Kpop

PSY’s Gangnam Style has now crossed 3.8 billion views on YouTube. This makes Gangnam Style the most-watched Kpop Video ever and it is not even close. This is saying a lot since Kpop has been growing in popularity for many years before Gangnam Style came out. Since YouTube’s launch back in 2005, YouTube has continued to grow. Now nearly 6 billion videos are watched each day with people uploading close to 400 hours of video to YouTube every minute. Kpop accounts for less than 1% of YouTube’s content. Yet it gets close to 5% of the views. Clearly, a lot of people, not just Koreans, watch Kpop music videos on YouTube. 

COVID-19 has caused SEOULSPACE to work from home and in order to combat the boredom of being locked down, we decided to download the once-popular app called FaceApp. It is a photo editing app that allows you to change the look of a person in terms of age, hair color, facial hair, and even gender. We decided to see how the members of BTS would look if they were born a woman. The results are pretty amazing. Turning BTS into women was easier than ever thanks to FaceApp. In addition, we took the time to poll the staff to see which female BTS member was the best looking. Therefore, the results are ranked from the hottest to the least hot. Do you agree? If you have recommendations for other Kpop boy groups, make your suggestions in the comments section. To get a full profile please check out Kprofiles!

EXO was formed back in 2011 and made its debut in 2012 under SM Entertainment. The group was divided into two groups (EXO-K and EXO-M) but promoted the same music. One group performed in China while the other group performed in South Korea. Therefore EXO songs are available in both Mandarin and Korean. By 2016, EXO was the biggest Kpop group in the world and gained the nickname of the Kings of Kpop. Their single “Monster” was able to hit #1 on the Billboard World Digital Songs Chart. In 2018, EXO performed at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. They began endorsing many brands such as Samsung, Nature Republic, and even had an endorsement deal with Star Wars.

The two “God Mothers” of Kpop girl groups come down to Fin.K.L. (1998) and S.E.S (1997).  Kpop Entertainment companies did a good job of training some of the top talents in Korea in both vocals and dancing before debuting the group. Kpop Girl Groups always had a disadvantage in the industry. Many looked and sounded the same, however, there were also many that went against tradition and really exploded on a global scale. Each Kpop Girl Group has its own style and story. Many have been able to take advantage of social media to really expand their audience and let fans into their personal lives. For example, Blackpink’s’ Lisa is the top Kpop Instagram influencer of all time, bigger than any Kpop star including the men. 

It is typical to see a Kpop music video reach 100 million views on YouTube in a matter of days. In the case of BTS’s Dynamite, they were able to do it in one day. How do they do it? How are Kpop videos on YouTube generating so many views so quickly? It is simple, their fans make it their goal to make sure their favorite Kpop grow gets the highest views possible. We are talking about hitting play on multiple devices, multiple browsers using a variety of VPNs. Western music fans don’t do this and it is only something you will for Kpop videos. This is what you call a very loyal and dedicated fan base.

If you have been to a Kpop concert in the past you will see a stadium lit up by fans holding up their lightsticks. Lightsticks are a must for Kpop fandoms and are an essential part of any Kpop concert-going experience. Groups incorporate fan participation using the lightsticks at the concerts. Therefore if you don't have one, good luck in trying to participate. Some of the best Kpop lightsticks have been upgraded from older models and now offer much more than LED lights. Some have BlueTooth capability, ultra-cool designs, and some have been designed by the group members themselves. Many have become collector's items and it is difficult to find them online because they sell out very quickly.