K-POP STARTER GUIDE

New to the wonderful world of K-Pop? Or just want to go over what K-Pop is again? Well, you've come to the right place!
 

What is K-pop?

K-pop (an abbreviation of Korean pop or Korean popular music) is a musical genre consisting of electronic, hip-hop, pop, rock, and R&B music originating in South Korea. It's a world of people that consists of fans, fandoms, idols, and family. K-pop may have originated in South Korea, but has now become a worldwide phenomenon thanks to the internet.

Why is K-pop so popular?

There are many reasons why K-pop is popular, whether it's because of the music, the groups, the idols or the fandoms. The songs are catchy and there is a sense of family in fandoms.

Why do you listen to K-pop if you can't understand the what they're saying?

People listen to K-pop for the same reasons that others listen to Spanish music such as Selena or Despacito, the songs are catchy and the lyrics are meaningful. Color Coded Lyrics is a great place to get the translations of K-pop songs to English.

What are the main companies in K-pop?

The main companies in K-pop are JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment. JYP Entertainment owns K-pop groups such as GOT7, Twice, Stray Kids, Wonder Girls, 2PM, and Day6. SM Entertainment owns K-pop groups such as EXO, NCT, SHINee, Super Junior, Red Velvet, and SM Town. YG Entertainment owns K-pop groups such as BIGBANG, BLACKPINK, iKON, Winner, 2NE1, and YG Family. Another big company that is emerging in the world of K-pop is Big Hit Entertainment, but at this moment, they only own BTS.

How do you tell them apart?

It's really not that hard. You can just search them on google and learn their names by also looking at images. On YouTube, there are also labeled music videos and lyric videos.

Why do they wear makeup? Do they think they're girls?

No, they don't think they are girls. They wear makeup to make themselves look flawless for cameras and fans. Who says that makeup can only be worn by girls though?

Why are there so many members?

Think of K-pop groups like a group of superheroes. They all have special powers such as vocal or rapping skills, which can be useful to a group.

What's with the choreography? Why does every song need choreography?

Not every song has choreography, but a lot of them do. Choreography just adds another element of awesomeness to the overall appearance of the music video/stage show.

                                                                                                                Credit to Kpop Planet on YouTube

K-pop Vocab

Bias: a member of a specific group that you favor more than the others. Not that you don't like the other members, this one specific member just catches your attention more than the others.

Ultimate Bias: One person that you favor more than anybody else in any group. They are your favorite person out of all of the groups that you follow.

All-Kill: An all-kill is when a group's song or album simultaneously takes the top spot of all eight Korean music charts.

Comeback: A K-pop group coming back with new music. Is the equivalent of saying a group is releasing a new album, but instead K-pop fans say that a group is having a comeback.

Daesang: The Daesang award is one of the highest achievements a group or artist can achieve. Winning a Daesang focuses on the records released by artists that year and how many copies they sold, both physically and digitally. It is awarded at the two prominent Korean music award shows, the Golden Disk Awards and the Seoul Music Awards.

Eye smiles: Idols with eye smiles often look happiest, and fans adore when they sport them. An eye smile happens when an idols eyes turn into tiny crescents when they laugh or express joy, looking like smiles themselves.

Fan Club: Behind every K-pop group is a dedicated fan club, big or small, and they play a vital role in a groups success. When a group gets big enough, its fans earn an official fan club name and color

Netizens: A simple definition of the term would be a citizen of the net. In K-pop theres netizens and theres K-netizens, the former being any international fan online and the latter being Korean fans online.

OST: Also known as Original Soundtrack, an OST refers to songs written specifically for a Korean drama.

V app: A platform for idols to livestream to their fans, available on iTunes and Google Play.

X-dressing: For some reason, male idol groups prepare cross-dressing stages all the time. Stars pick a popular girl group song, get custom-made outfits, and learn the choreography. Sometimes they even sing the high-pitched songs themselves, and the manlier the idol, the funnier it is. Its actually not uncommon at all, and groups usually do this for special concerts or music programs as a treat for fans.

Aegyo: "Aegyo" means super cuteness, like when someone does a very adorable act ranging from giving simple puppy eyes to clinging to another's arm and whining in a lovable fashion.

Sasaeng: This word is usually followed by fan as in "sasaeng fan," or super obsessed fans who go a little bit over the top in expressing their love for their favorite idols. Sasaeng fans stalk their favorite idols, or invade their privacy, which is bad. Dont be a Sasaeng. 

 
Daebak: This pretty much means, "Wow." Like, "Wow! He donated so much money!" can be changed to, "He donated so much money! Daebak..." Just like the word "Wow," it can be used sarcastically, too.

Oppa/Unnie/Hyung/Noona: So you may see these words coming after names sometimes or you may just hear your idols calling other people these words. Simple! A girl calls an older man "oppa" and an older woman "unnie." A guy calls an older man "hyung" and older woman "noona."

Sunbae/Hoobae: "sunbae" is a senior, so you would use this for people who are in higher grades than you at school or people who have more experience than you at work. "Hoobae" is the opposite, meant for juniors. Sunbae-hoobae relationship, therefore, is the same as senior-junior relationship.

Omo: Means "oh, my."