I debated posting this one on this blog because it was different from what I normally wrote about – but I decided it fits the criteria! That being said this will look and feel a bit different than the others but different is good, I hope you learn something today!
There are three different main categories of Korean Music: Traditional Korean Folk music, popular music (know as K-pop), and western-influenced non-popular music.
Traditional Korean Music is known as Kugak (National Music). The first evidence of Korean Music appeared in the texts of Samguk Sagi (History of the three kingdoms) in 1145 – this text described the use of two string-like instruments: Kayagum and Komun’go.
Top: Kayagum. Bottom: Komun’go
Like any social hierarchy, there were specific observed people during the Joseon Dynasty, specifically under the Lee Kings between 1392 and 1897. There was the King and the Yangban (government officials, generals, and the elite) at the top of the hierarchy, and the Sangmin (merchants and craftsmen) and slaves at the bottom. From these two groups came two forms of music: Jeongak (“orthodox music”) and Minsokak (“people’s music”).
Jeongak was listened to for enjoyment by the Yangban and was played during rituals like banquets, military percessions, etc. and was considered aristocratic music. But, Minsokak (also known as Nongak (farmers music)) was extremely popular among the common people. People’s music had three different types: Pansori, Pungmul Nori, and Minyo (folk).
Pansori originated in the seventeenth century and gained respect over time. Now, it is considered as the ideal traditional music in contemporary South Korea. Pansori requires a solo singer as well as a percussionist, the music contains elements like body language, emotions, and sounds observed in nature.
Pungmul Nori is the traditional Korean percussion music with sounds of the drums as the main focus.
Minyo was enjoyed by commoners while Nongak was played during agrarian festivals. The most famous folk song in both North and South Korea is Arirang. The song was sung solo at the screening of a slient nationalistic film in 1926, which cemented its popularity.
The Joseon Dynasty came to an end when the Japanese military ultimately took over the Korean Peninsula in 1910. Japan controlled the major levels of the politics, economics, and culture in Korea. Surprisingly, instead of Japan imposing the Japanese music of Chinese influenced court music (Gagaku), it imposed European art music. Western music education soon became a part of the Korean educational curriculum for the elite. The Japanese and Korean elites embraced western music, effectively neglecting Kugak. In the 1900s, Pansori – in an effort to not go extinct – gave rise to a new genre influenced by western music called Ch’angga (choral song/theater); which led to the creation of musical theaters and opera. The most well known Ch’angga song is “My Darling Valentine.”
WESTERN-INFLUENCED NON-POPULAR MUSIC
The oldest form of Korean pop music is Trot music, pronounced as “teur-oteu.” Developed in the yers before and during World War Two around the early 1900s. Some popular trot artists are Lee Mi Ja, Bae Ho, and Jang Yoon Jeong.
There are many forms of current non-pop music genres, too many to go through all of them. But some of my favorite and personally most notable are K-rock, K-hip hop, and K-OSTs.
(I wanted to say that all the artists I’m about to mention are in no way a show of who was most popular or who is best – but simply just who I currently know and listen to in my own time.)
K-Rock
Historically, rock music is said to have spread to Korea from the Eighth United States army bases after the Korean War. Shin Jung Hyeon (know as “The Godfather of Korean Rock”) got his start in music by playing popular rock covers for American soldiers in the 1950s. in the 1980s, rock moved away from mainstream music and the scene was dominated by heavy metal music. But, by the 1990s, rock music was revived, Korean youths were exposed to decades of popular foreign music in a short span of time due to the democratization following Roh Tae Woo’s presidency. Because of this, many young people started to form bands.
Even though the surge of K-Rock was in the 1900s there are stil a lot of bands that are popular in modern music as rock bands in South Korea. Crying Nut and No Brain are bands from the 90s, whereas Day6, The Rose, and FTISLAND are current rock bands.
Korean Band The Rose
K – Hip Hop
Hip hop became a cultural phenomenon in cities like Seoul, Busan, and Daegu. The first Korean rap song that became popular was The Story I Want to Tell You by 015B in 1991. Korea’s first large-scale exposure of hip hop was in the clubs in a neighborhood inside Seoul called Itaewon. At first the clubs in Itaewon were only for American soldiers as they were catered for those stationed in the Yongsan base. Drunken Tiger – made up of Tiger JK and DJ Shine – are known as “The Godfathers of Korean Hip Hop,” but the underground hip hop scene is made up of more than just the household names. Leading figures in K-hip hop are DEFCON, Junoflo and MyunDo, and RM. Some more mainstream K-hip hop artists are Jay Park, Sik-k, G-Dragon, and Beenzino.
K – OST (Original Soundtrack)
Influenced by western melodies and the sentimental ballad-style songs, this genre was initially introduced into the mainstream market in the 1960s but did not gain popularity until the 1980s where it became a staple genre in modern Korean music. its song style is meant to capture the feeling of love, unrequited love, or heartbreak. The OSTs are for popular Korean dramas that contain slow, dramatic ballad songs that are played whenever important plot points occur. These original soundtracks can often be sung by popular idols or the actors themselves (sometimes the actors are the popular idols too). Some examples are the dramas Itaewon Class which has an ending title track sung by BTS idol V, and Hwarang which the same idol, V, has a title track and is one of the main actors alongside his co-star Park Hyung Sik who as a title tack, as well.
Popular Music – K-pop
from the top: BTS, Twice, EXO
Idol groups typically feature several entertainers of the same gender who perform a fusion of dance music, rhythm and blues, funk, hip hop, and electronic influenced songs. K-pop is split up into “generations”; what Americans would call “90s music”, in K-pop the same time period idols are referred to as “First generation.” Another notable aspect of K-pop is the industry companies who have reign over the idol groups, each generation has top companies that have the front runners in the Industry.
First generation – 1990s – early 2000s
This generation changed South Korea’s music landscape and paved the way for other artists to become more flexible and be more experimental. K-pop began the potential for global success. The faces of the first generation were Seo Taiji and the Boys, Shinhwa, god, and BoA.
The companies on the top were SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, DSP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment.
Second Generation – 2003 – 2009/10
The rise of K-pop groups gained more enthusiasts. Hallyu (or Korean Wave) has expanded and become more popular; not just in Korea but across Asia and other parts of the world. Their unique style, distinctive choreographies, captivating melodies, and lyrics are what most people think of when they think of K-pop. The artists that make up the second generation are BigBand, 2NE1, SHINee, Epik High, f(x), and Super Junior.
The companies on top were what was called “The Big Three,” they were mamoths in the industry, producing hundreds of idols even to this day: SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment.
Third Generation – 2011 – early 2018
Some K-pop fans say that this generation ended in 2018 and some say it’s still the current generation. I say it ended in 2018. K-pop became more creative, expressive, and interesting during this generation. Becoming more modern with combinations of styling like techno, rock, ballads, etc. companies are more open to producing groups of different origins and ethnicities. The prominent groups of the third generation are EXO, Seventeen, BlackPink, BTS, GOT7, and CLC.
“The big three” companies retained their success with SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entrainment, but the company BigHit Entertainment came up as a front runner too with their management of global sensation BTS.
Unofficial Projected Fourth Generation – 2018 – current
It is hard to determine what accomplishments this generation of K-pop groups will do as it is still currently starting. But these groups are hitting the global scale full force – especially in the western music industry. Debuting on the US Charts and releasing English albums. While there will certainly be more artists coming out from this generation the current recently debuted groups are Stray Kids, ATEEZ, Tomorrow X Together (TXT), ITZY, LOONA, and MCND.
That’s it! There’s going to be a lot more K-pop, K-rock, and K-Hip Hop music coming out and I hope you’re interested and want to listen. I know I name dropped a lot of artists and bands and it could be overwhelming- but fear not I’ve created a playlist for you! Each group or artist I mentioned is on the playlist with a few popular songs per act.
Sources
^“Traditional Arts”. Korean Culture and Information Service. Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2018-01-22
Kim, Hŭng-gyu; Fouser, Robert (1997). Understanding Korean Literature. Translated by Fouser, Robert. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 57–58. ISBN978-1563247736.
The Forgotten War 