{"id":646284,"date":"2026-05-04T02:23:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T02:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/646284\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T02:23:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T02:23:28","slug":"k-pop-is-becoming-more-popular-than-ever-and-less-korean-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/646284\/","title":{"rendered":"K-pop is becoming more popular than ever \u2014 and less Korean"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The lights flashed. The bass kicked in. The crowd went wild as a cast of dancers peeled off to reveal seven figures on stage against the backdrop of Seoul\u2019s Gyeongbokgung Palace.\n <\/p>\n

\n It was the comeback concert<\/a> for BTS, perhaps the most famous boy band in the world. But their much-heralded return<\/a> in March, nearly four years after they went on hiatus for mandatory military service, has also highlighted a key question for the K-pop industry: What comes next?\n <\/p>\n

\n The genre looks completely different from when BTS first debuted in 2013. No longer is K-pop a fringe or novel concept; now, it\u2019s a global phenomenon and multibillion-dollar industry, winning Grammy Awards and fueling South Korea\u2019s expansive soft power.\n <\/p>\n

\n This is the so-called \u201cfifth generation\u201d of K-pop, said Grace Kao, a professor of sociology at Yale University. Fans often describe the industry\u2019s history as unofficial eras, characterized by different trends and waves of new artists.\n <\/p>\n

\n The second generation, which began in the early 2000s, saw K-pop gain footholds in regional markets like China, Japan and Southeast Asia. The third generation took that expansion further west, with groups like BTS and Blackpink breaking into Billboard charts and appearing on American talk shows.\n <\/p>\n

\n This current generation has arguably grander ambitions \u2013 some of which beg the question: Does K-pop need to be Korean at all?\n <\/p>\n

\n For instance, Blackpink\u2019s recently released mini-album \u201cDeadline\u201d is almost entirely in English. And new groups are debuting in other parts of the world, some with members that have no ties to South Korea.\n <\/p>\n

\"Ejae<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere\u2019s more global collaboration, and work within the K-pop world to become globalized, within every generation,\u201d said Danny Chung, the songwriter behind several major Blackpink hits and the voice of Baby Saja in the Netflix smash hit \u201cKPop Demon Hunters.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Some of this is happening in other musical genres, too, with social media increasingly shaping how we consume and produce music. But it\u2019s especially true of K-pop, which is \u201cever-changing,\u201d said Chung, who also works in the Artists and Repertoire (A&R) team for record company The Black Label.\n <\/p>\n

\n Experts say this fluidity could fuel the industry\u2019s aim to expand beyond borders and neat categorization.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s a forever moving target to try to define the genre of K-pop,\u201d Chung said.\n <\/p>\n

\n From the start, K-pop was largely intended to be an international product.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cOne thing about K-pop is that it was always export-oriented,\u201d said John Lie, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley.\n <\/p>\n

\n This sets it apart from most music in other countries, he added. An average American listener, for example, might not be able to name any major French or Vietnamese pop acts, since those artists often target local audiences. But K-pop has evolved differently; from the very start in the 1990s, groups worked to cultivate fanbases in Japan and China, said Lie, who wrote a 2014 book on the topic.\n <\/p>\n

\n This intent was evident in the names of early groups like H.O.T. and S.E.S. \u2013 deliberately chosen to be easy for English speakers, said Kao. The same went for English song titles.\n <\/p>\n

\"Boy<\/p>\n

\n By the 2000s and early 2010s, some labels were training K-pop artists to learn other regional languages \u2013 and increasingly, recruiting members from different nationalities so that within every group \u201cthere would be a native English speaker, someone who spoke Japanese, someone who spoke Mandarin, and so forth,\u201d Kao said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Lie added that that trend has only intensified. Labels are now recruiting members from Southeast Asia and other parts of the world, \u201cso K-pop becomes kind of a hybrid entity,\u201d he said. Even K-pop songwriters, composers, choreographers and producers are often from other countries.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s not really Korean \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t matter, because the formula can be replicated around the world.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Perhaps the best-known example of this hybrid model is Katseye<\/a> \u2013 an LA-based girl group backed by South Korean conglomerate HYBE, the same company (formerly named Big Hit Entertainment) that created BTS.\n <\/p>\n

\n Since their 2024 debut, the group<\/a> has prompted heated debate (mostly among overseas fans) \ufeffabout whether or not they count as K-pop. They sing almost entirely in English and are ethnically diverse, ranging from Swiss to Indian American to Venezuelan-Cuban American. But they were formed through a reality competition show in which they beat out other contestants vying for a spot \u2013 mimicking the cutthroat selection and training structure that K-pop is famous for.\n <\/p>\n

\"Members<\/p>\n

\n \u201cKATSEYE is a K\u2011pop group, even if they sing in English or are affiliated with a Western label,\u201d one popular Reddit post argued. (Katseye was formed in collaboration between HYBE and American label Geffen Records). Another TikTok user pushed back, declaring: \u201cKatseye is not K-pop, Katseye is never going to be K-pop \u2026 they are not literally doing the K!\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n For its part, Katseye describes itself as a \u201cglobal girl group formed using KPOP artist development methodologies.\u201d That phrasing echoes the \u201cmulti-home, multi-genre\u201d approach that HYBE laid out in a 2024 letter to shareholders<\/a>, describing an increasingly global vision of the future.\n <\/p>\n

\n HYBE has established subsidiaries and held local auditions around the world, including in India, China, Japan, Latin America and the US \u2013 aiming to bring K-pop music to global audiences, and to introduce \u201cK-pop methodologies\u201d to local musicians in foreign markets.\n <\/p>\n

\n In other words: they\u2019re not trying to turn Latin music into K-pop. But they are trying to develop Latin artists through the \u201cK-pop system.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n This system has drawn heavy criticism in the past for its rigidity<\/a> and impact to mental health<\/a>. Idols are often under heavy pressure<\/a>, facing overloaded schedules and stern rules \u2013 including around their dating lives.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s often characterized as overly formulaic \u2013 but Chung, the songwriter, said it was \u201cdisrespectful to keep on saying it\u2019s manufactured.\u201d To him, this system of artist development is what really defines K-pop, not just language or nationality.\n <\/p>\n

\"Lisa<\/p>\n

\"Jennie<\/p>\n

\n And it goes beyond just training. There are the groups\u2019 carefully curated visual identities, such as specific colors that correspond to each member, or a unifying style aesthetic. There\u2019s the messaging in their music, which helps fans \u201crelate with each group or each member in a different type of way.\u201d There\u2019s the ubiquity of physical media \u2013 CDs, photo books, postcards, stickers, posters, and other types of coveted merch. There\u2019s the fervid fanbase, cultivated through digital platforms and in-person events that encourage fan participation.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI don\u2019t think a lot of other genres necessarily build that world and make you feel like you\u2019re part of something that\u2019s part-fantasy and part-escape,\u201d Chung said.\n <\/p>\n

\n There are a few things we can expect to see in the coming years as K-pop settles into its fifth generation, experts said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Sonically, the music is becoming more like \u201chyperpop,\u201d said Chung \u2013 a faster tempo, and snippets of catchy lyrics or choreography that are easily \u201cclippable\u201d for social media. Artists also face tougher competition in a crowded field, as more eyeballs turn their way.\n <\/p>\n

\n There\u2019s still room for growth, said Kao; K-pop hasn\u2019t become ubiquitous enough to hit \u201ca point of saturation.\u201d But it won\u2019t be simple to replicate the success of BTS, which benefited from good timing \u2013 first, through a social media presence in the 2010s when that was still a novel strategy, then breaking into the Western mainstream during the pandemic when the world was stuck at home and switched online.\n <\/p>\n

\"BTS<\/p>\n

\"Festivalgoers<\/p>\n

\n And even BTS may face new hurdles. Its free comeback concert in March reportedly saw far lower attendance in non-ticketed public areas than anticipated, according to local media outlets, citing data from city authorities \u2013 prompting Hybe\u2019s shares to drop sharply afterward.\n <\/p>\n

\n That said, the small number of official tickets given away online were snapped up immediately, and the concert live-stream racked up more than 18 million viewers on Netflix. BTS quickly sold out all 41 stadium shows in North America, Europe and the UK for their ongoing world tour, according to ticket seller Live Nation. Their new album \u201cArirang\u201d sold 641,000 \u201calbum units\u201d (combining streams, album sales and track sales) in its first week, according to Billboard \u2013 the biggest album debut by a group since the chart began using units as a measure in 2014.\n <\/p>\n

\n K-pop remains a hugely lucrative business. Between 2019 and 2024, four of the biggest K-pop music agencies (including HYBE) saw their combined revenue nearly triple to $3 billion, according to a Morgan Stanley report<\/a>. YG, HYBE, SM and JYP are now working to combine forces and organize a \u201cFanomenon\u201d event, according to a joint statement from the companies. So far, they haven\u2019t provided any more details on timing or scope \u2013 but excited social media users are already calling the event \u201cK-chella,\u201d a play on the annual California festival Coachella.\n <\/p>\n

\n The controversy over what K-pop is \u2013 or isn\u2019t \u2013 is also likely to continue. After all, it\u2019s not clear whether this global direction is what the fans actually want.\n <\/p>\n

\n Fans in South Korea might not \u201cconsider (groups like Katseye) K-pop at all,\u201d Kao said. And for many fans in other countries, much of what they liked about K-pop in the first place was its Korean-ness.\n <\/p>\n

\n For instance, many Asian diaspora in Western countries \u2013 Kao herself included \u2013 are hungry to see \u201cAsians as pop stars.\u201d Many may have faced racism and isolation growing up in White communities, and now enjoy seeing \u201cidols that are primarily Korean, speaking Korean,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n

\n And for foreign audiences with no personal ties to K-pop, it opens the door to a whole new culture. It\u2019s why many K-pop fans travel to Seoul, making pilgrimages to the HYBE headquarters and flying thousands of miles for a BTS concert. It\u2019s part of the larger \u201cKorean wave,\u201d or \u201cHallyu,\u201d that has propelled South Korea in a soft power surge \u2013 popularizing other Korean exports like K-beauty, K-dramas, and even Korean food.\n <\/p>\n

\"NCT<\/p>\n

\n If you take the Korean element out of K-pop, the question follows, will the fans still be there?\n <\/p>\n

\n Lie would say yes. Many genres of entertainment in both music and film peak in popularity within one generation of a population, or roughly three decades, because \u201cpeople grow up and younger people want new things,\u201d he said. But K-pop is an \u201cinnovation machine,\u201d which could prolong its lifespan.\n <\/p>\n

\n Chung understands the potential concerns of fans, comparing it to hip-hop, which he grew up with in the 1990s. Many listeners of old-school hip-hop might decry what\u2019s being made today \u201cbecause it doesn\u2019t sound like that anymore,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut at the same time, you can\u2019t hinder evolution,\u201d he added. The changing nature of K-pop \u201callows the art to be more accessible (and) more globally executable. I\u2019m excited to see what the world does with that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The lights flashed. The bass kicked in. The crowd went wild as a cast of dancers peeled off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":643008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,341],"class_list":["post-646284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}