Review of Related Literatures and Studies

This chapter begins with an overview of some literatures and studies pertaining to the popularity

and selectivity of K-pop music, influence from other musical genres, impacts to students, and

promotion of korean culture to students' lifestyle.

K-Pop as a Musical Genre

Since the start of the year 2000, Korean cultures have been dominating the world as the

Korean wave of varieties, also known as Hallyu, started. Many aspects of the culture became

widespread including the culture of music. Furthermore, the popularity of Korean music actually

dates back at the time of American military dictatorship in Korea on 1990s. Because of this,

Korean popular music absorbed diverse American music genres including rock, jazz, pop, blues,

etc. Folk songs were influenced by Western cultures (Lee, 2018), which results into a new

unique and appealing genre. Now, K-pop draws heavy influences on other genres, most

especially pop and hip-hop, which increased its danceability and made some people to dance to

the songs (Fang, 2020).

Moreover, according to Schnars (2019), K-pop is more than just a genre of pop music.

Since it encompasses many other genres, it became widely known. Not only for its unique mix of

genres, but also because it became a way to new experiences. Other K-pop songs were followed

by the creation of musical choreography videos, providing another way of interaction. Most, if

not all, K-pop groups also have storyline intertwined to their music, which makes it a part of art

and literature.
Popularity and Selectivity of K-Pop Music

The popularity of K-Pop music started as a part of the Korean wave. This cultural

movement is perhaps the most notable reason for "K-Pop", shorthand for Korean popular music

and dance, to grew explosively. K-Pop songs are performed live and especially in music videos

by groups called, Korean "Idols". These groups releases songs and music videos with upbeat and

energetic tones, and usually come with choreographed dances. One notable K-Pop Idol was Psy

with his song "Gangnam Style" in the year 2012 (Fisher, 2012). Psy’s 2012 hit is part comedy

and part discerning satire, made by a musician who’s part of a wave of South Korean musicians

who’ve studied at American music schools. “Gangnam Style” spent at least five years racking up

more than 3 billion views on YouTube, reigning as the most-viewed video in the platform’s

history before being dethroned in 2017 (Romano, 2018).

Korean Idols are somewhat similar to "boy bands" and "girl bands" in American culture.

They form a group that typically consists of 4-6 or more members. Although, some are soloist

and do not have any co-members. Additionally, these groups are either consist of "all girls" or

"all boys" members, and each of them have youthful and cheerful looks (Barnett et al., 2018).

Seabrook (2015) delineates the K-Pop music industry as a "machine," with big production

companies controlling talent acquisition and training, songwriting, dance choreography,

production, distribution and marketing. Trainees are recruited during their teen years, trained by

agencies in dancing, singing, acting, and foreign languages. This process is highly selective, with

only about 1 out of 10 trainees making it to their debut

 (Rich, 2015), consequently producing fresh and high-quality "Idols". Now, there are

numerous of successful groups, not only in Korea and Asia, but the entire world. Here are the top

5 K-Pop groups of 2022 according to Top 10 About (2022):

1. BTS - BTS is the first K-pop group that has won a Billboard Music Award and is

currently the most popular K-pop group in 2022. They are the best-selling artist in South Korean

history and the first South Korean act that has gained more than 10 million followers on Twitter.

This team has seven members who are RM, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jim, Suga, and Jungkook.

2. EXO - This fantastic K-pop group first made its debut in 2012 and from this time they

started to gain a big fanbase. Despite of being inactive in the past 2 years, EXO is still growing

worldwide.

3. Blackpink - The highest-charting female Korean act on the Billboard Hot 100

Blackpink is another successful Seoul-born K-pop girl group. This group consists of members

like Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa.

4. NCT - The NCT induced an interesting concept in the world of K-pop. NCT or Neo

Culture Technology consists of 21 members as of now. This group is divided into many small

units and moves all over the world. However, the first group unit was introduced in April 2016.

In the beginning, it had only two members named Mark and Jaehyun, later they added 7 more

members. Their second sub-unit is NCT 127. NCT Dream and WayV are another part of this

brand. While the NCT127 is based in Seoul and the Subunit WayV is based in China.

5. Monsta X - Monsta X successfully holds the 5th spot among the top 10 popular K-pop

groups in 2022. This since then known for its dynamic style, a great combo of EDM, hip hop,

and pop. Their first official debut was made on May 14, 2015, with the song named "Trespass."
The famous South Korean rapper and producer named Rhymer produced the track. This track

reflected Monsta X’s different and unique character.

Those above are the top 5 K-Pop groups of 2022 but there are also other groups that have

been famous since their debut that are worth to mention, namely:

1. Twice

2. Stray Kids

3. Astro

4. Aespa

5. Red Velvet

6. Enhypen

7. Treasure

8. Got7

9. Wanna One

10. SEVENTEEN

K-pop Impacts to Students

The sharp increase in the Korean Wave has had an impact on students' lifestyles. The

Korean Wave has affected students' way of living, as well as their attitudes. Students try to copy

the fashion trends and mimic the way K-Pop stars carry themselves (Kenny Gil, 2019).

According to him, The K-pop culture teaches students about hard work and working towards

their dream. That is why students adapt Kpop culture in their work. 
 According to Rundle (2020), Many students have been driven off their educational

journey because they get too inspired by the K-Pop idols for their combination of moderate

talent, great appearance, and hard training got them where they are.

However, K-Pop music is often misunderstood as superficial.According to MascusLiaw

in the forum “K-pop and negative influences on teenagers' ' (2016), K-pop is blamed for a fall in

academic achievement of some teen–aged students. This is probably because some who are into

K-pop are so obsessed with some girl bands or boy bands that they do not pay attention in class

and keep listening to music during lessons.

Nevertheless, Students strive to become like their favorite K-Pop idols in every way

possible (Gill, 2019). For many K-Pop groups, most dedicated fans look up to the group

members as role models. They follow the advice the group members give and take it as the

whole truth. Many messages, both negative and positive, pass through the K-Pop community.

Students follow their advice because they want to become their favorite k-pop idols. 

Korean Culture Promotion on Students Lifestyle

The rising prominence of Korean Culture all through the world is called Korean

Wave (Yu, 2008). According to him, The Korean mainstream culture which spread for the most

part through the broad communications is presently getting a charge out of high prominence

outside Korea and this is the means by which the Korean Wave happens. 
  According to Dani Gibson (2021), Hallyu, Korean pop culture, is in an all-time high

demand, with tv-series like Netflix’s Squid Game, Oscar award-winning films like Parasite and

K-Pop stars like BTS and BlackPink dominating entertainment across the globe, from the US to

the Philippines and Thailand to the United Kingdom. 

The essence of brand Korea is steeped in age-old culture mixed with contemporary ideas

that resonate with the younger generations, especially students (Han Dong-Man, 2018). 

According to PERHAPSATEENAGEGIRL in an article “From Our Readers: 5 Reasons

Why We Love K-pop,” Due to the influence of K-pop, many teenagers, especially students who

are a KPop fan or a KSeries fan, want to go to South Korea. K-pop is one way for Korean idols

to appreciate and promote their culture. We, as fans, open our perspective to know and learn

about a different culture.

K-pop functions as “a cultural bridge” helps improve the understanding of every teenager

of Asian cultures in general and Korean culture in particular (MarcusLiaw, 2016).