SP
BravenNow
Once mocked for being tacky, this Korean music genre is making a comeback
| United Kingdom | general | ✓ Verified - bbc.com

Once mocked for being tacky, this Korean music genre is making a comeback

#Trot music #Korean music #AI transformation #K-pop #Cultural revival #South Korean culture #Music technology #Generational music trends

📌 Key Takeaways

  • Korean content creators are using AI to transform K-pop songs into trot music
  • Trot music originated in the 1930s and expresses deep Korean emotions through its distinctive style
  • The genre has seen a revival through TV shows and performers like Lim Young-woong
  • Critics question the authenticity of the AI trend and raise copyright concerns
  • The future of trot remains uncertain despite its resurgence through both traditional and technological means

📖 Full Retelling

South Korean content creators are reviving the traditional trot music genre through generative AI technology that transforms popular K-pop songs into trot-style melodies, sparking a social media trend in Seoul amid the genre's recent comeback after decades of being dismissed as tacky. This musical transformation has gained traction on platforms like Instagram, Line, and YouTube, where videos featuring AI-generated images of K-pop idols in classic trot attire have garnered hundreds of thousands of views, introducing the traditional sound to younger audiences who might otherwise never encounter it. Trot music, which emerged in the 1930s during Japanese colonial rule, developed from Korean folk traditions while incorporating influences from Japanese enka and Western jazz, characterized by its distinctive two-beat rhythm, minor scales, and expressive vocal techniques that convey 'han'—a complex emotion of sorrow, resentment, and longing deeply embedded in Korean cultural identity. Despite its historical significance and the production of Korea's first musical superstars like Nam Jin and Na Hoon-A, trot struggled to maintain relevance against the global rise of K-pop, leading many young Koreans to view the genre as outdated and unfashionable until recent years when it experienced a resurgence through televised audition programs and performers like Lim Young-woong, who achieved mainstream success by modernizing trot with contemporary elements while maintaining its emotional core.

🏷️ Themes

Cultural Revival, Technology Impact, Music Evolution, Generational Shift

📚 Related People & Topics

Trot (music)

Korean music genre

Trot (Korean: 트로트; RR: teuroteu) or Ppongjjak (Korean: 뽕짝) is a genre of Korean popular music, known for its use of repetitive rhythm and vocal inflections. Originating during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the first half of the 20th century, trot was influenced by many genres of Korean, Japane...

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗
Traditional music of Korea

Traditional music of Korea

Korea has produced music (Korean: 음악; Hanja: 音樂; RR: eumak; MR: ŭmak) for thousands of years, into the modern day. After the division of Korea in 1945, both North and South Korea have produced their own styles of music. Traditional music (국악; 國樂; gugak; lit.

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗

Culture of South Korea

The contemporary culture of South Korea developed from the traditional culture of Korea which was prevalent in the early Korean nomadic tribes. By maintaining thousands of years of ancient Korean culture, with influence from ancient Chinese culture, South Korea split on its own path of cultural deve...

View Profile → Wikipedia ↗

Entity Intersection Graph

No entity connections available yet for this article.

Original Source
Once mocked for being tacky, this Korean music genre is making a comeback 2 hours ago Share Save Fan Wang and Yuna Ku , BBC Korean, Seoul Share Save Before K-pop, there was trot. This traditional South Korean music genre gets its name from the American "foxtrot", which shares the trot's distinctive two-beat rhythm. It was popular for decades and produced the country's first musical superstars, but has more recently struggled to compete with newer, trendier sounds, particularly with the global rise of K-pop. But trot is making headlines again - this time thanks to social media. Korean content creators have started using generative AI to transform popular K-pop songs into buttery, catchy trot-style tunes, paired with AI-generated images of idols in glittering suits and teased hair - the iconic look of classic trot singers. These videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on social media platforms like Instagram, Line and YouTube. But critics have raised copyright concerns and questioned the trend's novelty, arguing that it is too far a departure from the true essence of trot. "Classic K-pop" Trot first emerged in the 1930s, when Korea was still colonised by Japan. It developed from Korean folk traditions, while drawing influence from Japanese enka and Western styles such as jazz, according to music critic Jung Minjae. Trot songs often express "han" - a deep-seated feeling of sorrow, resentment and longing shaped by Korea's history of foreign subjugation and one of the most enduring themes in Korean culture. The lyrics of trot songs typically revolve around love and separation, or the yearning for a warm, familiar home. In Baek Nyeonseol's 1940 classic The Sorrow of a Traveler, for example, the lyrics translate to: "It has been half a lifetime, over 10 years, walking barefoot in a foreign land; sorrow settles deep in this man's heart; when twilight falls, I miss my hometown; calling for dreams with tears, I look for it." Musically, trot is defined by its freq...
Read full article at source

Source

bbc.com

More from United Kingdom

News from Other Countries

🇺🇸 USA

🇺🇦 Ukraine