The K-Pop formula of rap, catchy choruses and elaborate dances is as familiar as it is successful. Yet few outside Korea realize that the formula was first blended by one man 20 years ago.
Those looking for the roots of K-Pop in the 1980s won’t find much that’s familiar. The ballads and folk songs that dominated at the time had synthesizer backing, but aren’t recognizable as K-Pop.
Then came Seotaiji & Boys. The group did to Korean music what the Backstreet Boys would have done to the U.S., if they had Kurt Cobain and Tupac Shakur as frontmen. Seotaiji wasn’t necessarily the only artist to blend hip-hop, heavy metal and rock ballads, but he showed how big the blend could be. (He also addressed social issues in songs such as “Dreaming for Balhae”, “Class Idea” and “Come Back Home.”) “Your Fantasy” shows all the classic K-Pop ingredients in place in 1992.
From here, you can draw a line of influence from Seotaiji to H.O.T. and Sechs Kies in the late 1990s. From there via SES, Fin.K.L. and Shinhwa to today’s powerhouses of Super Junior, TVXQ, Big Bang, Wonder Girls, Girls’ Generation, 2NE1 and EXO.
If you want to explore more of K-Pop’s 1990s roots, check out Seotaiji’s recently launched channel, along with his solo, hardcore-guitar comeback in the 2000s.
By Sun Lee, Korea Head of Music Partnership, YouTube
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