While the growth in the popularity of Korean music in various corners of the world has spawned an increasing number of academic studies of its texts and contexts, most these have often focused on specific questions and approaches, such as the role of social networking technologies in distribution, applying gender theory to the study of specific musicians, or undertaking reception studies in overseas markets. In contrast, this book aims wide, and its answers are deliberately syncretic. It begins with three questions: Where did K-pop come from? What does K-pop say about South Korea? How did K-pop become popular? The answers draw on personal observations, a range of secondary sources in Japanese, English, and Korean, and engagement with elements of larger popular culture and music theories.
Ostensibly composed of six cleverly titled sections—”Prelude”; chapter 1, “How Did We Get Here?”; “Interlude”; chapter 2, “Seoul Calling”; “Postlude”; and “Coda”—the book is essentially...
