In a new podcast, Vivian Yoon dissects her personal stake in K-pop, and how her obscure childhood passion has evolved into a billion-dollar industry.
Who is she? Yoon is a writer, performer and podcast host from Los Angeles.
- Yoon helms K-Pop Dreaming, a podcast where she analyzes the music's rise to the international stage while also weaving in elements from her own life, starting with growing up alongside the genre in L.A.'s Koreatown in the 1990s.
What's the big deal? If you haven't been swept up in the global sensation of K-pop, it's only a matter of time.
- While the genre has been around for decades, the current and most popular iteration of the music is in its fourth generation — and is loved by millions across the globe.
- Yoon says broadening that appeal has been a very deliberate move.
- "You're seeing this really clear intention on the part of these management and entertainment labels, and companies, to create international-facing groups," she told All Things Considered's Ailsa Chang. "So you will have groups with members who are not Korean, and that is totally on purpose."
Want more on pop culture? Listen to Consider This explore if we are currently witnessing the death of movie stars.
The unlikely beginnings in the U.S. If you're still certain that you've never come across K-pop before, Yoon thinks there might be a chart-topping earworm from 2012 that you are familiar with:
Here's what Yoon told NPR about the Gangnam Style phenom:
And here is Yoon breaking down the history and rhythm that makes K-pop distinctly Korean, like a two-beat rhythm called bong-chak:
So, where does an uninitiated K-pop stan start? Yoon says chilling out with the catchy global sensation, NewJeans, is a good starting point.
What now?
- Yoon says exploring this side of herself and her culture has been nothing short of transformative.
- "Knowing your history can lead to a certain kind of acceptance. And for me, I didn't realize I was missing that in my own life. I didn't realize how much of those identity issues I struggled with growing up were still impacting me, until I started diving into the subject of this podcast and really talking with these different people and exploring these histories."
- K-pop Dreaming is out now.
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