The last few years have brought the publication of several edited volumes on Korean popular music (K-pop). As someone who teaches an entire class on this topic each semester, I am always searching for new readings to assign. The chapters in K-pop: The International Rise of the Korean Music Industry fit the bill, as they are well written and tightly edited, and although the writing is thoroughly academic, it is not theoretically taxing. The book will prove somewhat challenging for undergraduates with little experience reading academic work, but because the subject matter is so interesting I would not hesitate to assign it. However, even though all the chapters are informative and of good quality, some are a bit esoteric, while others are already becoming somewhat outdated—a continual problem with research on popular culture.
The volume's ten chapters are not divided into separate sections; however, chapters 4 to 7, 9, and...
