Kpop had been going on for decades and through the times, kpop had several generations. From the first gen like Seo Taiji and the boys, FinKL, SES, and many more which I actually only hear the name but doesn't know the song. They are the popular/trendier song at that time. Then we move to the 2nd gen where they are starting to not only trendy in the South Korea, but also other neighboring countries like Japan and China. The deemed "Hallyu" or Korean wave. Next, is the 3rd gen, where kpop music had globalized themselves.
And thus, that's why people still somewhat arguing: "what makes 4th gen is the 4th gen?"
looking at the past 3 gens, all of them are signaling the growth of this music "genre", from 1 nation, to several, to the global world.
But if you think about it, what's left after the global world??
others may have their own set of rules to define what makes a generation in kpop scenes. Some are saying that it's when the big3/big4 had all debuted their new groups at one time. That idea might hold true tho, since big3/big4 are the companies that had the resource to make their group goes far and wide. Not that farfetched I think.
but then, in the 4th gen, we've seen that companies are keep debuting new groups like there is no tommorow (ok not all maybe, since yge is still being yge)
So what makes the 4th gen being 4th gen?
is it the internet culture?
No, I think it's not. Since it actually more tied to 3rd gen right? Them being the globalized movement are also thanks to the tech advancement on social media like facebook and twitter, both which at that time are used by many people to connect with another people from the other side of this earth. When i think about it, the globalization are actually goes along with the world's globalization isn't it? The fanwars, the "stan loona"/"stan bts" memes, and also when the trending words regarding kpop is actually being trending because it is talked about, not because of keyword spamming like nowadays. Not to mention the rising of instagram.
for 4th gen, I think the only social media that they are kinda "dominated" is tiktok...
Hence, I actually proposed another thing to define what a gen is (and it actually tied more to the time itself), but even that current definition of mine is actually still vague, and just like we know, most akp user don't like vague things. They need a hard line to define things black or white.
but, here is the catch, what if the things that makes 4th gen is actually... not one thing but varied?
since the past 3 gens had multiplied the growth of kpop in terms of reach, I think what's left is to not "explode" anymore but "implode".
It wasn't the outside growth anymore but more like the internal growth..
Things like a better system (though arguable), a better laws (#ThanksLoona), or in terms like the everchanging concept and sounds which I think 2nd gen and 3rd gen more stickier to theirs compared to 4th gens (but this worth to be another discussion).
One of the things that I noticed about the 4th gen is actually their foreign members and foreign languages. While some groups in 2nd gen and 3rd gen already had a foreign members before, I think at the 4th gen it actually kinda becomes the norm? Like Idk if I can count how many 4th gen groups with a non-korean members, and it's not exclusive to the big companies only. many midsized and... heck, even nugu groups had some foreign members.
(there is even a unique phenomenon that I noticed about and want to make a thread for it: "the Japanese members of many groups is actually the rapper of their group")
and it's not just about the members, they also had a class of at least two or three foreign language. English, Japanese and Chinese is the common ones, while other group might have additional language class like Spanish(?) for Nmixx.
and why is that?
Have you heard some stories about an idol deciding to be an idol too because they are amazed when they attend some group's concert/tour?
Kpop being globalized had made them be able to tour not only in SK, but also other countries. And stories like this could be the reason why other kids from other countries want to be a kpop idol and deciding to become a trainee, they fell in love with kpop music.
Also, since kpop is a global thing now, the right move for every company is to give the trainees and the idols a language class so they can face the people outside of their regions.
This maybe also the reason why songs nowadays having more and more english, to the point it makes some people went mad. I even said that I can't find much song that having a Hangeul as the title, since most songs are english titled. This could be a way to caters global fans, since they mainly use english. (or usually they provide the hangeul and the english title. Even some song had an english version of the song nowadays).
Then, why we talked about this 4th gen things when the title said 5th gen?
Because I think, the 4th gen's variations are the gradual change unto the next gen.
I think that what would makes the 5th gen being a 5th gen is their openness or inclusiveness.
Yes, that's right. 5th gen group might be a group where there are more foreign members or there is no korean members at all, at the time they are debuted/designed. Thus, I think the 5th gen will be started with groups like VCHA or KATSEYE.
"so do you support what Bang Sihyuk said about erasing the K in Kpop?"
uhmm... I don't think so. Regardless of what he said, or of what people perceived from his word, I think having a non-korean members as the full roster or 80% of the group is inevitable. This is the effect of globalization, where the stage itself are already being global, and the big companies had opened their arms to accept many potential talents from many places. There are also the news of SK birthrate, which could be it's own topic. Did Bang Sihyuk thought of these things? I don't know, we don't know. Regardless, it's inevitable.
"how about blackswan? They already existed long way before those two groups!"
Yes, that's right and I think Blackswan is evidence that kpop could be having a full / almost full foreign members. Not to mention that Blackswan's name had been rising bit by bit (nugupromoter reported that they will be having a tour!). Since Kpop is a music, and if you like the music, it won't be a problem anyway. And Kpop is also about the idols, and if there is one that you feel aligned with, you will like them anyway, regardless of their countries. Heck, some of you even hating an og Korean member, so what would be the difference?
"But that means the 'Korean' in Korean-Pop will disappear?"
Yeah, I know some would argue that the "Korean" in the word KPOP will be lost. Not to mention that we all know about the "general sentiment of the koreans toward foreigners"...
But.. here is the thing..
Like what I've mentioned subtly above, Kpop is actually growing along with the rest of the world. Like the rise of 3rd gen globalization was also because of the use of the booming social media platforms. I don't know about your place, but from where I lived, the kids nowadays don't even know what are the local cultures anymore. Those who loved kpop are digging more about Korean's, those who loved animes and mangas are knowing more about Japan, etc. Rather than Kpop being inclusive will erode the "Korean" of the kpop, I think it would be a bridge to connecting more people to their culture. Heck, we may even seen that in the future, Korean Language could be one of the world's standard language along with English and Chinese (It's even easier to learn than Chinese IMO). So rather than throwing out the effort of "introducing korean culture to the world", it actually goes in line for promoting and as a way for cultural exchange (by the foreign idol introducing their own culture to the Koreans).
So I think, the newer kids generation would find it fine. It's the older people who find it wrong because this is the thing that are out of what they have been growing up to.
So, TLDR:
5th gen would not be just Korean, Chinese, Japanese or in some cases Thailand and America but also other countries. An Inclusion.
wdyt?
