K-pop – A Culture Technology

The cultural inheritance of K-pop is complex and kaleidoscopic: the blueprint of the K-pop paradigm has been inspired by the American Motown Model and its successful adaptation by the 1990s Japanese pop boy-band SMAP; K-pop possesses melodic movements that are embedded within Western pop, elements of folk, stripped-down rock, mellow alternative, vicious dubstep, hip-hop song-structures, a smidgen of rhythm and blues and house music, thus, the suffix “pop” does not quite encase the veritable diversity offered by the contemporary Korean popular music scene.

Scholar Jaeyoung Yang has stated that the global concoction of the Korean pop techniques with the stylisations of hip-hop vehemently appeals to the youth and the erstwhile rap-dance Korean groups such as Seo Taiji & Boys and Deux have popularised this cross-cultural fusion. Quintessential K-pop songs are built around an arrangement of a memorable hook, a slew of repeated harmonious variations or an eloquent rap verse and are sprinkled with simplistic English phrases few and far between, perhaps to ease the unacquainted into the song, just until the catchy chorus becomes indelible in their mind.

The state-funded industry of K-pop is discernably different from its counterparts around the world and the marketing strategies have been crafted to incorporate every art form: the release of new albums is preceded an array of “concept” films, photo-books, collectible photo-cards strategically placed within albums to boost sales and symbolism-laden teasers to encapsulate the aesthetic of the upcoming musical project and to build anticipation for it; the online platforms for the fandoms soon become abuzz with speculations and theories about themes of the forthcoming album.

Every artistic “comeback” is accompanied by a complete audio-visual overhaul and the construction of a new body of imagery that defines that particular era, comprised of a new set of songs, a potential concert-tour, fan-meetings, vibrant sartorial components, and an assortment of visual art, ranging from album covers to the ornate designs, props and effects associated with performance stages. The act of consuming music is no longer limited to listening and reflecting; the production values of K-pop mould the genre into something that is meant to be perceived, both visually and sonically, given the intricate storytelling through the cohesive choreographies for each song, unique makeup and fashion ensembles.

The most recognisable emblem of K-pop is that of an idol: a labyrinthine institution in itself. The core tenets of the idol system bear the traces of the Motown Model from the United States. Whilst being employed in the Henry Ford’s assembly line, African-American songwriter, Berry Gordy discovered the virtues of structuring the manufacturing process in a company like an assembly line and applied this theoretical proposition to his record label wherein each person is responsible for a specific part in the process that takes places repeatedly which makes them “specialise” in that particular type of task. Thus, Gordy crafted a methodical approach for an artist’s success wherein their musical output would be treated like a product undergoing the processes of the assembly line. Whilst the K-pop idol system initially adapted various elements from the Motown model to a significant degree, it is now a unique, transcultural institution in itself.

The discourses around the idol-trainee or the “academy” system, as it is known in local parlance, associate it with a “factory,” owing to the intensive periods of training that the idolaspirants undergo and how only a handful of groups attain the opportunity to officially debut and showcase their art. The K-pop idol trainees work through arduous, long-drawn years of preparation after passing their auditions for entertainment companies to develop performance skills, ranging from enhancing their vocal range to perfecting complex choreographies. The K- pop production system possesses in-house equipment for the creation of music, artist management and promotions. Each idol-group possesses different positions that dictate their role within the K-pop collective: there is a leader, a visual, lead rappers, sub-rappers, main vocalists, lead vocalists, main-dancers and playful maknaes (the youngest amongst the group, a position of privilege).

Much like the assembly-line model of production, the songs of idol-groups are divided into fragments that complement the vocal flairs of the various members: the rap-centric parts are assigned to the main rapper, the strongest vocalist gets to sing the main chorus and the arrangement of the song is also meant to highlight the synchronised choreography of the group.

The formation of the alternative-metal and hip-hop group, Seo Taiji & Boys for a television talent show in 1992 and their short-lived yet, impactful career foreshadowed the emergence of the idol system. The alt-rock collective amalgamated English lyrics with sociallyconscious verses through their experimental music.

Lee Soo-man, a music producer, founded the SM entertainment company that manufactured the first K-pop boy-band H.O.T. (High Five of Teenagers) in 1996 and the eventual establishment of the nearly oligopolistic framework of the “Big Three” record labels and artist management agencies (SM, YG and JYP) involved in churning out formulaic, all-singing and all-dancing idol groups that came to dominate the sphere of music soon after. In 1998, Lee expanded his focus to include more Asian countries within the musical ambit of Kpop.

Alongside Korean, the idols were also trained to sing in Japanese and Mandarin and the process of song-production adhered to a manual of “cultural technology” that meticulously worked towards the pan-Asian dissemination of K-pop, entailing instructions about songcomposition, choreography, methods of videography and styling. Post the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the state-supported digital economy thrived and with the decline in physical sales of albums in the mid-2000s, a “spin-off” market was created for the digital distribution of music. The heavily tech-based digital sphere of music is fraught with competition and thus, only a handful of record labels could develop blossoming idol-systems, thereby monopolising the mainstream arena of K- pop and determining the fate of the K-pop trainees awaiting their official debut stage performance.

Lee Soo-Man has also attempted to attain “perfect localisation,” for K-pop, through the formation of the K-pop group EXO in 2012 with two subunits: Korean-speaking members who make up EXO-K and Mandarin-speaking members who were known as EXO-M; both the collectives released music simultaneously in their respective countries and languages and many of their popular songs have both Korean and Mandarin renditions. Whilst the distinction between

these two subgroups faded over time with the departure of three of the Chinese members, Lee was successful in establishing the cross-cultural appeal of EXO’s music and this initiative cemented the methodical approach of his “cultural technology,” that was still firmly rooted in the Korean music landscape, despite the multicultural orientation of the artistic endeavours.

Contemporary Korean popular culture scholars note that K-pop idols are utilised as “commodities” by their labels and as a source of multi-purpose content that possesses scope beyond music streaming and physical album sales. Apart from their conventional singing and dancing roles, the idols also participate in variety shows and sporadic stage performances catered for television broadcasting, act as radio hosts or even star in K-dramas.