I agree and disagree with this article [mostly disagree]. If I wrote a list of the number a bands in Korea that are under the age of 20... this would be a very long post.What Lim Jin-mo is saying does have some truth in it, but as a whole, what he is really doing is just complaining about change.
Example of "Idol Groups":
Kara
Gyuri (21), Seungyeon (21), Nicole (18), Hara (19), Jiyoung (16)
Debut: 2007
Shinee
Jinki (20), Jonghyun (19), Kibeom (18), Minho (18), Taemin (16)
Jinki (20), Jonghyun (19), Kibeom (18), Minho (18), Taemin (16)
Debut: 2008
f(x)
Victoria (23), Amber (17), Sulli (15), Luna (16), Krystal (15)
Victoria (23), Amber (17), Sulli (15), Luna (16), Krystal (15)
Debut: 2009
DBSK (TVXQ)
Yoocheon (23), Junsu (23), Yunho (24), Jaejoong (24), Changmin (21)
Debut: 2003
these artists above are merely one drop, in the pool of artists that the Korean music industry has in it's stock...
Before I even think about continuing I guess I should explain what "Hallyu" actually is. Really the article title kind of contridicts itself, because Hallyu refers to the significantly increased popularity of South Korean culture around the world since the 21st century, and idol groups are one of the central causes of this increase, along with film and drama series.
Now that that's clear, time to continue:
As you can see from the examples given of "Idol Groups", there have been alot of very young artists rising in the last 10 years, and those are just a few. Many groups have debuted just recently for example f(x) and also a boyband BEAST and also another girlband 4 Minute.
This increase in musical groups shows that "Hallyu" is clearly becoming very popular, all over the world, but are the groups going to cause the downfall?
Example of "Hallyu" music : Beast - Bad Girl (October 14, 2009)
and MBLAQ - Oh Yeah (October 9, 2009)
Now, the more I think about it, the more this guy just sounds like an aging man who doesn't want to let go of the old musical age of the 80's.
Yet he does touch on some issues that are quite true. For example the age of these artists. Some of the artists were only fourteen when they were put into three-four years of vigourous training at one of the numerous entertainment industries. The best example of this is BoA, she was given a contract by SM Entertainment and began training at the age of just 11, she then debuted at age 13. She's now been singing for 10 years, pretty much half of her life.
But when he says stuff like:
He then goes ahead and says:
How can he really say this, when he is actually doing the exact same thing as the media, except he is going for the other side. It seems he hates all hip-hop new age music, whilst the media is all for it.
Lim describes the music as
Lim is grouping all new age music together as horrible money making music.
Also him saying that all new age music is not true, there are quite alot of new age indie rock bands and rock bands.
For example, CNBlue, a new age indie rock band debuted either late last year or early this year with this song:
Now that that's clear, time to continue:
As you can see from the examples given of "Idol Groups", there have been alot of very young artists rising in the last 10 years, and those are just a few. Many groups have debuted just recently for example f(x) and also a boyband BEAST and also another girlband 4 Minute.
This increase in musical groups shows that "Hallyu" is clearly becoming very popular, all over the world, but are the groups going to cause the downfall?
Example of "Hallyu" music : Beast - Bad Girl (October 14, 2009)
and MBLAQ - Oh Yeah (October 9, 2009)
Now, the more I think about it, the more this guy just sounds like an aging man who doesn't want to let go of the old musical age of the 80's.
Yet he does touch on some issues that are quite true. For example the age of these artists. Some of the artists were only fourteen when they were put into three-four years of vigourous training at one of the numerous entertainment industries. The best example of this is BoA, she was given a contract by SM Entertainment and began training at the age of just 11, she then debuted at age 13. She's now been singing for 10 years, pretty much half of her life.
But when he says stuff like:
The utmost value of today's music consumers in listening to music is `fun.' They no longer seek any serious messages or meanings from music as people did back in the 1980s and `90s. I'd bet this fun-oriented appetite of listeners will continue for years to comeHe says it as if it's a bad thing. And what's more, the 80's and 90's are over, we are in a new century, people should expect change. This guy jus sounds like someone who would rather listen to old style music from when he was a teenager than anything else. He doesn't really seem like a very good music critc, he should be able to adapt to change in the music industry, not try to put it down.
He then goes ahead and says:
The media's liability for this is higher, its basic role should be standing balanced in the middle, as reporters do, and providing people with opportunities to learn things, in an unbiased way. But it has failed to do so and even mislead the public.
How can he really say this, when he is actually doing the exact same thing as the media, except he is going for the other side. It seems he hates all hip-hop new age music, whilst the media is all for it.
Lim describes the music as
"social air" that helps people share contemporary sentiment and thoughts with others. But now it is no more than just a means to make moneyI disagree with this statement entirely [so apparently I completely disagree with this artice's content, unlike what I said at the beginning]
Lim is grouping all new age music together as horrible money making music.
Also him saying that all new age music is not true, there are quite alot of new age indie rock bands and rock bands.
For example, CNBlue, a new age indie rock band debuted either late last year or early this year with this song:
This band, along with others such as FT Island are leading the rock/pop side of Korea's music, if you watch this video and read the english lyrics at the bottom, you'll this song does have a meaning to it, as do quite a few korean pop songs that have been released lately. So I disagree with Lim Jin-mo when he says all this new music is the same and has no meaning, because it does , maybe even more than music back in the 80's because the issues they mention are things that could affect anybody.
While I disagree with most of what Lim Jin-mo is saying, I do agree entirely with his last statement in this article:
With financial backup and strategic marketing becoming crucial to appealing to the market, a growing number of talented people are doing their job for the favor of their agencies rather than sticking to their own way. Real musicians are endangered, while those only in pursuit of popularity are cropping up.
Overall, [also back to the actual main point of the topic] I think these idol groups are actually the REASON for Hallyu, not the downfall. Because in this day and age, hip-hop music like this is essentially the culture of Korea, and is also the biggest market, along with Korean film and drama. So idol groups could never be the downfall, they will, as Lim Jin-mo said, last for many years to come.
end~~
*proof that korean music isn't just hip-hop and rap:
