K-pop, an abbreviation or short name to call Korean popular song (as known as kayo in Korean), is one of the most famous and popular music genres in the world right now which are founded and formed by Koreans. In my opinion, K-pop is the best music genre that exists in the world, as it has taken over the billboard chart and my Spotify playlists. Koreans are called 흥의 민족 which means a group of party people who enjoys singing and dancing for a long time. Since the past, maybe a long time ago before Gojoseon, which is the second half of the first millennium BCE, Koreans have enjoyed creating, performing, singing, and dancing. I think these genetic characteristics from Korean ancestors have been inherited into the current generations and it helped the prosperity of K-pop.
As time passed, since the early 21st century, entertainment companies to nurture K-pop idols or singers have been established. At first, idols also presented their performances to domestic audiences. Starting with the solo singer BoA’s foray into Japan in 2001, first-generation idols such as super junior, wonder girls, and TVXQ have spread to various countries and created entry bases for next-generation idols. Afterward, K-pop penetrated the global music market more deeply through second and third-generation idols; Lately, fourth-generation idols like NewJeans, LE SERAFIM, and Stray Kids contributed to developing K-pop culture.
The success of K-pop has brought significant economic benefits to Korea, as it has become a major export industry. K-pop groups and concerts have generated revenue from album sales, merchandise, and ticket sales, which contributes to the country's economy heavily. For example, “In 2022, HYBE’s revenue grew 41.6% to 1.78 trillion won ($1.41 billion at the Dec. 31, 2022 exchange rate)”.
In addition, K-pop has helped to promote Korean culture and has become a means of cultural exchange between Korea and other countries. The popularity of K-pop has led to increased interest in the Korean language, fashion, food, and even tourism. This leads Korea to be “successfully expanding into countries with greater cultural distances, challenging conventional wisdom”. Furthermore, K-pop has a diverse international fan base, which has helped to bridge cultural differences and bring people from different backgrounds together. K-pop fandoms often form online communities where fans can connect, regardless of their location.
Not only culturally and economically, but K-pop also has a positive effect in terms of welfare. K-pop idols are attracting fans with many charming points such as caring personalities, talents, and appearances. Fangirling and fanboying good-looking K-pop idols are helpful for our health. I know it sounds absurd, however, it is true. According to the research of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)’s department of Bio and Brain Engineering professor, Jae-Seung Jeong, the brain of a human is more actively flowing blood while looking at a favorite celebrity than looking at lovers.
In conclusion, the advantages of the prevalence of K-pop above is affected positively for the whole world, especially for Korea. Therefore, “The Korean government is also actively promoting Hallyu and K-pop, as though they constitute new export industries that could feed the entire nation in the twenty-first century.” Sometimes, I feel like the importance or value of K-pop is underestimated. Because some people consider and treat K-pop just as a performance of good-looking teenagers or young generation. Moreover, sometimes there are critical points of view who think K-pop accelerates lookism around the world. However, in many perspectives, I think K-pop should be more highly valued than now as a part of Korea's growth and as the world's unity.