K-Pop 101

어서 와 케이팝은 처음이지? (Welcome, new to K-Pop?*) K-Pop 101 started as a passion project to educate new and current K-Pop fans about the genre. For many, K-Pop is a mystery hidden behind flashy performances and a foreign language. On the surface, it may feel shallow as we’ve all come to expect in popular music. It’s pretty people singing pretty songs in pretty videos. But what keeps fans coming back? There isn’t a single answer. For some it’s the music, for some it’s the performance, for some it’s connecting with an artist that you relate to. According to the IFPI , South Korea was the #6 music market in the world in 2020. Understanding how Korea became the fastest growing music market and how they’ve done things differently is what kept me digging deeper and wanting to learn more. Ultimately, it’s the K-Pop fans that are driving the sales, engagement and spreading the message. But how do you grow the global fandom when the path to learn about K-Pop is literally and figuratively a new language? Give them a translator. *This is a reference to the opening of the BTS song “쩔어” (“Dope”), “어서 와 방탄은 처음이지” which roughly translates to “Welcome, first time with BTS?”