Blog Elements

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Playlist Sunday: Dystopian K-Pop Music Videos

January 10, 2016/in Fans, Playlist Sunday /by Tamar Herman

It’s no secret that K-pop is full of futuristic elements, and sometimes that future is bleak. This week’s Playlist Sunday features a variety of K-pop music videos that offer up a dystopian take on things. Whether it’s a bleak, post-apocalyptic world or a police state, K-pop doesn’t really think that this world is going to […]

From Underdogs to International Stardom: BTS’s Rise to Success

January 9, 2016/in MUSIC /by Shelley Foo

Recently South Korean hip-hop group BTS made headlines again for their latest feat: For the second, non-consecutive week the septet was able send their latest album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2 atop Billboard’s World Albums chart, making the group the first K-pop act to have the same album spend more than a […]

Playlist Sunday: Dystopian K-Pop Music Videos

January 10, 2016/in Fans, Playlist Sunday /by Tamar Herman

From Underdogs to International Stardom: BTS’s Rise to Success

January 9, 2016/in MUSIC /by Shelley Foo

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Playlist Sunday: Dystopian K-Pop Music Videos

January 10, 2016/in Fans, Playlist Sunday /by Tamar Herman

It’s no secret that K-pop is full of futuristic elements, and sometimes that future is bleak. This week’s Playlist Sunday features a variety of K-pop music videos that offer up a dystopian take on things. Whether it’s a bleak, post-apocalyptic world or a police state, K-pop doesn’t really think that this world is going to end well and we have a lot of dystopia to deal with. But this dark view of things has given us some of the most creative K-pop music videos of all time.

Not only is B.A.P known for their forceful sounds but also for their lyrics and influential messages that they convey to the listeners and public alike. The lyrics are, if not, even more powerful than the tunes itself. “Badman” lyrically and visually shows a side of reality that we as citizens sometimes tend to brush aside, much like this world’s corrupted governments. People only see what they want to see instead of trying to dig out the hidden meanings that’s been tucked away on purpose. “The despair that I hear in the darkness. The world that is ridden with fear,” sings B.A.P. It’s hard not to see what’s going on in the world everyday. Yet we turn the other way and ignore the fact that, although all these arising issues may not be affecting us directly as individuals, there are things that are ineed affecting and disrupting the society that surrounds us. What good will it do if we keep looking the other way, not batting a single eyelash, as if all the wrongs in the world will naturally go away on it’s own? B.A.P wants you to know that they too, see and hear everything that’s going on, but unlike some, they’ll be the ones to take things head on and fight for what’s right, right then and there.

–Tam

INFINITE is one of my favorites and they are famous for their in sync dances. Since their debut, they have been striving hard to produce unique music. In January 2011, the band released the music video for “BTD (Before The Dawn).” While many of the fans and viewers are only familiar with the dance version of this song, “BTD” has a dark take on things. This dystopian music video shows the members imprisoned in an inescapable place, where a person has to kill another in order to free himself. Being friends, none of them are willing to harm each other. The lyrics describe the situation really well: I can’t let go like this, it’s suffocating. And I don’t know what to do….. I want to have you in the end no matter what. The members further question why they ended up in these circumstances? The title and music video of the song emphasizes on leaving this place before the dawn. The music video got +19 rating for being too violent. The group’s agency, Woollim Entertainment, stated that its intention was to visualise the inner conflict of the characters in the video, and not to display gratuitous violence.

–Sana

Not many groups can pull off a dystopian concept well, but as mentioned above B.A.P certainly can. Their 2012 release “POWER” is a song filled with loud instrumentals and a forceful performance from the group in all aspects, singing, dancing and rapping. The accompanying music video is appropriately dark and graphic, filled with backdrops of war vehicles and fire. The whole video serves to bring out their strong lyrics, a call for action against the people who are oppressing and filling our world with lies. We got the power. Fight against them and don’t look at me with your angelic face. Everything is a lie. There’s probably no better fight song for a revolution than this.

–Anna

If we’re talking dystopian, you can’t go without a casual mention of XIA Junsu’s “Flower.” The song itself is a fabulous, haunting track featuring Epik High’s Tablo, and all about finding light in the darkness. (It’s also the second collaboration of the two, since their equally dystopian AnyBand music videos.) The music video keeps the eeriness of the song, and transposes it into a post-apocalyptic world where Junsu is the god in a crumbling world. The world is quite literally falling apart as the devil dances, so to speak, with a king who doesn’t care about anything other than his own haven amidst a ruined world. There are hints of an anti-nuclear message (the mutated fish) from Junsu, but the whole music video is full of symbolism against excess, even towards Junsu himself, even while he is clearly on top of his game as a member of JYJ and a former TVXQ member. There are questions of innocence, there are questions of morality. It’s an artistic, philosophical take on the K-pop dystopian music video and we love it.

–Tamar

From Underdogs to International Stardom: BTS’s Rise to Success

January 9, 2016/in MUSIC /by Shelley Foo

Recently South Korean hip-hop group BTS made headlines again for their latest feat: For the second, non-consecutive week the septet was able send their latest album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2 atop Billboard’s World Albums chart, making the group the first K-pop act to have the same album spend more than a week on top. This only comes after their other accomplishment as the first K-pop act to enter the Billboard 200 that is not from a large company, such as YG or SM Entertainment, after the album was released back in late November. With this, the group joins their senior groups EXO, BoA, Girls’ Generation and its sub-unit Girls’ Generation TTS, 2NE1, and Big Bang. Indeed, BTS’s international success, coupled with their five music show wins for their title track “Run” in their native Korea, makes a strong case for the group’s rising popularity.

What makes the achievement even more salient is that BTS has not even been around for long. Debuting under the small company Big Hit Entertainment back in June 13, 2013, the underdogs managed these unprecedented feats in an extremely and relatively short amount of time. And as their company’s first attempt at a boy group, the members of BTS did all this and more without much experience from their agency, unlike some of their contemporaries. When we consider just how much BTS carries the weight of their company on their shoulders, it really puts their surging popularity and multiple triumphs into perspective.

Also on Kultscene: Whales & K-pop: EXO, BTS, & The Loneliest Creature in the World

But so we get it. The damn group is taking great strides toward stardom. They’re the face of their company, its cash cow. From a business standpoint, however, it’s nothing special unless we can analyze what exactly it is that they are doing right. And in BTS’s case, it’s not just one particular thing, but several.

Starting at the most basic level – what gets monetized and why the group exists in the first place – is the music. Since debut up until now, the group has always had an active role in the genesis of their albums, whether it is in lyric-writing, song composition or production. This is especially true for the rapper line, which consists of leader Rap Monster, Suga, and J-Hope, who have all taken part in the rap making of their songs. Their character is delivered through their original lyrics, and through these lines the group weaves together a story told through multiple vignettes. There is always a conversation happening in their songs, but it also does not at all mean that they always end in reconciliation. A notable example is in “Converse High,” off of their album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1, in which Suga took the notorious dissenting opinion when he said “Converse, Converse, I really hate a Converse.” Contrast this to the rest of the song, which literally promotes how great the shoe is. Even though it might create a lapse in the theme of the song, the members are true to their feelings. By not playing it safe and by offering different outlooks, the piece actually ends up becoming more personal.

Since the lyrics are all penned by the members, they are also all free to express whatever they want with whatever they want. Using the same “Converse High” track as our model, we see that not only do the members mention the inescapable “Converse” brand, but also name drops a slew of other brands, including “Chanel,” “Alexander McQueen,” and “Raf Simons.” However, the use of brand names is deemed unfit for broadcast and resulted in the song’s ban. But the boys, who have had their songs banned in the past on the basis of coarse language and vulgar jokes, are no stranger to this by now. The group would much rather forgo public friendly content than sacrifice meaning, and you cannot say that is not admirable. There’s just something in sharing in on the same insiders (“Hey! I know that brand too!”) that feels more rewarding. BTS is definitely the type of group who speaks the truth first, and thinks about its consequences later.

Usually, I would take idol produced anything with a grain of salt, as they are often trained more in the performance than the actual doing, but with BTS it’s an exception. The rapper line even inspired the vocalists to become more involved as well, which was highlighted in their album “The Most Beautiful in Life Pt. 1” in which the youngest Jungkook and fellow member V wrote the songs for “Outro: Love Is Not Over” and “Hold Me Tight,” respectively. Being actively involved might not seem like such a big deal so long as the end product has that catchy hook, but it’s what separates passion from a hobby and a flame from a spark. One look at their discography, and anyone can see that the group knows what the fans wants. From the tough, bad boy image they debuted with, they matured over the years to bring us a more sophisticated sound. And through it all, they found a way to use music as an outlet to tackle subjects such as the pursuit of happiness and the rejection of our ideologies, which becomes all the more significant taken in the context of their conservative environment.

Also on Kultscene: Which BTS Member Are You? [QUIZ]

Another hallmark of the group’s appeal is their PR and social media presence. An idol group is nothing without their fans and as Big Hit Entertainment’s golden child, all efforts at bolstering their name is directed at BTS. They are constantly on their SNS giving us fan service, whether it is through Twitter, the V app, or their YouTube where their meokbangs (eating shows), logs and Bangtan Bomb segments can be found. This is all in addition to their fancafe posts and to their own blog as well, the latter of which the members use to upload exclusive content and member Jin’s cooking recipes. Through these various platforms, fans are able to catch a glimpse of the playful beagle-like, idols in their downtime in all their barefaced glory. Fans eventually come to learn that behind all the glitz and glamour is a group of seven twenty-somethings who shop the same drugstore brand lip balm and who love the latest internet trend as much as we do. At times, they share their personal struggles or their intimate thoughts with us, too. As much as the boys are dedicated to their stage, they are even more dedicated to their fans. It’s actually surprising how they are not so burnt out yet.

With so many opportunities to get to know the boys online, it’s no wonder their fanbase, both domestically and internationally, is so strong. Throughout 2015, they were able to rack up 116,582 additional members in their fancafe, the highest amount for a fancafe last year. BTS was able to headline their “2015 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet” concert tour overseas very early in their career, which stopped at eighteen cities at thirteen different countries. What’s even more impressive is the fact that they were able to sell out shows in places like Sydney and Melbourne that traditionally do not experience that level of success when it comes to selling out venues for K-pop acts. Indeed, with Hallyu picking up speed, their company must have realized the size and importance of an overseas market.

Korean boy group FanCafe rankings from Jan 31th 2015 – Jan 2nd 2016 with BTS at #4

Part unbridled personality, part musical talents, BTS is engaging in everything they do. They understand that in order to release good music, they have to have fun with it. Sometimes, it’s difficult to extricate their personas on stage from their everyday personalities precisely because they are able to blur the line that marks this distinction. The group, with some members who began music from the underground scene, started from the bottom of the barrel but evolved into one of K-pop’s best Horatio Alger story. Without a doubt, BTS is one group to watch out for in the 2016 year.

Are you a BTS fan? What makes them special to you? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.