The Popularity of K-POP Around the World

By Takuma Otaka

(Japanese translation coming soon.)

K-POP started to catch on in Japan and then it spread all over the world in the last few years. The reason is that K-POP has a lot of charm. Most people can’t understand Korean, but the songs are rhythmical, the dancing is fascinating, and everyone looks beautiful. Everything is catchy, so people from other countries can fully enjoy it.

There are a lot of K-POP groups now. Among them are two highly recommended groups: TWICE and IZ*ONE. Both groups are young, energetic, charismatic and their performances are cool, charming, and beautiful. They became widely known as global girl groups.

TWICE is composed of nine members, five Korean, three Japanese and one Taiwanese. They debuted on the TV show SIXTEEN from 2015. Maybe many people know them by their hit song TT. They have received one hundred awards in total recently and are the most popular K-POP girl group in many countries.

IZ*ONE is composed of twelve members, nine Korean and three Japanese. They debuted on the TV show PRODUCE 48 from 2018. They only have a limited amount of time to work as IZ*ONE, so you should cheer them on now! Both their first full album and third mini album were sold out in the first week of sales which set a record for first and second place among K-POP girl groups.

Both groups debuted in an audition on a survival TV program. You can see their efforts, how they have matured and the bonds between Japanese and Korean. You will probably be moved, so you should watch them. Both groups have Japanese members. The number of people who pursue their dreams about K-POP are increasing. This is the reason that K-POP vocals and dance abilities are very high.

K-POP events called KCON are held around the world every year since 2012. This year’s event has been cancelled due to the corona virus outbreak. However, it was decided to hold it on YouTube from June 20 to 26, It’s called KCONTACT. It was held for one week and people all over the world can watch it! People could watch many K-POP groups’ performances, talk. It was a very fun and great event.

There are many language comments on KCONTACT, so K-POP has become a world-wide phenomena. You should watch K-POP MV if you have the chance.