Singers living in the shadow of K-pop

From left are "Ms. Trot" competitors, from left, Hong-ja, Song Ga-in, Ji Won-I and Sookhaeng. / Courtesy of TV Chosun

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Trot music, which was coined after the 1920s foxtrot dance in the U.S., spread to Korea in the 1930s, enjoying a heyday in the 1960s and 70s. Korea's trot music and U.S. foxtrot dance have no other notable common characteristics beyond the name.

In the 1960s, Lee Mi-ja fascinated music fans with her signature song "Lady Camellia." The lyrics describe the sadness and pain Lady Camellia has endured after a breakup.

Lee earned the nickname "Queen of Elegy" as many of her songs depict sadness and tragedy.

In the 1970s, the rivalry between two male singers ― Nam Jin and Na Hoon-a ― showed how popular trot music was back then. The two singers had nothing in common, other than their stardom.

Their music styles, family backgrounds and the way they rose to stardom were very different but the two were the most beloved musicians of their times. Nam was from a rich family and his music was soft and gentle. He became a star immediately after he debuted. His rival Na, meanwhile, fascinated music fans with his charismatic stage presence and was portrayed as a tough guy.

The two singers have different groups of fans and their loyal fans sometimes clashed.

A trot boom continued all throughout the 1970s.

Cho Yong-pil is another towering figure in Korea's pop music history. He rocked the nation with his iconic trot song "Come Back to Busan Port." The song, which describes the deep pain and sadness of a separated family as they long for their brother living in Japan, was released initially in 1972, but it was not an immediate hit.

The song grabbed attention from music fans in 1975 when a historic reunion of families separated by historic events took place.

A group of ethnic Koreans in Japan, who were pro-North Korea, were allowed to visit South Korea for a one-off reunion with their families in the South. Some flew to meet their families and some took ferries connecting the southern port city of Busan and Japan. Gimpo International Airport and Busan Port became two iconic places where tear-jerking reunions of the separated families took place.

After the Korean-Japanese returned to Japan, they sang "Come Back to Busan Port" whenever they missed their separated families in South Korea. News about the popularity of the song spread to South Korea and then it became a hit song in 1976.

Trot music declined in the 1980s as music diversified. Younger music fans were drawn into folk, ballad and rock music.

Joo Hyun-mi breathed fresh air into trot music and became a game changer in the 1980s. She rose to stardom after her medley songs became popular among older music fans.

Dark days for trot singers began in the 1990s when three entertainment companies ― SM, JYP and YG ― were established to discover talented young musicians and train them systematically. The agencies, now called the "Big 3," focused on finding talented teens and helping them debut as singers. Several "idols" were created and some became very successful after fascinating fans with their synchronized dance performances.

Pop music became a cash cow as some musicians gained enormous popularity in Japan and other parts of Asia. Korean pop music has since been called K-pop.

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Opinions about K-pop's place in Korean music history are mixed.

K-pop singers and producers have been lauded for triggering global fandom for Korean music. But at the same time, they are also criticized for their one-size-fits-all type of music.

At the center of such criticism lies the belief that K-pop has thrived at the expense of diversity in local music genres.

K-pop is based on Western music. Hip hop, R&B, rap and other genres were localized and people call them "K-pop" as a cultural phenomenon.

Before the Western music-based K-pop music dominates local music scene, Korean pop music was diverse.

In the 1980s and until the mid-1990s, for example, singers from diverse music genres, such as dance, folk, and ballad music and rock and roll, were loved by music fans and these singers coexisted on the music charts. Competition among solo artists, duos and bands made Korean pop music resilient.

In the 2000s, the local music scene underwent a drastic change as K-pop gained popularity. Same-sex bands, synchronized dance and performance became the norms for success. Korean music became younger as teens dominated K-pop.

K-pop domination in the local music scene took a toll on the music industry. A talent drain has emerged as an urgent issue in music genres other than K-pop due to a rush of singers going to K-pop.

Competitors of TV Chosun's "Ms. Trot for Tomorrow," a singing competition show to select Korea's next top trot singer, pose with Ms. Trot sashes in this undated photo taken in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Aspiring singers, K-pop trainees, former members of disbanded girl groups and housewives took part in the TV auditions to try their luck as trot singers. / Photos from TV Chosun

Trot singers became marginalized in show business as well.

Trot singers have lived in the shadow of K-pop since the 1990s.

Unlike trendy K-pop which has achieved global expansion this decade, trot music has continued to decline.

Hong-ja, one of the "Ms. Trot" competitors, said living as an unknown trot singer is much tougher than one may think. "There were no stages for unknown singers like me. It was tough, much tougher than I had thought," she said at the show. In the first round of the competition, she performed "Sang-sa-hwa" or "the flower of unrequited love" of which lyrics describes the loneliness, despair and sadness of a woman who broke up with her love interest.

Hong-ja said she chose the song for her performance because she thought the lyrics represent her rugged life as an unknown singer.

She introduced herself as a singer having a voice that is as intense and thick as "gomtang" (beef stew boiled for many hours).

Her witty comparison of her voice to the Korean dish became a hit and earned her the nickname of "gomtang singer."

Another competitor Ji Won-I said trot singers like her have been enduring tough circumstances and there were many moments where she was tested hard to continue her musical career. "Particularly the last six years were really tough," she said.

The 36-year-old singer is popular among soldiers and receives rock star treatment among them. Due to her unrivaled popularity, she earned the nickname "the commander in chief."

Despite her enormous popularity among men of the military uniform, the singer said she is the so-called "deut-bo-job" or "I've never heard about her" among ordinary music fans, particularly those in urban areas. She said she was determined to compete in "Ms. Trot" for publicity.

Producer Moon is optimistic about the future of trot music. He said it has diverse subgenres and is not just about the iconic "breaking voice" technique. According to him, there are various types of trot music, including authentic, rock and ballad trot, and trot music can appeal to both older and younger music fans.