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K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop
LifestyleK-drama

Why K-pop groups like BTS and Blackpink aren’t the only ones who top South Korea’s charts – ballads, K-drama OSTs, trot and hip-hop also vie for supremacy

  • Solo artists IU and trot singer Lim Young-woong topped charts in South Korea for most-streamed and most-downloaded songs in 2021
  • The success of shows like Itaewon Class drives interest in their soundtracks, which are also responsible for catapulting many a new artist to stardom

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IU, a 28-year-old South Korean singer-songwriter, topped the chart for most-streamed song in South Korea in 2021 with Celebrity.
Tamar Herman

Recent years have seen South Korean pop music acts achieve global popularity on a scale never seen before – especially in 2021. But while outside Korea it may seem like all the country has to offer is energetic K-pop “idol” boy bands and girl groups, the local scene is more complex, with hip-hop, ballads and solo acts fighting for supremacy among Korean listeners.

“While K-pop, focusing on dance music, has been popular [internationally], in Korea there are several different popular music genres, including ballad, [K-]drama original soundtrack, rock ballad, R&B and trot,” says Dal-yong Jin, director of The Transnational Culture and Digital Technology Lab at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Trot is a popular music style in the country developed in the 1900s known for its distinct rhythms and singing styles.

“Among these, ‘ballad’ has been the most popular,” Jin says. “Korean people like this particular music genre [because it] represents people’s daily lives and contemporary society.”

K-drama original soundtracks (OSTs) are almost as popular; many new artists’ careers get kick-started after an OST they’re featured on becomes a hit in the country, such as Gaho, who appeared on the soundtrack of the popular 2020 show Itaewon Class. Folk pop rock crooner Lee Mujin, whose Traffic Light dominated South Korean airwaves last year, made a song for the soundtrack of the second season of Hospital Playlist, a hit series in 2020 and 2021. Even South Korea’s biggest female pop divas sometimes moonlight as OST balladeers, such as Baek Ji-young, who is known as much for her OST songs as her addictive dance tracks.
South Korean singer Lee Mujin.
South Korean singer Lee Mujin.

In fact, music from non-K-pop idol groups was at No. 1 on the South Korean charts for both most-streamed songs and most-downloaded songs in 2021, according to chart-tracker Gaon.

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