One of the things I was immediately struck by while listening to all this music was the sampling of American recording artists. Seo Taiji Boys had some Flavor Flav/Public Enemy in their song and it sounded like one of the songs posted here by Drunken Tiger had some DMX in it. Crying Nut's music and melody also seemed to sound alot like old punk/The Ramones at times. I know we talk alot about globalization and importing vs. exporting culture, so it got me thinking why do so many people/groups emulate American artists? A perfect example would be the group Drunken Tiger, where did that gansta image come from, from America? Or did a similar stereotype of rappers being gansters already exist in Korea? Do Koreans recognize this as being a sampling of American-style rap (or music in general)?
I'm not sure if this is always true or still holds true today, but I believe that back in the 1990's and maybe early 2000's, bands were often "tested" in Asia, seeing what people liked and didn't like. So I can't help but wonder if this sort of created this imposing American influence that still hangs over Korean pop music. Do you think Korea will ever be able to export its own version of music that'll become popular elsewhere? I also wonder why exactly doesn't Korean music become popular in America, it can't simply be a language barrier because lyrics can be translated. Maybe if Korea is always following suit, it'll always seem like old news in America, seeing how fickle music and pop culture can be...?
A final question I had while reading "Exploding Ballads" was, how come trends go global? For example, in the reading they talked about how ballads were so popular in the 80's, which seemed really similar to rock ballads by hair bands in the 1980's in America. So which came first, American ballads or Korean ballads? And what does it mean from one country's music to emulate another? (My guess is American ballads came first and was later copied by everyone). I guess this ties into our sort of on-going discussion about globalism and how we import or export certain cultural items and why doesn't Korea export more of its music to America.
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I've noticed a trend of American-born or raised artists going to Korea to produce music (such as Drunken Tiger or Epik High), so that might account for a lot of the cultural crossovers in rap. Also, rap/hip hop are genres that are pretty uniquely American cultural phenomenon which explains a lot of the borrowed images.
Also, language is generally a huge barrier in America -- the most international we get is usually European pop acts, Shakira, or reggaeton. There are a large amount of Spanish-speakers in America, and European pop acts often sing in English, which explains their success in America vs. the limited success of Asian pop stars in America (such as Utada Hikaru who released an American album recently to little success).
I think it's important to remember that the US, too, has borrowed a lot of our musical influences. Punk has strong roots in the UK, after all. In fact, the UK and Europe has played a major influence on American music, especially rock. America then puts its own spin on that music, and exports it.
I agree with Malika - language is a large barrier in the US. Just look at the arguments over the use of Spanish in the public sphere. And people aren't used to the idea of translations, so we want everything to be in English, which seems much more convenient.
Also, because of an American influence on Korean pop music, I think it can be difficult for an American audience to hear a band and not think, "oh they are just a korean version of this band". When lyrics are lost in translation, and bands emulate the style of US bands, it becomes difficult for Korean artists to communicate with a US audience.
I've noticed that English and western culture seem to be highly accepted in Korea, so I think that is one reason why English music/groups are widely listened to and emulated. Also, popular music has a longer history in the west than in Korea. Perhaps in copying western styles, Korean groups are trying to catch up in this respect. It's hard to predict the future, however, I do think that Korea may stay behind the west in new music trends.
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