26
K-Pop Beyond Asia
Chapter 2. The 100-Year History of Korean Pop Music
27
brought in to entertain Korean troops stationed in Vietnam, much the same
The 1980s marks the end of the second period
as Korean performers had entertained US Army troops through the Eighth US
of Korean pop music’s reach overseas. With
Army Show. Although Koreans had been the main performers in the shows
Korea’s hosting of the 1988 Olympic Games,
for US troops stationed in Korea, it was Koreans, not the Vietnamese, who
an international event of unprecedented
actively performed for Korean troops stationed in Vietnam. The geographical
scale for the country, the basis for the rise of
proximity of the two countries and the economic situation of Korea at the time
modern K-pop after the 1990s was set. From
are likely reasons for this. The shows held in Vietnam were so popular that
1981, when Korea was first announced as the
most famous Korean singers in the late 1960s participated in them. As a result,
host country, Korea was fully focused on its
their remarkable performances spread beyond Vietnam, expanding into other
preparations for the Games. The Olympics
Southeast Asian countries. This was when the phrase “Just back from the show
inspired Koreans to take on a more global
in Southeast Asia” became common in Korea. However, with the US Army’s withdrawal from Vietnam, the activities of Korean performers in Southeast
outlook. Moreover, it played an important
1
role in raising Korea’s international status
Asian markets lost momentum. It wasn’t until the recent emergence of K-pop
and promoting Korean culture. At this time, Koreans began to embrace foreign
that Korean pop music again became popular in Southeast Asian markets.
cultures more rapidly than they ever had before, bringing greater diversity to Korean culture and allowing it to extend its reach overseas. Since the 1990s, the K-pop that we know today has been targeting teenagers. However, it was
2-5 Stepping Stone of Korean Pop Music’s Overseas Expansion In the 1970s, although it was a rather isolated incident, there was one case
in the mid-1980s when people started to become aware of the power of the young generation, paving the way for the growth of dance music. Cho Yongpil and Gye Eunsuk were important Korean musicians who were active overseas in the 1980s, and they, and other Korean artists at the time, set the stage for the emergence of modern K-pop.
in which Korean pop music was featured beyond Korea’s borders. That was in Japan at the 1970 International Music Festival, a concert series that gained popularity around the world, with the performance of the song “The Fog,” which received very favorable reviews. Even though only a few Korean musicians performed rather typical Korean pop songs, it showed that Korean pop music had the potential to succeed in markets beyond Asia, the US, and Western Europe. Japan, Greece, and Chile were the main host countries of the International Music Festivals, with Korea later becoming a host country as well. Though the music festival contributed to improving the outlook for Korean pop music, the event was plagued with problems as it was organized by a Korean government that was considered illegitimate and was struggling to suppress public dissent at the time. This was also the case for the festivals organized in Greece and Chile as well.
1 Cho Yongpil