KPOP 101
Syllabus
Understand the K-pop roles, themes, promotions and fandoms
Examining similarities and differences between K-Pop and Western Pop
Build a foundation to prepare for the discussion about success in the music industry
Learning about K-pop is like taking a class about a foreign culture.
In my opinion, the best way to explain K-pop is that it’s pop music in the Korean language. However, K-pop emphasizes not only singing but also dancing and rapping. Most songs will have a mixture of all of these elements.
K-pop is a little bit more formulaic, especially since each person in the group has assigned roles. As you'll see below in the first module, members can have multiple roles which are based on their skill level. The main position is occupied by the member(s) with the best talent in the area. This module should contain enough information for you to understand how a K-pop group functions for further discussion.
K-Pop Roles
Characteristic Roles
In most K-pop groups there is a leader who is often responsible for being the spokesperson and/or representative for the group. They are "the glue" that holds the group together. Think about in a group project, the leader is the one that directs the project and presents the information to the class.
For example, BTS RM was chosen through the company to become the leader of BTS. He self-taught himself English and is the group's spokesperson in Korea and internationally.
Companies sometimes place the role of the leader on the member with the most experience in the group. For example, Twice's Jihyo trained for about 10 years before becoming an idol. Since she has so much experience and training, it does make sense to give the title to someone who knows the industry much better than her fellow members. In the gif below, she's doing a head count of all 9 members of Twice to make sure they are all together and safe.
Another possibility is choosing the eldest member. They've probably had the most experience living through life generally. Think about when you want to ask advice about classes -- you probably ask people who have taken the class before. Additionally, I think part of the reason why the eldest member is chosen is the hierarchical system in Korea. Respecting those who are older than you is built within the system.
A group that does not have an official leader is the girl group Blackpink. All of the members of Blackpink are very strong individuals on their own (they all have formed their own companies this year!), so I think sometimes not having a leader is not a detriment.
The role of the leader is very important because they are the anchors. When bad things happen to the group, they are the ones that the members look up to. Sometimes leaders struggle themselves, hiding their own feelings so they don't feel like a burden. They're the therapist friend. Because leaders also represent the group, the company/the public blame them first when things go wrong. Members that unwillingly become leaders (automatically by age for example) may have to put up a fake persona to lead the group.
I would argue that leaders play a part in a group's success, but does not determine success. Blackpink is quite successful with millions and billions of fans and selling tons of their music. However, I do think having a strong support system keeps a group from disbanding.
When I first got into K-pop, I was surprised to see that the youngest of the group has a title. I hypothesize that maknaes are responsible for being the cute and silly members of the group. People often like the "savage maknae" or the maknaes who are mischievous and play jokes on the older members. They bring a bit of comedic relief and is someone the elder members take care of.
While there is only one maknae in the group, K-pop groups can have a "maknae line." The line contains the two or three youngest members in the group. Each group may have a different number of members in their maknae line.
The maknae can be important for increasing their group's exposure to different audiences. Since part of their job description is to be cute and funny, they can easily go viral through memes and social media videos (that's not to say that other members can't be funny too!).
I think maknaes have the potential to blow up a group towards a different audience and could be a factor contributing to the success of a group. BTS Jungkook went viral for being the "golden maknae," as he's known to be talented in other fields like athletics in addition to his musical talents.
I'm curious if anyone has trouble distinguishing between different members of the group.
Well, I most certainly have.
In my introduction, I revealed that I had the most difficult time distinguishing between the BTS members when I was first introduced to them. You've probably also been confused at the very first picture of this course, thinking that it'll be impossible to distinguish between members in the group.
Korea has specific standards called the Korean Beauty Standards (KBS) that the whole nation tries to follow. Youth often receive money to get plastic surgery as a graduation gift --- that's how commonplace plastic surgery is in South Korea. Some K-pop idols are considered the epitome of KBS, and people request to get plastic surgery to look just like these idols.
In the K-pop training selection process, visuals are highly valued and can certainly make or break groups and idols. When Gfriend Umji first debuted, she was deemed the ugliest member of her group. Key word searches on Naver (the South Korean Google) would associate her name with words "ugly" and "busted face." Umji was seen to have decreased confidence on stage, hiding her face with her hair.
Conversely, not fitting the KBS could also boost certain idols' popularities but at the expense of their mental health. Mamamoo Hwasa was often criticized for her appearance and outfit choices, with people more focused on how she looks rather than her performances. She has mentioned being upset by comments but chose to make her mission to change the standards of beauty in the industry. Her IDGAF attitude and response that she'll change the idol industry's standards of beauty is admired by fans.
The visual's role are similar to the maknae's role in the group, often attracting attention from the crowd but due to their appearance. When I first started stanning Red Velvet, Irene was also one of the members that caught my attention because of how pretty she is. She often went viral for her face, causing other idols to be also immersed in her beauty.
Visuals do play a big role in a group's success, sometimes even outshining a group's talent. Since South Korea emphasizes physical features, members who are considered the least attractive in the group are often not the popular members. That doesn't mean that unattractive groups can't succeed. Visual groups have a foot in the door, whereas more unattractive groups need talent and good music for their success.
Twice Jihyo (bottom left) doing a head count of Twice Members (they have 9 people in total).
Red Velvet Irene (left) and Seventeen S.Coups (right) are both the eldest members and the leaders of their respective groups.
The Maknae
Apink's leader Chorong talking about how she often listens to the other members' worries and puts aside her own feelings.
Red Velvet's maknae Yeri (left) and Joy (right) making fun of the older members during a game. They form the "maknae line" in Red Velvet.
Red Velvet's maknae Yeri going viral for her headphone meme (left). The video on X/Twitter has more views than some of Red Velvet's music videos on YouTube.
Rapper Iggy Azalea using Red Velvet Yeri's photo has a retort against a Twitter user (right).
The Visual
The Korean Beauty Standard depicted through Red Velvet Irene and ASTRO Cha Eun Woo.
Gfriend Umji seemingly hiding her face during a performance. This was after hate comments about her appearance were posted.
Other idols shocked at Red Velvet Irene's visuals at award shows.
For context in the last clip: Red Velvet went to North Korea to perform as part of a cultural diplomacy event.
Hwasa's song I Love My Body with the message of loving how she looks.
"I love my body and my hair be so shiny
Head to toe be my body (Yeah, that's my body)
Yeah, that's my body, check out my lovely tummy
My arms, my legs so unique (Yeah, that's my body)"
Whether I lost weight or not, what’s it to you?
It’s no longer good to see you
Pointless greetings for who (Yeah, yeah)
'Cause my body's more than that
Don’t be talking smack, hating on me like
I’m worth so much more than that (Na-na-na-na, na)
The Leader
Technical Roles
Now that we've talked about some more characteristic roles in K-pop, let's move into what I consider are roles that are based more on talent and skill.
In K-pop groups, there are members responsible for singing, dancing, and rapping. Members who are the most skilled in those areas are called the "main" vocalist, dancer, or rapper. The second best in singing, dancing, or rapping is called the "lead" vocalist, dancer, or rapper. If a group has a large number of people (e.g., male group EXO has 9 members), sometimes multiple members can take on the role of main or lead vocalist, dancer, or rapper.
Vocalists
I think vocalists are very important in K-pop for those who mostly listen to music and not keep up with performances. When I'm walking to class, I pop in my earbuds and listen to my most recently added songs, including many K-pop songs. I'm quite focused on how they sound rather than how they appear.
The main vocalist usually gets the most lines and/or the most challenging lines in the song. They are also responsible for ad-libs which are short, spontaneous vocal melodies that are added on top of the main melody (think about Nicole Scherzinger in the Pussycat Dolls and how she often took most of the vocally challenging lines in the song). EXO Baekhyun is an example of a phenomenal main vocalist who is able to sing extremely high notes and show emotion through his voice. Bambi and Cry for Love are some songs where Baekhyun can show off his vocal prowess. The lead vocalist usually leads the chorus, meaning that their voice stands out the most when all members sing the chorus.
EXO Baekhyun's solo song Bambi (2021).
Another well known main vocalist is Blackpink Rosé. She is known to have a very unique voice. So, in addition to being the best singer in the band, she also stands out in terms of her vocal tone. Just like Baekhyun, she had released some solo music outside of the group. In her song On the Ground, she also showcases amazing high notes.
Blackpink Rosé's solo song On the Ground (2021).
Dancers
Technically, all K-pop idols must know how to dance as almost every single K-pop song has accompanying choreography (there are a few exceptions such that the concept of the group is heavily focused on vocals such as Mamamoo and Day6). Dancers mostly stand out during performances on shows.
Most groups have at least one main dancer who has the greatest dancing skills followed by at least one lead dancer who is considered the second best in the group. Those who are not main and lead dancers are considered sub-dancers. Some examples of famous main dancers in K-pop are BTS's J-Hope, Twice's Momo, and Shinee's Taemin.
Main dancers can also perform solo parts called dance breaks such as Twice’s Momo in their song Likey (linked to the dance break!).
Compilation of Twice Momo's dance breaks in Twice's songs.
Rappers
The rappers of the group are responsible for the rapping parts of the song. Rapping in K-pop is very similar to Western rapping in terms of a focus on flow and rhymes. However, sometimes rapping in K-pop is just singing but faster with a slight lilt or emphasis on certain words. In fact, most idol rappers just do "rap talking" because groups that don’t have a trained rapper tend to assign their weaker vocalists as rappers. They have a similar system of assigning members the main, lead and sub rappers based on skill. Sometimes rappers are involved in writing and performing their own lyrics.
Some well known rappers in K-pop are (G)I-DLE Soyeon and BTS Suga. In fact, the BTS rappers are known to be one of the best rap lines in K-pop.
(G)I-DLE Soyeon (left) and BTS Suga (right).
Promotion
Starting off this section, I need to disclose what the typical promotion schedule for K-pop groups are. I will be using aespa, one of my favorite groups, as an example throughout this section. Typically, when a group prepares for the release of a new song and album, the press reports on this release. The company will usually confirm the press release, adding more details such as what type of album will be released.
Somewhere between the release date and the news, K-pop groups will begin to drop teasers through videos and pictures on social media. Their Instagram and Twitter account (usually these two platforms, but not restricted to them) will start with a post of a calendar with the type of promotional material released on a specific day and a sneak peak of what the theme of the album will be. Leading up to the release day, there will be more photos of the K-pop idols posed and dressed up to fit the theme of the album. There will be links to where fans can pre-order the album ahead of time.
The use of Twitter/X to promote aespa's upcoming album Armaggedon. The left is a tweet with the album pre-order links. The right is a tweet with a teaser video for Armaggedon.
The days before the song/album release, there will be a music video preview, song description snippets, and a date/time for a “countdown live.” The K-pop group will be on livestream hours before the release of the album to raise hype about the album. Then the music video will drop along with the album. Quite a lot of build up for each comeback!
Aespa's countdown live for their latest album Drama.
Well it doesn’t really end there. For at least 2 weeks, K-pop groups will go on shows to perform and hopefully win an award. There are a few different shows such as Inkigayo, The Show, Show Champion, M Countdown, Music Bank, etc. All of these shows have their own day during the week. K-pop idols are performing constantly! With the rise of TikTok, K-pop idols now collaborate with other idols to promote their songs by dancing a snippet to each other’s songs, hopefully creating a viral trend.
Aespa's performance of Drama on MusicCore, one of many competition shows that idols perform at (left).
Behind the scenes of collaborations with other artists in promoting the Drama challenge (right).
Beyond performances, K-pop idols also do fancalls and fanmeets with fans. A fan would have a chance to win a fan call/fanmeet through buying albums. The fan would have a limited amount of time to talk about various topics with their idols. Additionally, messaging apps such as Lysn, WeVerse allow for K-pop idols to chat with their fans. I feel that the accessibility of these apps likely contributes to stronger connections between the idol and fan, but there is a potential of fueling a toxic parasocial relationship. There are people who buy tons of albums in hopes of winning a fan call and then discard these albums in the trash. Some people join fan calls and ask inappropriate questions.