The Daily British Life of Jenny Mac: Why I love Kpop

(DISCLAIMER: I apologize for the length....I'm just so passionate when I geek out. I've tried to be articulate. lol)

I get a lot of comments about my love of kpop -- mostly sneers and scoffing to be honest. I think it's worse now that 'kpop' has broken into American pop culture and people who think they know kpop only know 2 groups- BTS or Blackpink. So when I mention now a days that I love Kpop, people who have heard the unnecessary hype surrounding these two idol groups usually generates a sigh of disappointment for following such a ridiculous trend.

I have lived my life NOT following the crowd, so loving an obscure genre of Korean pop music since 2012 is not out of character for me. Let that sink in--2012. I've loved Kpop nearly as long as my marriage.

I started getting into Kpop after watching a youtube video reviewing the most notable kpop songs. I checked out some of the music videos for those songs and I was hooked. At the time I had just moved to the UK and in hindsight it's when I started to feel like I could be diagnosed with generalized Anxiety and Depression (but that's a subject for another time). The Kpop world was way too fascinating to let go and in a way I used it as a sort of escapism from my reality whenever I went into one of my low moods. I still do actually.

The Kpop world is fun, energetic, colorful, full of expression, theatrical, and intense. I'll never forget, one of the very first music videos I saw was for a song called 'Mama' by (my now favorite) group, E.X.O.

1. GROUP CONFIGURATIONS:

Part of the reason I fell so deep into my love of Exo were the concepts and configuration of the band. So, the configuration first....

Kpop, Jpop, Mpop groups...they have a broader goal in mind, of reaching a wider audience. This is why half of the music is peppered with other languages, most often English. Then they have tactical strategies for reaching more listeners.

For example, when EXO was first formed, the group had 12 members. They split into two sub-units: EXO-K (Korean), and EXO-M (Mandrian). The goal was to promote EXO-K in Korean, and EXO-M to the Chinese audience. The industry is manipulative AF but they can't be faulted for their marketing techniques.

2. THE CONCEPTS:
The Concepts for idol groups range from Aeygo(cute) to more sexy & serious tones. Generally Kpop tends to go on the cute, bubbly, colorful, innocent side of things, with upbeat catchy tunes that are very 90s girl band or boy band-esque. Then you have the just absolutely CRAZY, out of this world, bonkers concepts (aliens hailing from another planet, post-apocalyptic world, living dolls, cross dressing, etc) that are equally fun to delve into.

3. THE MUSIC:
Like I said, kpop is generally very 90s pop boy/girl band....but dialed up to 11. They are SO catchy, you will find yourself humming along to a song you've never heard before, because you've heard it once in the background somewhere ("Gangnam Style" anyone?). Just like the 90s era of American pop groups, the music can be upbeat and fun, a gritty/angsty/often hiphop vibe, or some sweet tender ballads.

Another reason why I like the music so much is that no matter how carefully constructed the industry is, there is A LOT of heart in the performances of this genre. The ballads make you yearn for romance. The upbeat tunes will pull you out of any slump and instantly put you in a fantastic positive mood. And the gritty/edgier tunes are really powerful and often contain a lot of rap lines in the midst of the song.

(One of my favorite raps is strangely enough by a member of BTS, Suga, although his solo ventures he goes by AgustD. In this rap below, the lyrics are about his struggle as an idol and how it basically fucked with his mental health.)

And one more thing, the vocals on these performers are intense. I know some of the male idols have REALLY high registers and can sing covers of soprano vocalists in their original key which is just awesome. There's also something to be said about idol groups who are so perfectly matched with one another that they bring harmonies so sweet it is literal music to your ears. Some of the best LIVE performances I've watched on youtube are from kpop idols because they train to be live 100% of the time, while carrying out heavy dance choreography.

4. THE CULTURE
Idol groups are a weird thing. There is a BIG desire for Korean youngsters to 'make it' as an idol. Basically, they can be recruited or auditioned as early as like 10 years old, go through YEARS of intensive 'idol training' and if they are good enough, they get matched with other trainees and put into an idol group to debut.

Once they become trainees they have to follow some CRAZY rules-- the usual loosing weight/dieting, following a strict training/practice regiment, being split up by gender (99% of idol groups are either all boys, or all girls. There are only 2 mixed gender groups/duos that I know of and they didn't last long). Idols are also, not allowed to date unless it was arranged by the record label, they can't be friends with any idols from a rival record company, they must live in dorms with their other 'band' mates & they aren't allowed to drink/smoke/go clubbing in order to maintain a squeaky clean image. Oh, not to mention most of their earnings go straight back into the company.

The Kpop industry is messed up and I kind of feel bad for perpetuating it's success, but it is so fascinating to me and part of that has to do with asian culture. Part of the reason why most kpop has that clean image is because it's a cultural thing to hang on to that innocence of youth. It's the opposite of American 'sex sells' attitude. You watch any Korean romantic drama and the main characters don't kiss until like the 20th episode, whereas most American TV shows have a reference to sex within the first 5 minutes of episode one. I love that, the coyness of it all and it translates into that overly cute and bubbly side to Kpop. Even the songs that are more on the 'sexy' side, when idols are interviewed about them it's hilarious to watch them panic about not saying anything dirty while still promoting their song.

5. THE DANCING
Kpop dances are choreographed dancing to the extreme. Everything from perfectly synchronized dancing, to elaborate staging choreography, not to mention some of the most intense dance moves that make your head go 'WTF just happpened?' in 0.5 seconds.

I have a few favorite kpop dancers that just exude emotion through their bodies when they're on stage. Kai from EXO is one of those to watch. He has a background in Ballet and although you wouldn't know it from the Sexy way he performs on stage, he is actually extremely self conscious and shy off stage:

Ten from NCT/WayV is also a favorite dancer of mine. This dance choreography that him and fellow idol WinWin did to Billie Eilish 'Lovely' is just simple and powerful. I've never been into sort of lyrical or contemporary dancing, but this is just beautiful:

BoA - she is on another level. One of the 1st kpop dancers that made mainstream kpop more choreography driven. I also love seeing female hiphop dancers because I cannot move like this and I wish I could:

6. THE MUSIC VIDEOS
Seriously, the music videos are theatrical masterpieces. Full realized concepts and they don't hold back. It's a production for sure. Costume, Hair, makeup, sets, choreography, voice overs, digital effects,... honestly no expense is spared in making kpop music videos. It's like watching a mini movie and they are so engaging to watch and visually stunning.

7. THE VISUALS
Basically....they're all so pretty. From cute, to sexy... I can't get enough of Korean idols.

Here are my favourite examples...
SAME GUY.... different styles. The Left picture of each is representing their 'cute' or softer side, and the right the more edgy, or sexy side. I love the dichotomy of Korean pop idols.

Above: Baekhyun of EXO & SuperM