I’ve never really been a huge fan of K-Pop, but I have friends who are, and I have seen the level of hysteria surrounding some of these bands such as BTS. What I didn’t realize was the amount of training that these artists had to go through to even get to the point of debuting. Reading “Factory Girls” and watching the Blackpink documentary, I was blown away by the number of rules that these artists have to follow in order to reach where they are. It’s interesting to see that the things that seem to be completely normal for Western stars to do avoid – drinking, smoking, partying, getting tattoos – are the things that Korean stars are told to avoid. Whereas most K-pop artists are trained to maintain a squeaky-clean image to appeal to the public, the Western world seems to thrive on the not-so-clean public images of artists.

Hallyu or the “Korean Wave” was a coin termed to refer to the global craze surrounding Korean culture. When discussing K-Pop, I think the interest comes from the ability to merge Korean culture and tradition with Western elements. One of the main elements of K-Pop that makes it appeal to so many people on a global level is definitely the level of production of the music and the pure art of performance that they produce. The melodies are addictive and there is so much attention to detail when it comes to the choreography. K-Pop groups give the audience a true performance factor that seems to be missing with many Western artists. There seems to be a higher level of originality that Korean artists have because of how much training goes into their acts. Being able to study the market and what is selling and what is lacking while they go through the rigorous training process gives producers and managers the chance to mold these youngsters into whatever they want them to be. Social media also plays such a huge role in the global rise of K-Pop (and other forms of Korean entertainment). I was talking to a friend of mine about her interest in K-Pop and how she got into it and she told me that she had been a fan for a while but before social media, Korean artists didn’t really do well in the American market. It was only after social media became a big deal that a lot of artists were able to connect with fans and bring their acts over to this side of the world. K-Pop gives fans the full package when it comes to the music, down to physical copies of albums (which you rarely find now in the US).

Personally, I don’t listen to K-Pop, but I find the phenomenon to be so intriguing. I actually had the opportunity to see Blackpink on their world tour, and though I had never listened to them before, I could not pass up the opportunity to see what the hype was all about. I am a huge fan of live shows and I think it’s what helps fans connect to artists and their music. I was interested to see what the dynamic would look like between a foreign band and American fans. What I witnessed at the show really blew my mind. Reading through “Factory Girls,” I understood what the writer was talking about when he wrote, “But at its best, it elicited primal pop emotions that only a few of the greatest pop artists […] can evoke: the feeling of pure love.” I watched the way the girls connected with the audience in awe. It was amazing to see all of these people in the audience – many who most likely did not understand the words to these songs – singing along to the lyrics, dancing to the beats, and genuinely enjoying every moment. While I can’t say that I will listen to their music, after watching the documentary and reading the article, I definitely have the utmost respect for them and their journeys.