Abstract

This article studies a mix of Western genres in Korean popular music as well as the related discourses. A mix or transformation of Western genres has been common since the beginning of the history of Western music in Korea. Especially in contemporary Korean popular music, it is common to see singers or songs that blend Western genres. This is because each musical genre is taken out of its original context and only its musical sound is utilized. Such hybridity triggers discussions on the authenticity and identity of the music. These discussions are not limited to contemporary popular music but also extend to local or national music. So-called discourses on Korean national music follow the three distinct phases of the post-colonial theory that Fanon suggested. The popular music scene in Korea also shared the discourses. While these discourses have maintained a post-colonial perspective, so-called K-Pop globally has represented the Korean Wave. The discourses are no longer appropriate for describing current Korean popular music. Therefore, it is time to go beyond the post-colonial theory to describe current Korean popular music. There is no such thing as purity in culture; the hybridity found in Korean popular music is not only a local phenomenon, but it has already become a well-established factor. Rather than focusing on hybridity as a process or a local feature, the study of Korean popular music should be approached in the same way that Western musicologists deal with Western popular music.