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K-pop (Korean: 케이팝; RR: Keipap; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. The music genre that the term is used to refer to colloquially emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians influenced by Western dance music, hip-hop, R&B and rock. Today, K-pop commonly refers to the musical output of teen idol acts, chiefly girl groups and boy bands, who emphasize visual appeal and performance. As a pop genre, K-pop is characterized by its melodic quality and cultural hybridity.
K-pop can trace its origins to "rap dance", a fusion of hip-hop, techno and rock popularized by the group Seo Taiji and Boys, whose experimentation helped to modernize South Korea's contemporary music scene in the early 1990s. Their popularity with teenagers led the music industry to focus on this demographic. Lee Soo-man of SM Entertainment, who developed the Korean idol system in the late 1990s, created H.O.T. and S.E.S., the "first generation" of K-pop. By the early 2000s, TVXQ and BoA had achieved success in Japan and gained traction for the genre overseas.
In the 2010s, the Korean Wave and social media drove the international popularity of K-pop. In 2019, South Korea ranked sixth among music markets, led by artists BTS and Blackpink. The next year, it grew a record 44.8%, making it the year's fastest-growing major market.
Despite heavy influence from American pop music, some have argued that K-pop is distinct in mood and energy. The "Koreanness" of K-pop has been debated in recent years, with an increasing share of Western songwriters, non-Korean artists, songs in English and marketing for a global audience. Some authors have called K-pop a new kind of "transnational culture" with "global dissemination".
K-pop is known for its tight managerial control. It has been criticized for its commercialism and treatment of artists. The industry is dominated by four companies: SM, YG, JYP and Hybe. In the 2020s, the genre has seen greater artist autonomy and companies producing music overseas; groups like JO1 and Katseye have resulted from this globalization.
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