K-pop and its positive influence on young adults
– Nimrah Nisar
For the past year, a new genre of music has been on the rise, which has impacted many teenagers around the world in a positive manner. This genre is known as K-pop, or Korean pop. This genre in music is quite versatile and included various genres of music including, and not limited to, electronic, hip hop, and R&B.
While K-pop was present from the beginning in South Korea, its popularity increased greatly when a group called Bangtan Soyeondan (translation – Bulletproof Boy scouts; also known worldwide as BTS) gained popularity in the Western market and took home the top social artist award at the Billboard music awards back in 2017, beating out big western names such as Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.
K-pop is however highly criticized by some media outlets and portray the K-pop singers to be quite plastic and manufactured because they are seen to be adorned in fancy clothing with heavy makeup, and in some instances the K-pop idols are also noted to have underwent plastic surgery to match up to the beauty standards in Korea. These media reporters claim that it generates a negative perception on young adults, where it makes that teenager want to achieve the same looks of their favorite members, leading to unhealthy dieting methods and eating styles.
However, there has been many fans of groups, such as BTS, Red Velvet and Twice, who have stepped forward and shared their story on how listening to these artists have made them healthier. this relates to the intense choreographies that the groups are found to perform. Fans learn the choreographies and have fun with the music, which lead to an increase in exercise in most fans. The fans also have expressed how they feel closer to other fans, which provides them with a feeling of belonging in a certain group.
One of the major positive impact that was noted was the openness that some artists have with their mental health, and how it’s important to be healthy, both, mentally and physically. Some artists, such as BTS and SEVENTEEN, are known to be self-producing idols, which means that they make their own music and write their own lyrics. This makes the music more personal and the fans who listen usually relate more with those lyrics, and also provides the sense that these idols are not perfect and have their own imperfections, which make them more popular.
The group BTS also launched a campaign alongside UNICEF called the LOVE MYSLEF campaign which was introduced in hopes to stop violence against the youth, where certain percentage from the merchandise is donated to that cause. It was reported in 2019 that the campaign raised over two million dollars. This reason makes the youth more motivated to buy and promote the merchandises as it goes for a good cause.
