##The Foundation of Modern K-Pop
American popular music officially entered Korea during the Korean War soon after the Japanese surrender in August 1945. The clubs of the U.S. Army Twenty-Fourth Division played music called chyasu which is a collection of all kinds of non-classical Western music which ranges from swing jazz to French chanson to Argentine tango. Western music gained significant popularity after the war as the Twenty-Fourth Army Division expanded to the Eight Army Corps which came with the establishment of the AFKN.[^1](http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/wiki/history#wiki_pil_ho.2C_kim.2C_and_shin_hyunjoon._.22the_birth_of_.22rok.22.3A_cultural_imperialism.2C_nationalism.2C_and_the_glocalization_of_rock_music_in_south_korea.2C_1964-1975..22_18.2C_199-230.3A_duke_university_press.2C_2010 "Pil Ho, Kim, and Shin Hyunjoon. "The Birth of "Rok": Cultural Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Glocalization of Rock Music in South Korea, 1964-1975." 18, 199-230: Duke University Press, 2010 p. 203")
In June of 1951 the American Forces Korea Network (AFKN) began operations in South Korea. During the war the AFKN was nicknamed Radio Vegabond because it had no central headquarters or stationary building that it broadcast from. The network was a collection of military trucks and mobile equipment which followed the American troops as they moved throughout the country. The music the network played was provided by the Los Angeles-based American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). The AFRTS took songs that topped current American billboard charts and sent them over to the AFKN. The Korean radio stations Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and Christian Broadcasting System (CBS) both refused to play western pop music initially but it grew in popularity so much so that by the late 1950s KBS aired a weekly half hour music program that was dedicated to western pop called “This Week’s Music Requests”. There was also the United Nation’s forces radio station, Voice of the United Nations’ Command (VUNC), but it was primarily geared towards spreading political messages rather than playing music.[^2](http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/wiki/history#wiki_maliangkay.2C_roald._.22supporting_our_boys.3A_american_military_entertainment_and_korean_pop_music_in_the_1950s_and_early-1960s..22_in_korean_pop_music.3A_riding_the_wave.2C_edited_by_keith "Maliangkay, Roald. "Supporting Our Boys: American Military Entertainment and Korean Pop Music in the 1950s and Early-1960s." In Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave, edited by Keith Howard, 21-33. Folkestone Global Oriental Folkestone, Kent, 2006. p. 21-23")
In 1957 the AFKN began to broadcast TV and films such as “Mambo”, “Rock Around the Clock”, and “The Americano”. These films also found their way into local cinemas and the cabaret mambo, bossa nova, and chachacha became a popular craze. Record companies responded to the craze by indicating on album covers which dances suited which songs on the album. Aside from swing jazz and cabaret, Koreans were also introduced to rock ‘n’ roll by the AFKN when “Rock Around the Clock” was broadcast though it was not nearly as popular as swing jazz and cabaret-related dance tacks.[^3](http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/wiki/history#wiki_maliangkay.2C_roald._.22supporting_our_boys.3A_american_military_entertainment_and_korean_pop_music_in_the_1950s_and_early-1960s..22_in_korean_pop_music.3A_riding_the_wave.2C_edited_by_keith "Maliangkay, Roald. "Supporting Our Boys: American Military Entertainment and Korean Pop Music in the 1950s and Early-1960s." In Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave, edited by Keith Howard, 21-33. Folkestone Global Oriental Folkestone, Kent, 2006. p. 23-24")
Korean singers began taking on western pop music styles. They began singing with a Western vibrato and began to utilize more diverse backing instruments and placed more emphasi on beat structures. Korean pop musician’s performing styles also changed drastically. Classic singers for Korean genres were known for their statue-like performance. They did not move around the stage. They would simply stand and sing. Western pop musicians moved around the stage and gave enthusiastic performances. Korean performers followed suit and began moving around on stage and gave livelier performances.[^4](http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/wiki/history#wiki_maliangkay.2C_roald._.22supporting_our_boys.3A_american_military_entertainment_and_korean_pop_music_in_the_1950s_and_early-1960s..22_in_korean_pop_music.3A_riding_the_wave.2C_edited_by_keith "Maliangkay, Roald. "Supporting Our Boys: American Military Entertainment and Korean Pop Music in the 1950s and Early-1960s." In Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave, edited by Keith Howard, 21-33. Folkestone Global Oriental Folkestone, Kent, 2006 p. 24") Korean singers who performed for the American military were able to explore diverse singing styles and they imitated Americans like Patti Page and Nat King Cole to please their homesick American audience.^5
These performers and the presence of Western music also influenced local musicians. Yang Huiun’s debut album included the song “Seven Daffodils” which is a song that was originally performed by American groups such as Brothers Four and The Shaw Brothers. Others adopted the melodies of English songs but continued to sing in Korean. Yang Pyongjip’s “The World” adapted the melody and singing style of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”. Korean female singer Yi Tonshil also imitated Bob Dylan. Her song “Rain Shower” was an adaptation of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”.^6
The exposure to new music and media opened up Koreans to new styles but the live shows that came as a result also play a major role. Live shows were organized at military clubs and camps in Seoul, Taegu, Pusan, P’yongt’aek, Tongduch’on and Munsan. The American United Service Organization (USO) started to organize live shows at military camps in 1956 and brought over American acts such as Al Jolson, Mickey Rooney, Errol Flynn, Danny Kaye, Marilyn Monroe, Debbie Reynolds, and Jayne Mansfield. During the Korean War there were a total of 126 entertainment units who, together, produced around 5,400 shows.^7
The USO was able to help fill some of the demand for entertainment by bringing over American acts but the demand for entertainment was much greater than the actual talent that was available in South Korea so the shows began recruiting local Koreans to perform western music for the troops. Koreans would audition in front of talent scouting Koreans and Americans who varied from managers of military clubs to members of live entertainment agencies such as Hwayang, Universal Songjin, Tongil, and Aju. It has been estimated that Americans spent something between $80,000 and $120,000 on Korean entertainers each month. Shin Joong Hyun, the pioneer of Korean rock music, started his career as a guitarist for the shows with a salary of 3,000 won. This salary increased to 24,000 won when he became one of the stars of the shows.[^8](http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/wiki/history#wiki_maliangkay.2C_roald._.22supporting_our_boys.3A_american_military_entertainment_and_korean_pop_music_in_the_1950s_and_early-1960s..22_in_korean_pop_music.3A_riding_the_wave.2C_edited_by_keith "Maliangkay, Roald. "Supporting Our Boys: American Military Entertainment and Korean Pop Music in the 1950s and Early-1960s." In Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave, edited by Keith Howard, 21-33. Folkestone Global Oriental Folkestone, Kent, 2006 p. 26")
The audition system was soon handed over to Koreans to partially manage. Entertainment agencies that specialized in supplying the US military camp shows with musicians were established and the Korean government made some of them official by 1958. The US military began to hire show troupes that were organized and managed by Korean entertainment agencies. Korean entertainment agencies were now finding and grooming talent for the US military shows.^9 After talent was found by these agencies they would then have another audition in front of U.S. military authorities who would then make the final decision on whether or not to hire the performers. Those that passed the auditions were graded either AA, A, B, or C and then were assigned to perform at the corresponding level of show. These auditions were held every three to six months. In order for the performers to stay in the business they had to continually improve their act and many performers tended to master as many styles as they could rather than stick to a single style. Styles they focused on were the music of the Beatles and Beach Boys for white GIs, country music for NCOs, and soul music such as the Temptations and James Brown at black clubs.^10
In the mid-1950s girl groups began to emerge and were modeled after the Andrews Sisters. These Korean all-girl groups did not play instruments and relied on their physical appearance. Such acts included: the Kim Sisters, the Lee Sisters, the Chong Sisters, and the Kimchi Kats. In the early 1960s all-male groups began popping up as well though they tended to play rock ‘n’ roll. These acts included: Add Four, the Key Boys, He 6, the Arirang Brothers, and the Johnny Brothers.^11
Korean radio stations began to embrace the western pop sensation in the 1960s. KBS launched a second pop program called “Rhythm Parade” following the success of its first program. In 1962 KBS2 also started “This Week’s Hit Parade” which was a weekly half hour show and was Korea’s first music chart. In September of 1963 the Donga Broadcasting Station (DBS) began and launched the successful “Top Tune Show”. In 1965, Cultural Broadcasting Company (MBC), CBS, and Tongyang Broadcasting Company (TBC) all started their own music programs. MBC started “Top Tune Parade”, CBS started “Ch’oe Kyongshik’s Tong 840” and TBC started “Music Telstar”. VUNC, in response to the hype, got Donga Radio’s Yu Yongok to host AFKN’s The First Show. KBS also had their own successful music show, “Show Show Show”.[^12](http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/wiki/history#wiki_maliangkay.2C_roald._.22supporting_our_boys.3A_american_military_entertainment_and_korean_pop_music_in_the_1950s_and_early-1960s..22_in_korean_pop_music.3A_riding_the_wave.2C_edited_by_keith "Maliangkay, Roald. "Supporting Our Boys: American Military Entertainment and Korean Pop Music in the 1950s and Early-1960s." In Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave, edited by Keith Howard, 21-33. Folkestone Global Oriental Folkestone, Kent, 2006 p. 30")
South Korea was also introduced to the twist in the 1960s. It quickly took off and swept across the country become an instant hit. Many Korean hit songs were written specifically for the twist. “The Man in the Yellow Shirt” sung by Han Myongsuk and “Our Girlfriend is Old and Unmarried” sung by Ch’oe Huijun, were both written and composed by Son Sogu in 1961. In 1966 “Lanky Mr Kim”, a song written specifically for the dance topped South Korean charts.^13
Music listening clubs started opening up throughout Seoul in the mid-1950s in order to share and exchange western pop music. They were run by record collections and some of them had so many records that local radio stations often borrowed records from them to play them on air. C’est si bon, the first music listening club, opened in 1953 along with another called Carnegie. More listening clubs began to pop up: Metro, La Scala, New World, The Scene, and Shibone. The clubs charged a 20 won entrance fee which allowed visitors to drink tea and listen to music for countless hours. The clubs also organized dance and amateur singing contests.[^14](http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/wiki/history#wiki_maliangkay.2C_roald._.22supporting_our_boys.3A_american_military_entertainment_and_korean_pop_music_in_the_1950s_and_early-1960s..22_in_korean_pop_music.3A_riding_the_wave.2C_edited_by_keith "Maliangkay, Roald. "Supporting Our Boys: American Military Entertainment and Korean Pop Music in the 1950s and Early-1960s." In Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave, edited by Keith Howard, 21-33. Folkestone Global Oriental Folkestone, Kent, 2006 p. 31")
In 1969, Yi Paekch’on, a former employee of KBS TV, organized the “Date with Petit Lee” show was primarily a show that was seeking new talent and to stage talented student singers. Well known singer-songwriters such as Son Ch’angshik, Yun Hyongju and Cho Yongnam all started out on the show. These shows were a stark contrast to the Eighth Army Shows, though, because not only was the audience Korean instead of American but there was a greater emphasis placed on the quality of the music. The new songs were written in Korean and as a result the lyrics were more important. Performers no longer relied solely on their appearances or knowledge of Western songs but began to take part in the song writing process by creating their own original Korean lyrics over Western styles.[^15](http://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/wiki/history#wiki_maliangkay.2C_roald._.22supporting_our_boys.3A_american_military_entertainment_and_korean_pop_music_in_the_1950s_and_early-1960s..22_in_korean_pop_music.3A_riding_the_wave.2C_edited_by_keith "Maliangkay, Roald. "Supporting Our Boys: American Military Entertainment and Korean Pop Music in the 1950s and Early-1960s." In Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave, edited by Keith Howard, 21-33. Folkestone Global Oriental Folkestone, Kent, 2006 p. 32")
Shin Joong Hyun, the previously mentioned pioneer of Korean rock music, is the perfect case of the influence that Western music had on Korean pop music and musicians. Shin recalls, “The AFKN quenched my thirst for music. I was instantly fascinated by jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, which brought me to my true passion and inner self.”^16 Shin performed the music he learned from the AFKN in front of American servicemen on the many stages of the U.S. military clubs until he eventually formed his own band, the Add Four.^17 The Add Four’s debut album was a financial failure, with record stores returning unsold companies en masse, but it does show the significant influence that Western music had on Korean musicians as it was the Korean’s first experimentation with rock music.^18 Han Myong-suk, who also rose to prominence by performing for American GIs (she was particularly famous for her impression of Doris Day singing “Que Sera Sera”), rose to national stardom with “The Boy in the Yellow Shirt” which was written by Son Sok-u. The particular style of the song featured a bluegrass style arrangement accompanied by a fiddle and held its roots in the genre of rural Americana.^19 This type of music rose to prominence and continued to dominant the Korean pop music scene until the 1980s. For this time the Korean pop music scene was characterized by Korean ballads with mellow sounds and emotional lyrics that were heavily influenced by the Western styles of easy listening and American folk music.^20
##The Korean Wave
In 1992 Seo Taiji and the Boys released the hit single “I Know”. This was the first Korean rap song and local music listeners who were fed up with the ballads loved it. Seo Taiji fans were so passionate that in 1995 when the Korean Broadcasting Ethics Committee ordered the lyrics of “Regret the Times” to be changed prior to public release that they protested. The protests were so extensive that they eventually led to the abolishment of the censorship system.^21 What made Seo Taiji and the Boys unique is that they creatively and successful adapted genres like rap, soul, rock ‘n’ roll, techno, punk, hardcore, and metal to invent a unique musical form. In “I Know” Seo Taiji “employs rap only during the verses, singing choruses in a pop style.” Today, almost all Korean groups have a dedicated rapper.^22
Other groups that followed Seo Taiji and the Boys also adapted rap and rap culture to their musical styles. These groups use English words and Western cultural markers and adopt specifically African American phrases in order to authenticate nonblack versions of rap music. Though, while Korean youth value black cultural aesthetics it is important to note that locally produced popular music is more popular than its U.S. counterpart. Korean youth are taking black culture and adopting it and employing it in their musical products.^22
Seo Taiji and the Boys also marked the beginning of the rise Korean popular music. Seo Taiji and the Boys’ first album “Yo! Tae Ji” topped the 500,000 sales mark in the first few months after its release. It was the fastest selling record since 1982.^23 By 2001 sales of domestic Korean pop acts outnumbered foreign albums by four to one and as of 2002 Korea became the second largest music market in Asia after Japan with $300 million album sales per year.^24 The domestic Korean music market is now dominated by Korean musicians. For the 2010 annual Gaon Chart (South Korea’s equivalent of the U.S. Billboard) “Bad Girl Good Girl” by the South Korean group Miss A had a warming index (Gaon’s combination of sales and streaming) of 805,177,964 compared to American B.o.B’s “Nothin` On You (Feat. Bruno Mars)” which had a warming index of 337,878,246.^25 The Gaon Chart’s 2012 monthly rating chart for January has “Lovey-Dovey” by South Korean group Funky Town at a warming index of 158,546,407 compared to American Jason Mraz’s “I Won`t Give Up” with a warming index of 40,856,755.^26 The February 2012 monthly chart has Koream Big Bang’s “Blue” at a warming index of 113,756,292 compared to the American Rachael Yamagata’s “Be Be Your Love” at 33,991,956.^27 The March 2012 monthly chart has Korean Big Bang’s “Fantastic Baby” at a warming index of 116,996,301 compared to the American Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” at 27,507,135.^28 The South Korean groups have consistently out sold and out ranked American and foreign artists in the South Korean market.
South Korean artists have also enjoyed success within Asia. South Korean pop sensation Boa ‘BoA’ Kwon’s album “Listen to my Heart” reached No. 1 on Japan’s single charts in 2002. BoA’s next album “Valenti” was ranked fifth in album sales in Japan for 2003. Her live recording of “Valenti” sold more than 1.2 million copies by January 2004. The albums “Listen to My Heart” and “Valenti” together have sold more than 2 million copies in Japan.^29 BoA received the golden artist award at the Best Hit Song Award in 2003 which was held in Osaka on November 29th. This marks her second win after she won the award in 2002. The Best Hit Song Award is a well known and respected music award in Japan with a history of 36 years.^30
The South Korean performer Rain also enjoyed widespread success in Asia. According to a report by JYP Entertainment (Rain’s agency) to the Korea Culture & Content Agency over 920,000 copies of Rain’s third album had been sold by 2005 in Japan: 100,000 copies in Japan, 500,000 copies in China, 50,000 copies in Hong Kong, 70,000 copies in Taiwan, 150,000 copies in Thailand, and 50,000 copies in Indonesia. Rain’s Asian tour, “Rainy Day” had 130,000 views from July to December in 2005: 12,000 people in Tokyo, 80,000 people in Oaska, 20,000 people in Budokan, 20,000 people in Hong Kong, and 40,000 people in Beijing.^31 Rain’s first solo concert in Japan in 2004, entitled “Rainy Day Japan”, was so popular that the tickets sold out 30 seconds after going on sale. Rain’s concerts in Taiwan were sold out as soon as the tickets were available. ^32
TVXQ, a two-member Korean boy band, also enjoyed success in Japan and topped Oricon charts (Japanese Billboard) in July 2011. More than 75,000 copies of TVXQ’s “Super Star” were sold in Japan the first day the album was released and nearly 50,000 copies were sold the very next day.^33 TVXQ topped the chart again in October 2011 with the release of “Tone”. It sold more than 205, 000 copies in the first week of release. At the same time the Korean girl group Kara also topped the chart with the release of “Bo Peep Bo Peep” which sold more than 50,000 copies to be the number one single. Oricon said that this was the first time Korean artists have dominated both album and single weekly charts since it began in January 1970. TVXQ is also the first foreign male artist to exceed 200,000 album sales in 11 years and four months since Bon Jovi’s “Crash” was released in May 2000.^34 By 2010, Kara had released 2 singles, five albums, and one DVD which earned them a total income of 1.3 billion yen.^35
Girls’ Generation, a nine member South Korean girl group, were also successful in Japan. Girls’ Generation debuted in Japan with the release of their first single “Genie” which climbed to the second spot on the Oricon charts in September 2010. Following their successful debut, Girls’ Generation released a total of two singles, six albums, and one DVD which came to a total income of 800 million yen.^36 When Girls’ Generation released their first Japanese original album in 2011 it sold 73,583 copies on the first day. Their tour “Girls’ Generation Arena Tour 2011” saw 160,000 fans in attendance across six Japanese cities. ^37
With South Korean artists success in Japan it comes to no surprise to hear that according to the 2010 content industry report by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea’s export of pop music increased by 90% from $16.5 million in 2008 to $31.3 million in 2009. Regionally, Japan was the largest importer of K-pop with K-pop export volume increasing by 93% to $21.6 million in 2009 from $11.2 million in 2008. Among the $31.3 million, 70% was sold to Japan followed by Southeast Asia with 21% and China with 8%.^38 According to an Oricon report, Korean musicians had 24.47 billion yen ($309.5 million) worth of sales for 2011. Kara came in 4th for biggest-selling artists of the year in Japan with 4.93 billion yen worth of sales, Girls’ Generation came in 5th with 4.05 billion yen, and TVXQ came in 9th with 2.66 billion yen.^39 South Korean musicians have not only dominated their own domestic music market but they have been having considerable success in all of Asia.
##References
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