K-pop labels embrace diversity, taking on non-Korean talent and forming international groups to win global fans
- Major Korean labels are looking to increase K-pop’s 2 per cent share of global music sales and are creating non-Korean groups to appeal to a wider audience
- JYP Entertainment’s American girl group VCHA debuts this month, while SM Entertainment plans to launch a British boy group
By Dong Sun-hwa
What is K-pop? Given that the letter “K-” refers to “Korean”, people used to think that a song fell into the category of K-pop if it was mostly sung in Korean by singers who were trained and incubated by music labels based in Seoul.
But this is a thing of the past now. K-pop management companies these days are eyeing the international market by recruiting more foreign talent, believing they can appeal to the people of their own countries by closely interacting with them.
One of the most noteworthy cases is the girl group Blackswan, which is made up of Senegalese-Belgian Fatou, Brazilian-German Gabi, American NVee and Indian Sriya. It had Korean members when it debuted in 2020, but they all ended up leaving.
NiziU, an all-Japanese girl group produced by K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment, and Hori7on, consisting of seven Filipinos, are other examples of K-pop acts with no Korean members.
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The six-piece act, which consists of the winners of the audition programme The Debut: Dream Academy, will be based in the US, setting their sights on the international market before starting their careers in Korea.
“I have long wanted to foster talent from different countries using the K-pop methodology and produce a global group adopting the K-pop style,” Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk said during a press event in Los Angeles in August.
“The members of the new girl group will not forget to respect K-pop and Korea will become a crucial platform for their musical activities.”
On January 26, JYP Entertainment is poised to debut its American girl group VCHA. Created with New York-based Republic Records through the competition show A2K, VCHA is made up of Americans Lexi, Kendall, Savanna and KG, Korean-American Kaylee and Canadian Camila.
The advent of more globalised groups shows K-pop’s determination to gain further traction in the global pop industry, says Kim Jin-woo, head researcher at Circle Chart, which collects data to rank music releases.
“K-pop still has a weak market presence on the pop scene,” he says. K-pop labels account for less than 2 per cent of global music record and streaming sales, according to the Hybe chairman.
Kim adds: “K-pop labels are seeking to maximise their profits with a fresh approach. In the future, female K-pop acts may look more ‘Western’ like the Spice Girls from England, while the male groups attempt to walk in the footsteps of One Direction (to enhance their global presence).”
Lee Gyu-tag, a professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea, points out that K-pop is pursuing universality in music to broaden its horizons.
“It was evident in the case of BTS’ Jungkook, who dropped solo tracks like ‘Seven’ (2023) that were comparable to those of (Western) pop stars,” the professor says.
“BTS used to sing a lot in Korean and wrote lyrics mirroring Korean society, beckoning international fans with a unique Korean feel. But Jungkook took a different path this time, bringing universality to the fore instead of particularity.”
These latest developments hint that K-pop is evolving into a global music genre marked by its emphasis on choreography, music videos and blending of assorted sounds.
“Like hip-hop from the US that has become part of our own culture in the name of Korean hip-hop, K-pop may also permeate other cultures and take names such as ‘American K-pop’ or ‘European K-pop’,” Lee says.
However, as K-pop embraces diversity, the question as to whether it should ditch its “Korean elements” has arisen among industry insiders. Hybe’s Bang, a staunch advocate of this new direction, believes it will enable K-pop to reach a wider audience.
“K-pop needs to get rid of the ‘K-’ to go mainstream,” Bang told John Janick, chairman of Geffen Records, in a YouTube video released in August. He added that K-pop, which relies heavily on loyal fans in terms of sales, was facing challenges in its expansion.
But Lee is sceptical such a tactic will create a breakthrough for K-pop, considering that numerous fans have a penchant for its “Koreanness”.
“When it comes to Jungkook, he could make a splash because he had already branded himself as a K-pop singer, but this is not the case for other rookie singers.”
Bang’s strategy makes sense from a business perspective, but what’s more important for K-pop is to discover “new Koreanness”, Lee says.
“To draw more fans, K-pop should not repeat what it already did … So, the mission for K-pop companies is to explore other distinctive Korean elements that can enthral people.”
Kim says people should take note of K-pop’s falling sales in Southeast Asia and China. According to the Korea Customs Service, export sales of K-pop albums reached a new high of US$132.93 million in the first half of 2023, but sales in those regions have been declining in recent years.
“Maybe this is because K-pop songs targeting the Western pop market do not suit the tastes of the fans there,” Kim says.. “Or maybe they are now more interested in K-pop acts like StarBe, an all-Indonesian girl group, which they find more relatable.”
Kim expects the competition among K-pop groups and the more globalised acts to grow.
“They will go head to head with one another to clinch the top spots on global music charts such as Billboard,” Kim says. “We may soon witness the age of limitless competition.”
