Dynamite”, “Life Goes On”, “Butter”, “Permission to Dance”, and many others.
If you'd like to learn more about K-pop or Korean culture, then we'd definitely recommend learning Korean or learning how to cook Korean food.
You can find Korean tutors where you live on the Superprof website and many tutors offer the first lesson for free so you can try a few out before choosing the tutor that's right for you.
Whether you need help with your Korean classes or are looking for someone to help you learn, there are Korean tutors all over the country and around the world that can help you and they can even recommend great Korean TV shows you can improve your Korean with!
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