K-POP

In October 2009, the Korean girl group 2NE1’s album To Anyone ranked second after Eminem’s Recovery on the Top Hip Hop Albums chart on iTunes, the largest online music vendor in the United States.

At a concert hall in Los Angeles, five hundred Girls’ Generation fans wearing T-shirts that read “Soshified”?“Soshi” is a shortened form of “Sonyeo Shidae,” the Korean name of the girl group?sang the group’s song “Gee” while performing a synchronized dance to the music. The YouTube video of the popular Girls’ Generation song “Gee” had more than

56 million hits as of October 2011.

In June 2011, young fans came from all over Europe?the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and elsewhere?to see Korean idol groups including TVXQ!, Super Junior, SHINee, Girls’ Generation, and f(x) at Le Zenith de Paris in France, a venue where many famous European pop acts have held concerts.

In Bangkok, Thai youngsters dreaming of becoming “the next Nichkhun” (a member of boy band 2PM) hold singing and dancing competitions to Korean music every weekend. What do all of these happenings around the world have in common? The answer is “K-Pop.”

K-Pop Meets the World

K-Pop Makes a Splash in Europe

US Starts to Notice K-Pop

K-Pop Stars Break Records in Japan

K-Pop Triggers New Hallyu in Southeast Asia

Why K-Pop?

Hybrid Entertainment

The Versatility of Korean Stars

Globalized Star-Making System

Social Media Enables Rapid Spread

History of K-Pop

Birth of Korean Pop Music

Korean War and US Infl uence

The First Renaissance

Folk Music Represents Youth Culture

Superstar Cho Yong-pil and the Ballad Era

Seo Taiji & Boys Open New Chapter

K-Pop Goes Global

The Most Popular K-Pop Artists

Idol Pop

R&B and Ballads

Hip Hop

Rock and Indie

Epilogue

Where Is K-Pop Headed?

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