What's In a Name? A Conversation on the Categorization of K-pop in the West
By Kaitlyn Read
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." According to Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, a name is insignificant. The conventions behind the meaning of a name or title are seemingly unimportant. They don't make us who we are. Western media, however, would disagree. When it comes to the music industry here, your name, your music genre or category, is everything, if you're even recognized. The Western world seems to be calling the shots and in charge, even if self-appointed. They run the awards shows, create the categories, and nominate their favorite artists (bias included). But what happens when this power is threatened, when the Western entertainment industry has such a hard time comprehending people wanting to listen to something "foreign," to something considered "other?" What happens when a band whose first language isn't English charts the tops above everyone else? Do they create new categories at awards shows? Do they train journalists to educate themselves on topics unfamiliar to them? Or do they simply ignore it? Looking at everything from radio and magazine interviews to various well-known American awards shows statistics, the facts will sadly show that in the Western music industry, especially in regards to K-pop, not all names are as sweet.
In 2019, instead of nominating BTS in top categories like Video of the Year or Artist of the Year, despite having the most viewed music video in 24 hours, the MTV Video Music Awards created an entirely new category: Best K-pop. Why was this necessary? They had to separate BTS from the other nominees because of this underlying, sometimes unknown, sense of xenophobia. It all stems from this egocentric view of K-pop being seen as "other" and not capable of the same caliber of talent as Western artists. For a group not capable of this same level of talent, it definitely is impressive that they took home the award for Top Duo/Group at the 2019 Billboard Awards. Must've been a fluke, right? How else could a group of Korean artists beat major Western groups like Maroon 5 or Imagine Dragons?
So then begs the next question: If the West struggles with recognizing BTS's success as international artists just like Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish, why don't they include them in the category of World Music? According to Carl Rahkonen in "What is World Music?", "World music can be traditional (folk), popular or even art music, but it must have ethnic or foreign elements. It is simply not our music, it is their music, music which belongs to someone else." I personally find this to be an impossible definition. Who is "our" and who is "their?" I know that Rahkonen is referring to anything that isn't Western music as the "something else," meaning this idea of "World Music" is simply another way of saying "Music That Doesn't Sound like Anything from the West, but Still Good." The problem is that labeling something as "foreign" or "ethnic" is entirely subjective to who you're asking. The reason K-pop is not included in this category that really shouldn't exist in the first place is because it's not "ethnic" enough for the West. Korean artists are heavily influenced by Western artists, so a lot of the times, the sound and style of the music of the two are the same. But at the same time, the production, costuming, and staging is too "different" to be considered mainstream. Oh, and how could I forget the language barrier! In Lila Ellen Gray's journal article on Portuguese fado music, Gray writes that "the 'music as a universal language' theme, where the languages of the world’s musics are translated by sound that signifies 'feeling,' serves as the central unifying trope of the international 'world music' industry." Yet, K-pop and BTS's work in general is not seen as something that evokes true feeling, despite being born out of hope for a better future in remembrance of the harsh past, a common theme in Korean music as we see in Nicholas Harkness's journal article "Voicing Christian aspiration: The semiotic anthropology of voice in Seoul." At the same time, however, I can't help but think that this category is necessary for these artists to have any sort of recognition in the Western market. Is it better to be marketed as "different" or not at all?
The Grammys themselves have been a major source of controversy in the past year regarding racism and xenophobia. When the nominations for the 2020 awards were released and BTS wasn't nominated for a single one of the 84 possible awards, the BTS fans (who are known as the BTS ARMY) and other major players in the music industry like Halsey, DJ Steve Aoki and major producers tweeted their disappointment. Twitter was in a fury about BTS being snubbed by the Academy, as they had just been accepted as members. Why so shocked by the news? 2019 was yet again BTS's year, so a Grammy seemed only natural. Their mini album "Map of the Soul: Persona" was the third best-selling album of 2019 according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry with 2.5 million global units sold. However, the Grammy award for Album of the Year went to fifth place Billie Eilish's "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" with a total of 1.2 million units sold. Out of the 8 nominations for Album of the Year, Ariana Grande was the only other nominee to make the list of Top 10 best-selling albums of the year at #8. While all of the nominees are talented, deserving artists, so are BTS. Despite winning 111 awards in 2019 with a mini album alone, they still weren't enough to be recognized by the Recording Academy. Some disgruntled Members of the Academy say it best: "You can't be transparent on the one hand and diverse and progressive on the other- unless the membership is diverse and progressive."
Not only is BTS discriminated against in the Western music industry as a whole, but there is a recurring problem with Western journalists not doing their research or being familiar with the band before they interview them. One of the most problematic articles to date is Seth Abramovitch's 2019 The Hollywood Reporter article where he flew to Korea to meet the boys at a popular restaurant known as Dotgogi. The very first line of the article set the tone for the rest of the arrogant, Western-centric view that Abramovitch, supposedly unknowingly, created as he wrote that "the restaurant is called Dotgogi, which means either Sesame Meat or Aged Pork, depending on which online translator I consult." He then continues to introduce the cultural phenomenon that is BTS as "the first group since The Beatles... to score three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart in less than a year, a feat that's all the more astounding considering their songs are mostly in Korean." Other journalists were furious that he was given a wonderful opportunity to interview the band when he only learned how many members of the group there were, "where they came from, why they are so appealing to so many millions or even what BTS stands for" on the flight over. He continues to dig a hole as he writes that "for the moment, it's hard to find a place in the world where fans aren't clamoring to see BTS- at least fans of a certain demographic." Continuing with evident ignorance of the subject at hand, he notes that Jungkook is the group's maknae which he incorrectly labels as "a K-pop term for the baby of the group." The term maknae, while it does mean "the youngest child," is not specific to K-pop but rather to Korea's rich history of familial relations and system of respect. Abramovitch is not the only middle-aged white man to fail miserably when it comes to these interviews with BTS. While all of the members can speak a little Japanese and English as well, group leader RM (real name Kim Namjoon) is fluent in both. With a genius-level IQ of 148, he taught himself English by watching the TV show Friends repeatedly. Yet in October of 2018, an article from the London Times wrote that "RM's use of English language was characterized by 'his occasionally baffling syntax'" which "gives the impression he is channelling Joey rather than Chandler." It went on to add that "when the boys dance in their T-shirts, there is never a glimpse of abs; there are leather trousers but no crotch-grabbing or pelvis-grinding" and preceded to ask "why they weren't in relationships with women despite being megastars." Anyone who so much as Google searches "BTS" would know that music is everything to the members. They're trilingual men who talk about deep subjects like mental health, depression, self-love, and fighting what society tells you to in their music. Above all else, they're influential artists who spoke at the UN as UNICEF Ambassadors (in English, might I add) and will speak with the Obamas at the virtual 2020 Commencement ceremony. The West having this mindset that the rest of the world should be able to speak perfect English is troubling, especially when they don't seem to be making any strides to learn another language of their own. Questioning if "they're there for the music or... for what the kids look like" wouldn't even be a question if these journalists and radio hosts even paid attention to anything the band has said instead of imposing Western ideas and stereotypes on them.
One of the most disturbing questions that BTS gets asked often in interviews is if they'll write an entire album in English. Patiently, leader RM explains the same thing over and over. "We don't want to change our identity or our genuineness to get the number one," he explains in an interview with TIME magazine. "Like if we sing suddenly in full English, and change all these other things, then that's not BTS. We'll do everything, we'll try. But if we couldn't get number one or number five, that's okay." This question is obviously only ever asked by Western outlets who seem to have this deep-rooted notion that things cater to them, even the K-pop music industry that they still don't want to embrace. Expecting them to write an entire album in English is expecting them to conform to Western music standards and change their "foreign" identity to match theirs. If they did this, they might finally win a Grammy, right? Would radio hosts like Roman Kemp and Sonny Jay of Capital Breakfast stop referring to their music as "that noise that you were just hearing there," or thinking "there [were] construction workers outside" when their music is playing? By singing in English, the West would be able to give them a "name." They would finally "fit in" a little easier. But as BTS repeatedly says, that's not them. Western media is just going to have to get over it.
At the end of the day, the West is in charge of the music industry whether you're a fan or not. While there are strides being made in the name of ending racism and xenophobia each day, there's still a long road ahead. Instead of allowing stereotypical, out-dated Western views to trump all else, we can act like BTS and the BTS ARMY and focus on fighting it one day at a time. One day, maybe their talent won't get lost in translation.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." According to Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, a name is insignificant. The conventions behind the meaning of a name or title are seemingly unimportant. They don't make us who we are. Western media, however, would disagree. When it comes to the music industry here, your name, your music genre or category, is everything, if you're even recognized. The Western world seems to be calling the shots and in charge, even if self-appointed. They run the awards shows, create the categories, and nominate their favorite artists (bias included). But what happens when this power is threatened, when the Western entertainment industry has such a hard time comprehending people wanting to listen to something "foreign," to something considered "other?" What happens when a band whose first language isn't English charts the tops above everyone else? Do they create new categories at awards shows? Do they train journalists to educate themselves on topics unfamiliar to them? Or do they simply ignore it? Looking at everything from radio and magazine interviews to various well-known American awards shows statistics, the facts will sadly show that in the Western music industry, especially in regards to K-pop, not all names are as sweet.
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| BTS, the impactful 7-membered megaband, pictured at the 2020 Grammy Awards. From left to right: V, Suga, Jin, Jimin, Jungkook, RM, and J-Hope. Source: Teen Vogue |
Before anything, it's important to know what K-pop, short for Korean pop, is. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, K-pop is popular music originating in South Korea and encompassing a variety of styles. While there are so many well-deserving K-pop groups, both male and female, I'm going to focus on BTS, a male group of 7 members that debuted in 2013. Since starting their journey as the underdogs of the industry, they have gone on to break numerous records, both national and international, all while becoming the biggest band in the world. Yet, they're still faced with the same harsh, Western-centric stereotype every single day: K-pop is "weird" (see also: "stereotyped as a foreign oddity"). The genre is repeatedly bashed, along with its fans, by people and magazines that don't take the time to understand what it is and what BTS, in particular, stands for. So, who better to explain than award-winning producer Suga of BTS (real name Min Yoongi)? In an interview at the Grammy Museum in September of 2018, the band members are asked if they "think of K-pop, as we know it here, as a genre?" Suga answers, "I'm a little careful to talk about K-pop as a genre because I don't want to be defining K-pop as a genre. I'm a little bit wary of that but I think rather than approach K-pop as a genre, a better approach would be 'integrated content.' K-pop includes not just the music, but the clothes, the makeup, the choreography...all these elements I think sort of amalgamate together in a visual and auditory content package, that I think sets it apart from other music or maybe other genres so again, as I said, rather than approach K-pop as its own genre I think approaching it as this integration of different content would be better." I couldn't have said it better myself. Why is it so important, for the West particularly, to categorize everything, even when the artists themselves don't think it's a good idea? The answer is that this "integrated content" of K-pop is so different from what the Western music industry is used to that it makes it hard for them to understand its success and appeal to people. They don't know where it "fits in." There's a certain production value and depth to BTS's music that the West has never really seen from an artist before. Even the group's youngest member, Jungkook, (real name Jeon Jungkook) chimes in: "I listen to the lyrics and I try not to set the genres apart."
Watch the full interview at the Grammy Museum here, with Suga's quote starting at 20:50.
Source: Pinkworld on YouTube
Source: Pinkworld on YouTube
In 2019, instead of nominating BTS in top categories like Video of the Year or Artist of the Year, despite having the most viewed music video in 24 hours, the MTV Video Music Awards created an entirely new category: Best K-pop. Why was this necessary? They had to separate BTS from the other nominees because of this underlying, sometimes unknown, sense of xenophobia. It all stems from this egocentric view of K-pop being seen as "other" and not capable of the same caliber of talent as Western artists. For a group not capable of this same level of talent, it definitely is impressive that they took home the award for Top Duo/Group at the 2019 Billboard Awards. Must've been a fluke, right? How else could a group of Korean artists beat major Western groups like Maroon 5 or Imagine Dragons?
Check out the Most Viewed Music Video in 24 hours of 2019 here.
Source: BigHit Labels on YouTube
Source: BigHit Labels on YouTube
So then begs the next question: If the West struggles with recognizing BTS's success as international artists just like Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish, why don't they include them in the category of World Music? According to Carl Rahkonen in "What is World Music?", "World music can be traditional (folk), popular or even art music, but it must have ethnic or foreign elements. It is simply not our music, it is their music, music which belongs to someone else." I personally find this to be an impossible definition. Who is "our" and who is "their?" I know that Rahkonen is referring to anything that isn't Western music as the "something else," meaning this idea of "World Music" is simply another way of saying "Music That Doesn't Sound like Anything from the West, but Still Good." The problem is that labeling something as "foreign" or "ethnic" is entirely subjective to who you're asking. The reason K-pop is not included in this category that really shouldn't exist in the first place is because it's not "ethnic" enough for the West. Korean artists are heavily influenced by Western artists, so a lot of the times, the sound and style of the music of the two are the same. But at the same time, the production, costuming, and staging is too "different" to be considered mainstream. Oh, and how could I forget the language barrier! In Lila Ellen Gray's journal article on Portuguese fado music, Gray writes that "the 'music as a universal language' theme, where the languages of the world’s musics are translated by sound that signifies 'feeling,' serves as the central unifying trope of the international 'world music' industry." Yet, K-pop and BTS's work in general is not seen as something that evokes true feeling, despite being born out of hope for a better future in remembrance of the harsh past, a common theme in Korean music as we see in Nicholas Harkness's journal article "Voicing Christian aspiration: The semiotic anthropology of voice in Seoul." At the same time, however, I can't help but think that this category is necessary for these artists to have any sort of recognition in the Western market. Is it better to be marketed as "different" or not at all?
 |
| As of 2020, World Music is still one of the main categories of Grammy awards. Source: grammy.com |
The Grammys themselves have been a major source of controversy in the past year regarding racism and xenophobia. When the nominations for the 2020 awards were released and BTS wasn't nominated for a single one of the 84 possible awards, the BTS fans (who are known as the BTS ARMY) and other major players in the music industry like Halsey, DJ Steve Aoki and major producers tweeted their disappointment. Twitter was in a fury about BTS being snubbed by the Academy, as they had just been accepted as members. Why so shocked by the news? 2019 was yet again BTS's year, so a Grammy seemed only natural. Their mini album "Map of the Soul: Persona" was the third best-selling album of 2019 according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry with 2.5 million global units sold. However, the Grammy award for Album of the Year went to fifth place Billie Eilish's "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" with a total of 1.2 million units sold. Out of the 8 nominations for Album of the Year, Ariana Grande was the only other nominee to make the list of Top 10 best-selling albums of the year at #8. While all of the nominees are talented, deserving artists, so are BTS. Despite winning 111 awards in 2019 with a mini album alone, they still weren't enough to be recognized by the Recording Academy. Some disgruntled Members of the Academy say it best: "You can't be transparent on the one hand and diverse and progressive on the other- unless the membership is diverse and progressive."
 |
| A graphic made by a member of the BTS ARMY showing all of the awards BTS gathered in 2019, excluding Music Bank Awards in Korea. Source: Twitter.com, name of user unknown |
Not only is BTS discriminated against in the Western music industry as a whole, but there is a recurring problem with Western journalists not doing their research or being familiar with the band before they interview them. One of the most problematic articles to date is Seth Abramovitch's 2019 The Hollywood Reporter article where he flew to Korea to meet the boys at a popular restaurant known as Dotgogi. The very first line of the article set the tone for the rest of the arrogant, Western-centric view that Abramovitch, supposedly unknowingly, created as he wrote that "the restaurant is called Dotgogi, which means either Sesame Meat or Aged Pork, depending on which online translator I consult." He then continues to introduce the cultural phenomenon that is BTS as "the first group since The Beatles... to score three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart in less than a year, a feat that's all the more astounding considering their songs are mostly in Korean." Other journalists were furious that he was given a wonderful opportunity to interview the band when he only learned how many members of the group there were, "where they came from, why they are so appealing to so many millions or even what BTS stands for" on the flight over. He continues to dig a hole as he writes that "for the moment, it's hard to find a place in the world where fans aren't clamoring to see BTS- at least fans of a certain demographic." Continuing with evident ignorance of the subject at hand, he notes that Jungkook is the group's maknae which he incorrectly labels as "a K-pop term for the baby of the group." The term maknae, while it does mean "the youngest child," is not specific to K-pop but rather to Korea's rich history of familial relations and system of respect. Abramovitch is not the only middle-aged white man to fail miserably when it comes to these interviews with BTS. While all of the members can speak a little Japanese and English as well, group leader RM (real name Kim Namjoon) is fluent in both. With a genius-level IQ of 148, he taught himself English by watching the TV show Friends repeatedly. Yet in October of 2018, an article from the London Times wrote that "RM's use of English language was characterized by 'his occasionally baffling syntax'" which "gives the impression he is channelling Joey rather than Chandler." It went on to add that "when the boys dance in their T-shirts, there is never a glimpse of abs; there are leather trousers but no crotch-grabbing or pelvis-grinding" and preceded to ask "why they weren't in relationships with women despite being megastars." Anyone who so much as Google searches "BTS" would know that music is everything to the members. They're trilingual men who talk about deep subjects like mental health, depression, self-love, and fighting what society tells you to in their music. Above all else, they're influential artists who spoke at the UN as UNICEF Ambassadors (in English, might I add) and will speak with the Obamas at the virtual 2020 Commencement ceremony. The West having this mindset that the rest of the world should be able to speak perfect English is troubling, especially when they don't seem to be making any strides to learn another language of their own. Questioning if "they're there for the music or... for what the kids look like" wouldn't even be a question if these journalists and radio hosts even paid attention to anything the band has said instead of imposing Western ideas and stereotypes on them.
BTS's music video for their song "Fake Love," a song with underlying themes and a production value that Western media has trouble accepting. Source: BigHit Labels on YouTube
One of the most disturbing questions that BTS gets asked often in interviews is if they'll write an entire album in English. Patiently, leader RM explains the same thing over and over. "We don't want to change our identity or our genuineness to get the number one," he explains in an interview with TIME magazine. "Like if we sing suddenly in full English, and change all these other things, then that's not BTS. We'll do everything, we'll try. But if we couldn't get number one or number five, that's okay." This question is obviously only ever asked by Western outlets who seem to have this deep-rooted notion that things cater to them, even the K-pop music industry that they still don't want to embrace. Expecting them to write an entire album in English is expecting them to conform to Western music standards and change their "foreign" identity to match theirs. If they did this, they might finally win a Grammy, right? Would radio hosts like Roman Kemp and Sonny Jay of Capital Breakfast stop referring to their music as "that noise that you were just hearing there," or thinking "there [were] construction workers outside" when their music is playing? By singing in English, the West would be able to give them a "name." They would finally "fit in" a little easier. But as BTS repeatedly says, that's not them. Western media is just going to have to get over it.
At the end of the day, the West is in charge of the music industry whether you're a fan or not. While there are strides being made in the name of ending racism and xenophobia each day, there's still a long road ahead. Instead of allowing stereotypical, out-dated Western views to trump all else, we can act like BTS and the BTS ARMY and focus on fighting it one day at a time. One day, maybe their talent won't get lost in translation.
A final inspirational video, BTS speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in 2018.
Source: Washington Post on YouTube
Source: Washington Post on YouTube
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