Why Language Matters in K-Pop
The discussion of the rise of English in K-pop songs is more complex—and important—than it may initially seem.
Photo by Sara Jaye Weiss/Shutterstock
K-Pop Talk is Paste‘s monthly column featuring interviews, features, reviews and explainers dissecting Korea’s pop music scene from an American perspective.
If you care about K-pop, then you are probably aware of the ongoing conversation around the apparent increase in the use of English-language lyrics in the industry. This subject pops up every couple of years like a cultural whack-a-mole, looking for a simple, definitive answer in a messy, increasingly globalized world, only to disappear again until the next flurry of English-y K-bops hit the airwaves. From BTS’ “Dynamite” to TWICE’s “The Feels” to Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid (Twin Ver.)” there does seem to be more wholly English-language hits and full albums in K-pop lately (perhaps because there is more K-pop in general), leading some to ask the question: If a K-pop song is performed in English, is it still a K-pop song?
Sometimes, when Americans are asking this question, what they’re really asking about is a kind of “authenticity.” Because Western culture is invested in the myth of the auteur—the ideal of a (traditionally White, male) artist who creates brilliant art in a vacuum—we tend to place greater value on musical artists who write their own music, even when that music is shaped by other producers and songwriters. So when K-pop—with its many-membered groups, trainee system, embrace of elaborate dance choreography that is sometimes prioritized above other elements of performance and the way it wears its commercialism on its sleeve—enters the chat, there is a cultural backlash to the presentation of K-pop music alongside Western pop musicians.
If a K-pop song is performed in English, is it still a K-pop song? Yes, of course. But let’s break down what questions this conversation is really asking, and what fandom preferences, industry biases, and modern anxieties it may be provoking.
A History of English in Korea and in K-Pop
English has long played a role in Korean pop music, in part because English has long played a role in South Korea and in the broader world. English is a “lingua franca” in international business and politics, and English-language American pop culture has dominated the global market for the better part of a century. The American military has had a significant presence in Korea specifically since our country’s military occupation of the southern part of the peninsula in 1945; today, South Korea is “home” to the third-most U.S. military bases in the world, after Japan and Germany. “There’s Konglish everywhere in Korea, especially in Seoul,” says Nykeah Parham, an American K-pop music researcher working on a Master’s at Korea’s Yonsei University. “It seems random to us, but having English words in Korean songs does not bother [Korean listeners].” Many K-pop idols—including artists who grew up in countries like the U.S., Canada, Australia and Thailand—speak English as a first or second language.
From its inception, K-pop has been influenced by a globally dominant American music and media culture, interpreting elements of pop, rock and hip-hop through a uniquely Korean lens. 서태지 와 아이들 (Seo Taiji and Boys), considered to be the first K-pop group, debuted in 1992 in a Korea coming out of decades of military rule under which Western music was often censored. Their first song, new jack swing single “난 알아요” (“I Know”), blended elements of Korean music and language with the rap, breakdancing and fashion of hip-hop culture—which started in South Bronx’s Black community in the 1970s and was “mainstream” in America by the 1990s. “I Know” represented a kind of cultural liberation for a citizenship that had only been allowed to travel internationally for three years, and especially struck a chord with Korean youth.
“Young people loved everything about Seo Taiji and Boys,” says Vivian Yoon in Episode 4 of her very good podcast K-Pop Dreaming, where she contextualizes Seo Taiji and Boys’ music in the burgeoning hip-hop dance scene happening in Seoul at the time, directly influenced by establishments catering to Black GIs in the city’s Itaewon district. “Their sound was experimental and bold. Seo Taiji didn’t just make rap and hip-hop popular in South Korea, he also incorporated things like heavy metal into his music.” “I Know” was one of two singles off of Seo Taiji and Boys’ self-titled debut album. The record also included an English-language version of the hit song, called “Blind Love,” which means K-pop has been incorporating English—and getting funky with translations—into its production from the very beginning.
30 years later, K-pop (which wasn’t coined as a term until later in the ‘90s) looks very different than it did when Seo Taiji and Boys first burst onto Korean TV. Then, “난 알아요” was a domestic smash hit. Today, K-pop is one of Korea’s major cultural exports—and, of course, the U.S. isn’t the only country that it is exported to. “Korea, China and Japan,” says Parham, outlining the traditional path of K-pop international growth. “Maybe the Philippines? Honestly, it depends on how well you do in China or Japan.” China has mostly not been an option for K-pop groups since the implementation of the country’s tacit ban on Korean pop culture in 2018, but Japan has the second largest music market in the world, making Korea’s neighbor a frequent first stop for K-pop artists looking to expand internationally. Because of this, it is not uncommon for K-pop groups to have Japanese members, and to release songs or albums entirely in Japanese—something we hear less about in this “Why are K-pop artists not singing in Korean?” discussion.
While a stable expansion into America has only been a more recent reality for K-pop, earlier K-pop generations have made valiant runs at sustained U.S. market interest, to partial success. In 2009, SM Entertainment artist BoA’s self-titled English-language album became the first album by a K-pop star to appear on the Billboard 200. Later that same year, JYP artist 원더걸스 (Wonder Girls) became the first K-pop group to land in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, with an English version of their 2008 retro dance-pop hit “Nobody” (which later got Japanese and Chinese versions too). Of course, Psy rightly took the world by storm in 2012 with viral phenomenon “Gangnam Style,” which includes an occasional Konglish or English phrase, but is largely—and unabashedly—performed in Korean.
However, it wasn’t until 방탄소년단/Bangtan Sonyeondan (or, as they are more commonly referred to in English, BTS) grew its fandom, known as ARMY, in the U.S., that the “mainstream” finally took real interest. In 2017, when BTS beat out artists like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes to win the Billboard Music Awards’ fan-selected “Top Social Artist,” they did it all while singing and rapping (mostly) in their native Korean and getting virtually zero radio play. However, it would take “Dynamite,” a fully English single, for U.S. radio to actually play their music.
What K-Pop Artists Potentially Gain When They Sing in English
It’s relatively easy to guess what K-pop artists stand to gain when they sing in English. In a world that has been shaped by succeeding waves of British and American imperialism, English is the most spoken language in the world, with more than 1.4 billion people speaking it natively or (more commonly) as a second language. When a song is sung in English, many people in the world have the fluency to understand it. In a 2021 article on this subject, Swiss K-pop fan Melanie Poy told Korea JoongAng Daily: “I listen to K-pop because I like the Korean language and culture as a whole, not just for the music. Perhaps English-lyric songs can help K-pop artists reach a wider audience, and I do enjoy those songs too.”
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
