K-pop: Culture and Travel Context

K-pop is one of the biggest symbols of South Korea's pop cultural export, as a part of Korean Wave. It has a large global fanbase, and lots of passionate fans travel to Korea from all over the world to support their favourite idols.

Social media is the most important when considering a K-pop tour. Almost all K-pop groups post their information. The most important point above all is time management, since each of the K-pop members' activities is different. You should also check general information on South Korea.

There are some discussions, even debates, about how to separate each generation among K-pop idols. This article will be distinguished by the Hallyu White Paper published by Korea Creative Content Agency, which is separated into four generations, and a new generation starts when a K-pop group surpass the achievement of the most popular K-pop group of the previous generation.

Modern K-pop can be traced back to 1992, when Seo Taiji and Boys (서태지와 아이들) debuted. South Korean music had been dominated by romantic ballads in 1980s, but and Seo Taiji and Boys' incorporation of hip hop elements into their music revolutionised the South Korean music industry. With the Korean government's support, the Korean cultural industry started growing in the 1990s, with the era described as the "first generation" of K-pop. Subsequently, SM Entertainment created the first K-pop idol group with the debut of H.O.T. in 1996. The success of H.O.T. then led to SM Entertainment forming the first K-pop female idol group S.E.S., which debuted in 1997. Other representative groups of the era are Sechs Kies, Fin.K.L and Shinhwa.

In the 2000s, more K-pop groups were established, while the K-pop groups from the first generation largely disbanded. Most will agree that the second generation started when Bigbang and Girls' Generation surpassed the first generation. The second generation continued growing in Korea, while also spreading to other Asian countries: TVXQ received commercial success upon its debut in Japan. Other powerhouse groups of the second generation are Super Junior, 2NE1, and Wonder Girls. Female soloist BoA also became the first Korean artist to achieve chart-topping success in Japan, often rivalling Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki for the top spot on the billboards. K-pop also had its first breakthrough in the West, with soloist Psy's Gangnam Style becoming the first Korean song to enter the charts in numerous Western countries, peaking at number 2 in the United States and topping the charts in several other countries like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. At the time, the Internet had dominated how the second generation acted: Fans started using the Internet and social networks to promote their favourite groups, and buying discs became the way to show their support when online music became popular.

The generations become vague between the second and the third, but most agree that the third generation started when BTS and Twice achieved commercial success. In the third generation, K-pop spread beyond Asia and gained mainstream popularity in the West, led by BTS and Blackpink: social media has become one of the main means K-pop members promote themselves, and singles keep being published. Other famous groups of the third generation include EXO, GOT7, Mamamoo, GFRIEND, Red Velvet, Winner, etc.

While many believe that K-pop is in the fourth generation, citing (G)I-DLE, NewJeans, or ZEROBASEONE as representative groups, no K-pop group has yet surpassed the third generation's achievements; it is therefore still dubious which generation K-pop is in now. Regardless, K-pop still continues to evolve every day.

While Korean is the obvious choice when you are following a K-pop group and even consider travelling to Korea. Some K-pop artistes can speak English, and in fact many are recruited from the Korean diaspora in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These days K-pop artistes are also recruited from other Asian countries like China, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand as well, so you may want to learn your favourite singer's native language such as Mandarin and Taiwanese for Tzuyu of Twice, Japanese for Sakura of Iz*One or Thai for Lisa of Blackpink.

Seoul: Most K-pop activities are located in Seoul, and there are many merchandise items sold in Seoul. Also, entertainment companies are in Seoul.

The Big Three refers to the three largest entertainment companies in Korea. They are SM, JYP, and YG, and dominate most of the K-pop groups. All of their headquarters are in Seoul.

This cultural overview is an excerpt of a community travel guide. Confirm current access, schedules and prices with the venue before planning a visit.

Source and licence

Text adapted from K-pop by Wikivoyage contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. This adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.