K-pop is an abbreviation for Korean popular music, specifically from South Korea (as there is practically no popular music industry in North Korea). There are many artists and groups, most notably BoA, Se7en and Rain, that have branched out of Korea and have become popular in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South East Asia. The popularity of K-pop is often considered a part of the rise of the Korean Wave, or "Hallyu", in the region.
History
The emergence of the group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a turning point for Korean popular music, as the group incorporated elements of American popular musical genres of rap, rock, and techno into its music. The tremendous success of Seo Taiji and Boys in Korea and other experimental groups (such as Panic) set the trend for the present generation of K-pop groups and artists. Following Seo Taiji and Boys, dance-oriented acts were dominant in the Korean popular music scene of the early 90s including the legendary hip hop duo Deux (듀스). By the mid-90s, teen idol groups such as Baby V.O.X.,Fin.K.L., g.o.d, H.O.T., Shinhwa, Sechs Kies, and S.E.S. were very popular, having strong fanbases and high-selling albums (with some groups having a "million seller", an album selling over one million copies). Starting with the break-up of H.O.T., most of these groups have disbanded, although some have continued their success in the following decade; new groups (such as DBSK) have since taken their place.
Currently, in the 2000s, pop groups are still very popular, although there has been the emergence of Korean R&B and Hip-Hop. Artists such as MC Mong, 1TYM, Rain ,Big Bang[1] and Epik High have proven successful, and Hip-Hop is making its way into the mainstream. Recently, rock music has become noticed by the public, with acts like the Yoon Do-Hyun Band gaining national recognition. In addition, there are also some very popular techno/dance artists such as Lee Jung Hyun and Kim Hyun Jung, who both have had very long careers while remaining firmly entrenched in their genre of music.
There are also many artists who have had international success as well. BoA has become the highest-selling international artist from Korea, due to her strength in the J-pop market; this was in part due to Lee Soo Man's adaptation of the Blue Ocean Strategy. Since then, artists such as Rain and Se7en have also released albums outside of Korea, becoming well-known throughout Eastern Asia. Rain has also had his international RAINY DAY 2005 Tour, having tour dates at Madison Square Garden, the first Korean star to do so. Rain and Se7en both hope to enter the English-language music market sometime in 2007. They are not the first Asians to do so (Utada Hikaru has released an English-language album), both are being eyed very closely to see if they will be the first to succeed.
Current Style
K-pop is similar to English pop music, with R&B, dance, and hip-hop being very popular genres in the 2000s. However, unlike English pop music, which had most of its boy bands and girl groups either break up or informally disband, bubblegum pop is still very popular in South Korea. Groups such as shinhwa and TVXQ continue to be top sellers in K-pop, and artists like Ahyoomee and LPG have released novelty songs, to varying degress of success. However, the 2000s has seen the rise of R&B vocal groups, with SG Wannabe, Big Mama, and See Ya having success with their first albums. In addition, trot music has made a comeback in mainstream K-pop as well, mostly due to the success of Jang Yoon Jung. Ballads are also very popular, as 2006 has seen the release of ballad singles by non-ballad artists, including Shinhwa and Baek Ji Young; KBS stated that this is likely to continue in 2007 due to the number of high-profile ballad singers releasing albums this year.
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