You Call That Music?! : Korean Popular Music Through the Generations

You Call That Music?! provides a critical overview of the history of Korean popular music from 1920 to the 2000s from the perspective of cultural history. This translation is an invaluable resource for those researching and studying Korean popular music specifically as well as Korea’s cultural and social history. You Call That Music?! provides a critical overview of the history of Korean popular music from 1920 to the 2000s from the perspective of cultural history. This translation is an invaluable resource for those researching and studying Korean popular music specifically as well as Korea’s cultural and social history. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 Foreword 10 Introduction 13 Author’s Preface 17 1. Generational Unity: Cause for Celebration? 20 Songs the Whole Family Can Enjoy 20 Generational Conflicts Promote Creativity! 21 The Ebb and Flow of Generational Conflict 22 Notes 23 Reference 23 2. Grownups in the 1930s: Shocked by the New Pop Music 24 What’s Your Groupchat Profile Pic? 24 When Did Koreans Start Making Pop Music? 25 New Trends Appall the Adults 26 How Old Was the Generation that Disliked Trot? 28 Super Junior on Gayo Stage? 29 Notes 30 References 33 3. Was Trot Really for Teens? 34 Grownups Disliked Trot 34 Trot and Enka 36 It’s Greek to Me: Grownups and the New Music 37 The Generation Educated in Japanese 38 Twenty-somethings: A Subversive Force in the Popular Arts 40 New and Refined Trot to Share with Young People in Tokyo 41 Notes 42 References 43 4. Mambo Dancing in Mambo Pants: In the Aftermath of the Korean War 44 The Trot Generation Grows Old 44 Trot Eases Generational Conflicts 45 The Infiltration of “Vulgar” Music 47 Mambo Fever Brings Mambo Pants 48 “Après-Girls” and “Madame Freedom” 50 Middle-Aged People Swept Up in Postwar Fashions 51 Notes 51 References 52 5. American Standard Pop Patches Up Generational Differences: The Early 1960s 53 Is “Odong-dong Ballad” Really Less Vulgar Than “Yellow Shirt”? 53 The Scales Tip Toward Standard Pop 55 Could “Yellow Shirt” Be an International Hit? 56 Standard Pop: Modern, but not Decadent 58 Notes 59 References 59 6. The Late 1960s: The Period of Easing Generational Conflict 60 The Age of Standard Pop 60 Youthful, but Still Familiar 61 Standard Pop: Wholesome and Modern 62 Notes 63 Reference 63 7. Trot Lifts the Spirits—But Wait, Is It Japanese?! 64 Singing Japanese Songs on Independence Day? 64 The Remnants of Japanese Imperialism, Trot, and the 1965 Korea-Japan Treaty 66 Why Did the Middle-Aged Trot Generation Accept Standard Pop? 66 Does the Younger Generation Have “Superior” Taste? 68 References 69 8. The Explosion of Generational Conflict: Youth Culture 70 A New Kind of Youth: Cheongchun vs. Cheongnyeon 70 The “Strong” Generation Becomes Middle-Aged 73 An Even “Stronger” Generation Comes of Age 76 Being a Student: A New Youth Identity 78 Notes 79 References 80 9. Decadent Acoustic Guitars and “Backwards” Ppongjjak Collide 81 1971: A Pivotal Moment for Folk 81 Wearing a Flower Ring” Corrupts Young Girls? 82 Unfounded Fears about Folk 85 “Backwards” Ppongjjak: Why Pponjjak Was Considered “Backwards” 86 Anti-Folk: The Fear of Corrupting Students 90 Notes 92 References 94 10. Cho Yong-pil Brings Generations Together 95 A Fusion of Trot and Rock? 95 Cho Yong-pil, a Superstar for All Ages 96 The Fusion of New Rock and Good Old Standard Pop 98 Raise That Familiar Melody an Octave and Shout It! 99 Notes 101 Reference 104 11. The Seoul Olympics, Globalization, and “Underground” Music 105 Would “Morning Dew” Have Been as Popular in 1981? 105 “Underground” and Minjung Songs Go into Hiding 106 Korean Popular Music Catches Up to Sophisticated Western Pop 108 Skilled Artistry and a Sense of Stability 110 Notes 111 Reference 114 12. The 1990s: The Era of Seo Taiji and Generational Conflict 115 Everyone’s Talking About “the Generation” Again 115 The “Apgujeong Orange Youth” Emerges as the New Generation 116 What on Earth Is a Rock Café? 117 Hard to Dance Hip-Hop if You’re Over Thirty 120 Notes 122 References 123 13. Reversal, Resistance, and ...? 124 History Doesn’t Always Repeat Itself Exactly 124 Satanism in a Seo Taiji Song? 125 The Youth Refuse to Conform 127 The New Generation: Resistance and Subversion 129 Still, History Continues ... 132 Notes 132 References 133 14. Epilogue: When Will an Age of Conflict Come Again? 135 The Importance of Knowing History 135 Toward Generational Harmony Again 135 When Will the Time of Generational Conflict Return? 137 Notes 138 Index 140 Pop Music,Trot,Mambo Dancing,Mambo Pants,Korean War,Apres-Girls,Madame Freedom,American Standard Pop,Japanese Songs,Acoustic Guitars,Ppongjjak Collide,Cho Yong-pil,Underground Music,Seo Taiji "You Call That Music?!: Korean Popular Music Through the Generations provides a critical overview of the history of Korean popular music from 1920 to the 2000s from the perspective of cultural history. First published in Korean in 2017 by one of the best-known critics, Lee Young-Mee, this book is a timely and much-needed source of information on Korean popular music of the past hundred years. Through this English translation, readers are able to make meaningful connections between specific forms of Korean popular music of various periods and the contemporaneous Korean social and political circumstances. Structured around the central theme of generational conflict, the book provides readers with an accessible way to engage with Korea's social history and a greater understanding of how specific musical works, genres and styles fit into that history. Its strong narrative force helps illuminate the connections between modern Korean social history and the particular trends of musical production and their reception through the decades. You Call That Music?! is an invaluable resource for those researching and studying Korean popular music specifically as well as Korea's cultural and social history"-- Provided by publisher Generational Unity : Cause for Celebration? -- Grownups in the 1930s : Shocked by the New Pop Music -- Was Trot Really for Teens? -- Mambo Dancing in Mambo Pants : In the Aftermath of the Korean War -- American Standard Pop Patches Up Generational Differences : The Early 1960s -- The Late 1960s : A Period of Easing Generational Conflict -- Trot Lifts the Spirits-But Wait, Is It Japanese?! -- The Explosion of Generational Conflict : Youth Culture -- Decadent Acoustic Guitars and "Backwards" Ppongjjak Collide -- Cho Yong-pil Brings Generations Together -- The Seoul Olympics, Globalization, and "Underground" Music -- The 1990s : The Era of Seo Taiji and Generational Conflict -- Reversal, Resistance, and . . . ? -- Epilogue. When Will an Age of Conflict Come Again? __You Call__ That __Music?!__ provides a critical overview of the history of Korean popular music from 1920 to the 2000s from the perspective of cultural history. This translation is an invaluable resource for those researching and studying Korean popular music specifically as well as Korea’s cultural and social history.