The K-Pop Influence
- Millie Thompson
- Apr 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 11
K-pop has become big in the West. With artists such as JENNIE and Rose trending on platforms like TikTok and reaching the Western charts, has this K-pop breakthrough influenced change within the Western music?
Choreography
Talking to some K-pop fans, they believe the main element of K-pop Western artists have adopted is their energetic choreographies, but music expert, Hussein Boon, isn’t completely convinced by this statement. He agrees that K-pop takes choreography to the next level, but this hasn't influenced Western artists to do choreography.
‘Dancing and moving are really synonymous with a lot of the entertainment values. ’
Hussein uses the example of Lady Gaga being an example of a Western artist using choreography in her music as she showcases a similar quality of choreography as K-pop.
This is embedded in the history of the music industry with Motown being the foundation of music and dance being in sync as it teaches artists how to carry themselves in every way possible.
So while K-pop is hugely known for its difficult choreography, the practice of Motown has been the foundation of the influence in the music industry, as it was the ‘factory idea.’
With artists such as Michael Jackson’s song Thriller showcasing group choreography before the breakthrough of K-pop in the West.
The factory idea of Motown created celebrities into pop stars, and the music expert puts an emphasis on artists such as Kylie Minogue. Within K-pop he mentions that J-pop was the precursor to the Korean genre. Choreography became one of those elements in the music industry that is standardised, and K-pop has just made it acceptable to have choreography again as it has ‘restablished what are actually enduring values.’
Industry differences
When asking about the main differences of the Western music industry and the Korean music industry, he mentions that the Korean industry still has this model of Motown, but the idols come into the business by auditioning for the company.
The idols from Korea are educated in everything as they undergo training and education to become a star for the company.
The Korean music industry already has a headstart with ‘good raw materials’ within the idol system as the companies ‘refine and develop’ to produce ‘a very sustainable music act.’
So the main difference is that Korea is able to create a more successful and sustainable music act compared to the Western industry as bands in the West ‘tend to have a lifespan of maybe two, maybe three years.’ With the example of One Direction being used as comparing this to a lifespan of a band from Korea it is a huge difference.
The idol process is not meant to be a short term experience and these companies create to cater for all and not just one group of people in order to ‘reengage with the traditional values.’
Doing the training has a goal of having the most successful launch and like said before to be sustainable as the companies need to invest in new artists through vocal training, dance training and everything else to be an idol.So these idols that come out of the training experience need to have a huge amount of profit for as long as they can in order to be successful.
For the West, these elements that educate idols are not there for Western artists with the music expert using Kesha as an example. As he explains, ‘Kesha’s contract is atrocious’ as there is a lack of education, as there is no one to mentor Western artists.
In this sense, the K-pop industry develops its artists a bit better, so from a Western perspective, he believes that the way the industry in Korea is made up should be something that Western labels need to take influence from. As these record labels have loose control over artists but these labels control the market.
However, the K-pop system is completely different, as he describes it as a 360 system, as everything is under a microscope for these idols to make sure they’re meeting the standards.
These companies set a bar for the idols to reach before moving onto the next step of their career which is the complete opposite for Western artists as labels expect their artists to know what to do.
So, K-pop has no influence over the Western industry, but with these idols being sustainable in the spotlight, there may be some influence for Western labels to change in order to combat the success of K-pop.
Will K-pop last?
As K-pop has risen to popularity so quickly in the West, there’s always this question of will it last?
When asking this question, it was an instant yes from the music expert as these Korean companies are continually making new talent and this will continue until the companies run out. This is almost impossible with new, young talent coming into the process.
While record labels are more about licensing than artist discovery. There is always new talent and fans coming into play and the elements of K-pop are rooted in the entertainment principles. With dance and music in each song having a particular quirk to it and these Korean companies will ‘continue to do the new’.
He then goes onto say ‘I kind of figure K-pop will be around for a good while longer’ with the example of genres such as Jazz as there is still an audience out there for K-pop so even if it becomes a sort of history it will always be there to discover.
So, K-pop hasn’t had a huge influence over Western artists as the West is so set in their ways, but this may change with fandoms becoming bigger in the genre and constant new talent coming into the West from Korea.
