Feb 27 (T) (6): Can K-pop Conquer America?

APP 315-42 Asian Pop Culture & Globalization (#6) Katherine Chu 2018/02/27

1

Last time …

Lecture #5 Key Ideas

  Relationships between a Nation’s past (i.e. History) and its popular culture   Relationships between politics and its popular culture   Relationships between “ultra-violence” and “horror” in

popular culture to a nation’s past

Lecture #5 Key Ideas

  Relationships between a Nation’s past (i.e. History) and its popular culture   Relationships between politics and its popular culture   Relationships between “ultra-violence” and “horror” in

popular culture to a nation’s past

  The role of US in Korean’s history (a nation’s past)

Week 6

Announcements

  Last Readings Response Journals (25%) will be due : March 4th 11:59pm

  No LATE Readings Response Journals will be accepted after March 25th, 11:59pm

Announcements

  Final Research Paper Proposal Due: March 13th 11:59pm

  Final Research Paper Due: May 7th 11:59pm

  Movies Analysis Assignment Due: April 9th 11:59pm

  Final Exam: May 15th 11:59pm   Will be posted Online at May 15th 12pm   You will be asked:

  MC/Short Answers or IDs/ Long Essays   Questions will be from:

  Lecture #7 to Lecture #15   Readings/Viewings #7 to Reading/Viewings #13   Films

Pop Music: K-Pop Lecture #6

Please watch. “1 billion views MTV”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTeQkyY9TqY

  Guess how many Asian Pop music will be on the list?

  And have you ever watch any Asian pop music video?   If yes, which one?

What is K-pop?

  An abbreviation of Korean pop, consists of hip-hop, electronic, rock and R’n’B music that is originating from South Korea

  Some lyrics are sung in English

  Musical genre subverts the stereotype of being all overly sweet and sounding too-sugary bubble gum pop

  Grown between teenagers and young adults throughout Asia

  Nowadays, all over the world enjoy k-pop

1st song?

  First song 2007 – hit by the Wonder Girls à “Tell Me”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlHv3BbBv6A

Wonder Girls _ Tell me

What do you feel?

  Fun? Danceable?

  Very accessible to American ears?

  Featuring a dash of an 80s retro freestyle sound

History

  Not very old

  Western influence? Music channels like MTV and internet sources.

  Radio – promote and bring it to the masses

  TV, many “soaps” à hit across ASIA

  Poor country à major international player with incredible commodities and technology

Characteristics of K-pop

  Boy or girl groups, usually 4-9 members or solo artists

  Singing and entertaining dance numbers

  Can sing with microphones in hand while performing complicated dance numbers

  Catchy tunes with English (title /chorus)

  A “rapper” status assigned to at least one member

  Music videos are high production value and can include different versions (dance version, movie version, and even different languages)

Characteristics of K-pop   All artists start as trainees for management companies and can

train and work as backup dancers for star acts for 2-6 years

  Trainees live together in a regulated environment and spend many hours a day leaning music, dance, foreign languages and other skills

  Most are recruited from auditions and scouts

  Most artists and trainees are discouraged from scandals, dating and partying/drinking to keep their idol image

  Most artists and groups become the spokespeople for brands through magazine shoots and commercials. Sometimes fake series or shows are created and centered around a product or brand.

The Girls of K-pop

  Usually cuteness

  Emphasis on legs and eyes, accompanied by cute hand movements and facial expressions

  Usually have 5 or more members

  A designated leader

  Not only for their music and performance but their style and body shape

  Are discouraged from dating

10 Best K-pop Girl Groups

  Miss A

Apink

  4Minute

  f(x)

  Kara

  After School and subunit Orange Caramel

  Brown Eyed Girls

  Wonder Girls

  2NE1

  Girls’ Generations

  Please check here: Link

Top 10 K-Pop Boy Groups

Seo Taiji & The Boys

  H.O.T

Sechs Kies

Shinhwa

  TVXQ

  BIGBANG

  FTISLAND

  INFINITE

  Beast

g.o.d.

  Check here: Link

Why K-pop Popular?

  Catchy songs

  Outer appearance of the K-pop artists

  The Choreography of the dance

PSY Gangnam Style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

  YouTube Facebook Twitter à easier to reach a wider audience

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1AGTGLL_wg

  CPDRC Inmates Gangnam Style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTPEcRrzhZ8

Gangnam Style – Ohio University Marching Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nk01iQPL1s

Gangnam Style in Jakarta Indonesia

Black K-Pop Fans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvgLUItrSVI

Film: 9 Muses of Star Empire (2012)

Summary?

  Working hard

  A big industry and corporations with millions of people involved

  Not an accident but the result of painstaking work   Years of attempts, thousands of peoples, and billions of

dollars

“Gangnam Style” and Global Influence of South Korea

“Gangnam Style” and the Global influence of South Korea

  First non-English speaking country trying to make its country “cool”

  Korean Cool is a national policy   Economic + political advantages   Making people buy “Koreans”   Addicted to Korean Drama/ Korean Cosmetics

  Korea = South Korea

“Gangnam Style” and the Global influence of South Korea

  According to the program, what is the significant impact of Korean Pop culture to Americans?

Can K-pop Conquer America? New York Times June 30 2017

  Can you answer the following questions?

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  Why Psy’s “Gangnam Style” was so important to American’s pop music industry?

  Is K-pop a genre? Why or why not?

  According to the program, what is the biggest K-pop group in the US?

  According to the program, when did the K-pop start?

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  First group to start the K-pop in 1992:

Seo Taiji and The Boys - “I Know”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8em1w3KIFA

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  S.M Entertainment together with YG Entertainment are the two biggest entertainment companies in South Korea

  Legendary groups in K-pop, for example:   H.O.T

Sechs Kies

  S.E.S. Fin.K.L.

  à However these groups did not last long

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  Regarding on the industry set up, according to the program, what is the typical process for a company build up a boy band or a girl group?

  How many key agencies in K-pop industry?

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  One of the biggest success groups in the US and internationally à Wonder Girls

  Began from 2007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA7fdSkp8ds

  “Nobody” (English Version)

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  Are there any female and male group together? Can you name a co-ed group?

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPTcKSVAEvA

  “Oh NaNa”

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  Besides PSY, which band’s music got the “most viewed K-pop videos”?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAbokV76tkU

Can K-pop Conquer America?

Different functions for the groups:

Boys Bands: tours, album sales

Girls Groups: trendy, commercial deals

Why would we mostly see K-pop Boys Bands in the US but not the Girls Groups?

Can K-pop Conquer America?

CNBlue – “Can’t Stop”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75KBwVtd_W0

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  What are the goals of K-pop? Catering to a specific group of people or aiming to create an universal language?

  What is KCON?

  Which is the second biggest fan base for K-pop?

Can K-pop Conquer America?

  According to the program, can K-pop conquer America? Why or why not?

  After finished hearing the program, what do you think can K-pop conquer America? Why or why not?

The Success of the K-Pop Industry

The Success of the K-Pop Industry

  According to the article, how did the Korean entertainment industry get so popular in such a limited time?

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