K-pop

(Right, Boy band "Beast")






Let's talk about K-pop, which is the abbreviation of "Korean Pop" music, it originated in South Korea (no real surprises there given the name and the fact that the only real music to come out of North Korea is Yoyo Ma...) and it is entirely it's own musical genre. Kind of like a cross between R&B, Hip hop, techno, electronic and boy / girl band style pop - depending on which artist you listen too. K-pop really started to become popular around 1992 with a band called Seo Tai-ji & Boys. The first real K-pop girl and boy bands began to appear in the mid to late 1990's. K-pop is now starting to become popular in countries like the US, Canada and Australia (as well as the rest of Asia) - A band called wondergirls released a song called "nobody" which appeared on the billboard top 100 charts in the US in 2009, and in 2010 girl band 2NE1 have released a few songs which have graced the charts in the US and Canada. (Click here for a full list of K-pop artists.)

(left, boy band "2PM)

Some links that might be of interest:

Korean Pop Music Chart (with sound files)

K-popped - passionate about Korean pop culture (daily news and gossip)

My take on K-pop? I actually love it! The great little dance moves that go with it, the fact that every now and then there are English phrases thrown in there, and the fact that some of the time those English phrases are grammatically incorrect and don't make any sense at all! It's very catchy...and given that I was a teeny bopper around the time of the Spice Girls, the Backstreet boys and Brittany Spears it takes me back a little bit! Would be nice to know what some of the lyrics meant - but you really don't need to know to enjoy it anyway. If nothing else, enjoy it for the fact that it is amusing!


(above, boy band "Big Bang)
(Left, Girl band "Girls Generation")


(Right, Girl band "Miss A")


(Above, Boy band "Shinee")

If you would like to listen to some of the K-pop that has been popular while I have been here check out my You-tube Playlist by clicking here!