The 10 biggest K-pop stories of 2019: from BTS success to Sulli and Goo Hara deaths to Burning Sun scandal
- The year of 2019 will be known as one of extremes, as the global dominance of BTS was tempered by the deaths of singers Sulli and Goo Hara
- Scandals surrounding the Burning Sun nightclub and vote-rigging in the Produce 101 TV talent series tarnished K-pop’s image
By Jung Hae-myoung
Like any year, 2019 was full of good and bad news. But when it came to K-pop, the gap between the two extremes was wider than ever before.
A vote-rigging scandal involving a music competition show cast a shadow over the scene, but a surprising revival of the “trot” sound defied the stereotype that Korean music is all about K-pop. Here are the 10 biggest K-pop stories of the year.
The dominant issue in K-pop this year was the Burning Sun scandal, which broke in November 2018 and reverberated throughout all of 2019. The Burning Sun nightclub in southern Seoul, co-owned by BigBang member Seungri, was linked to various crimes: illegal drug use, sexual assault and secretly recorded sex videos. The investigation uncovered a chat room where the sex videos were being shared by members including singer Jung Joon-young, Choi Jong-hoon from K-pop boy band FT Island and a manager of Burning Sun. A court recently sentenced Jung to seven years in prison and Choi to five years.
It is hard to discuss 2019 without mentioning BTS, who again swept various music awards and grew in popularity all over the world. The group released their latest album, Map of the Soul: Persona, on April 21. Among the tracks was Boy With Luv, a collaboration with US pop singer Halsey.
They successfully wrapped up a world tour which started in Los Angeles and saw them perform in iconic venues such as Wembley Stadium in the UK, making them the first Korean entertainers to perform there.
BTS became a sensation in Saudi Arabia, where they were the first foreign group to hold a solo stadium show. The group also won three prizes at the 2019 American Music Awards.
3. Vote-rigging scandal
The Mnet’s series Produce 101 is a programme where musicians/singers audition and viewers are encouraged to vote for their favourite contestants from various management agencies.
However, show producer Ahn Joon-young and chief producer Kim Yong-beom were arrested for manipulating the votes in the final stage, which overturned the fates of 11 winning contestants.
Ahn admitted rigging the show and taking bribes from three management agencies in return for manipulating vote results.
The vote-rigging outraged groups who formed through relations built over the course of the show’s filming. Iz*One and X1, groups from season three and four, cancelled their schedules after the scandal broke.
4. K-pop artists rise overseas
The global popularity of BTS has helped boost other K-pop groups as well. In the past it was rare for K-pop groups to appear on American television, but now more groups are choosing the US as the main stage to begin their careers.
For example, newcomers SuperM are made up of popular members from SM Entertainment groups including Shinee, Exo and NCT 127. Super M made it into the Billboard 200 list for five consecutive weeks. They also appeared on NBC’s The Ellen Show. K-pop girl group BlackPink also appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, while NCT 127 appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America in April.
5. Trot music boom
Trot is an old-fashioned music genre influenced by the Japanese enka sound and found its way to Korea during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation.
The sound was ignored by young people for many years, but returned to the limelight thanks to the
TV Chosun music competition show Miss Trot. Winner Song Ga-in became one of the highest in-demand singers on TV and several other contestants also saw their careers take off, thanks to the popularity of the programme.
This year saw a string of celebrity suicides.
Singer Woo Hye-mi, who appeared on season two of music audition programme Voice Korea, was found dead in her home on September 21. Sulli, a 25-year-old K-pop star who was formerly a member of K-pop idol group f(x), was also found dead in her home on October 14.
Less than two months later, Sulli’s closest friend Goo Hara, a member of idol group Kara, was found dead in her home on November 24.
7. Yoo Seung-jun closer to coming home
Korean-American singer Yoo Seung-jun received permission to visit South Korea again after renouncing his Korean citizenship. The Supreme Court ruled on November 15 that “it is against the law to decline issuing a visa for Yoo.”
Yoo made his debut in 1997 and became one of the most popular dance singers of his time. But his career hit a slump after he renounced his Korean nationality in favour of US citizenship and flip-flopped on his position about mandatory military service.
Initially he said he would join the army in 2002, but with the cancellation of his Korean citizenship, he was no longer under obligation to do so. This resulted in a backlash from the Korean public, resulting in him being banned from entering Korea.
8, Musical diversity
The “ballad” genre had a stronger presence on the charts than in previous years.
According to Gaon Music Chart, 47 out of 100 top songs list this year were ballads, and the top ballad was British singer-songwriter Anne-Marie’s 2002.
However, some ballad singers were accused of illegally manipulating streaming charts with the aid of brokers, leading to questions over the credibility of online music charts.
9. Kim Gun-mo scandal
Towards the end of the year, singer Kim Kun-mo was caught up in a scandal that included allegations of rape.
Kim rose to stardom in 1995 when he released his third album Wrongful Fate. He returned to the spotlight through a television reality show on SBS, and recently became engaged to pianist Jang Ji-yeon.
However, a woman accused Kim of raping her three years ago and a manager accused him of assault. Kim denied the allegations and filed a countersuit against the woman accusing him of rape.
10. Indie music boom
Indie musicians such as Jannabi, Car, the Garden and Jung Jae-won started to break through into the mainstream this year.
In particular, Jannabi’s For Lovers Who Hesitate became one of the most loved songs this year, still appearing in the streaming charts eight months after it was first released.
Singer-songwriter Car, the Garden earned popularity through the TV programmes The Fan and Hidden Singer on MBC. Jung also showed up on Hidden Singer, Immortal Songs and season three of JTBC’s Begin Again.
Although Jannabi lost a member, the group sold out two consecutive concerts in Seoul and won a “top 10” award at the Melon Music Award 2019.
