More TV shows going 'newtro'

Mnet's "Do You Know Hiphop?" Courtesy of CJ ENM

By Park Ji-won

More TV stations are launching new shows reminiscent of the past few decades, trying to attract more viewers who enjoy "newtro," a Korean buzzword combining the words "new" and "retro."

KBS' cable channel KBS Joy launched "20th Century Hit Song," a music chart program, on March 27, where its hosts introduce pop songs and culture from the 1980s to 2000s to young people in their teens and 20s. It also invites K-pop singers to the program to give performances.

Mnet, a cable channel owned by CJ ENM, also recently launched "Quiz and Music Show," a quiz show where panels of veteran singers, including Koyote's Shinji, answer questions and discuss old K-pop. In February, the channel also launched "Do You Know Hiphop?" a talent show where rappers in their 40s who were active in the late 1990s and 2000s compete for the chance to make a compilation album and collaborate with young performers.

Comedy TV released Monday its first episode of "Jijigo Bokgo," a talk show where hosts talk about entertainment trends of the past. Its keywords range from music to objects which were popular between the 1980s and 2000s.

The programs try to revive the culture of the past while introducing viewers to new interpretations and platforms which are common now.

The so-called "newtro" content came after the huge success of JTBC's "Two Yoo Project Sugar Man," a music show which led the trend of recalling "vanished" one-time K-pop stars. The program made a sensation after inviting Singer Yang Joon-il, a Korean-American singer in his 50s who made his debut in 1991 at the age of 22 with a song titled "Rebecca." After he performed on the program, his "underrated" artistic songs went viral online and Yang became one of the most famous singers among viewers and TV stations. He resumed his activities as a singer in Korea.

After appearing on the JTBC show and gaining positive reactions from viewers, Seeya, a famous girl group in the late 2000s that disbanded in 2011, decided to reunite in April.

Also, the moves are likely a reflection of the trends sought out by Korea's younger generations, who actively consume the "retro" content online.

In recent years, most TV networks including KBS, SBS and MBC, started to reprocess their old TV shows and release them on online streaming channels like YouTube. For example, under the title "Watch old TV shows again," they upload edited video content showing highlights of the shows. Some of them are showing full episodes of dramas and music shows.

Experts believe the new trend of combining old and new content won't be disappearing any time soon.

Choi Se-jung, professor at Korea University School of Media & Communication, stated in a recent contribution to Korea University News that "It appears that newtro, which rediscovers, recreates and shares the value of previous content by actively consuming and playing with it based on people's individual tastes will last for a while."

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