Discussing Contemporary Korea through Popular Music
This class is meant for students who want to use popular music as a tool for understanding contemporary Korea on deeper levels. The class will address Korean popular music forms and genres from the turn of the twentieth century to the latest K-pop hits, all while noting the ways in which the changing musical tastes of Korean society are linked to its historical, social, and cultural shifts as well as the music- and performance-related trends that influence the peninsula from abroad.
Students will engage in ethnographic research methodologies as they individually carry out an original research project related to K-pop. Their reflections will be published in a video format, ideal for demonstrating a student's ability to think independently, communicate clearly, and demonstrate mastery of diverse technological tools. Such video essays can become extremely valuable supplements to college applications.
By the completion of this course, students will:
Understand the history and contexts related to the entertainment industry such as production practices; dissemination practices; and critical, public, and governmental reception as well as the many genres of Korean popular music from 1900 to the present
Discuss K-pop as a phenomenon that reaches beyond the production of audio recordings by evaluating the importance of fan culture; the role of dance in/on K-pop and the wider culture; and the wide influence on visual media through music videos and the appearance of K-pop stars in unrelated TV shows, dramas, movies, advertisements, and musical theater productions
Analyze K-pop within the context of contemporary Korean culture and its social issues
Discuss how K-pop is both distinct from and similar to other global pop-music genres, taking into specific account topics such as the transculturation and adaptation of foreign forms into Korean music, non-Korean influences (via fans, artists, production team members, and markets) on its production, and other often-contradictory and complex aspects of the music and its creators
Analyze genres, lyrics, instrumentation, music videos, and artist performances
Become familiar with the methods and best practices for conducting ethnographic research
Present a structured argument, in a media-rich video presentation format, that advances a specific original claim related to K-pop based on the student's original research