Korean Pop Music

A very good morning I bid to Puan G Shariza, our English teacher and fellow friends of 4 Cendana. Today, I will be talking about Korean Pop Music. Since the manufacturing of recorders and gramophones back in the 1850s, music has been a big part of most of the world no matter what age, what race, or what genre they prefer. There s a type of music for everyone. Today, the range of genres in the world has expanded far and wide from pop to rock to hip hop to R&B. Earlier, in the days of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, music was most popularly made in the United States, then came the Beatles in our parents days. Now, the world has found another source of music: Korea. The Koreans are mostly known for their pop songs, also known as K-Pop or Korean Pop. Of course, there are rock bands and hip hop artists as well but they are mostly the underdogs of their country. If you are to walk up to a student in this school and ask them if they know any Korean songs, I d bet you they would say yes. This is because of the Korean Wave. The Korean Wave is supposedly their domination of the world without war, casting a wave of Korean products, music, dramas and culture throughout the world. So far, they have done very well in trying to achieve this objective. In Malaysia, the Korean Wave is evident as many of the Korean singers come here to perform and show off their talents. One of the kings of the Korean Pop is TVXQ. TVXQ is a 5-member boy band who happens to be perfect in the eyes of many girls and boys. They have made the Korean Wave a reality having taking Korea by storm but they also conquered the rest of the world including, but not limited to, Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, United States, United Kingdom, Paris, Australia and Spain. Their popularity worldwide was proven in the year 2008 in the Book of Guinness World Records where they were awarded the largest fan base in the world with over 800,000 official fans. They have many names to cater for their many fans who speak many languages but all of the names mean the same thing: Rising Gods of the East. They ve gone through poverty and starvation to get to where they are now, and even with complications they are still known as the original Korean artists who made the world so in love with Korean music, so much so that all of the new artists have it easy to get out into the world. Another king of Korean Pop is Rain. He is a late-20-year-old man who is known for his chocolate abdominal muscles, or abs. He is most popularly known for his roles in several American movies like Ninja Assassin and Speed Racer both of which were very much popular around the world. Some of your parents might know of the Korean drama Full House, one of the most successful dramas in the history of Korea which he had starred in many years ago. He is the earliest Korean singer to be popular in America which made his popularity everywhere else shoot sky high. His charms include his avid ability to dance, sing and make people laugh.

So far, I have talked about the kings of K-Pop. Shall I turn to the queens now? Wonder Girls, a 5member girl group most popularly known for their song Nobody . This song first came out in 2007 in Korea and later got translated into English and Mandrin and can now be heard in radios around the world. It s catchy tone and easy dance steps got everyone singing along when they performed. They also made it big in America where they opened up for the Jonas Brothers on their tour of America. They have also graced their presence in Malaysia only last year for the MTV World Stage in Sunway Lagoon. These many Korean artists have worked very hard and are now known as legends in their country. Today, I did not talk about them only for spreading the Korean Wave but these people have a value that should become an example to us students. Their diligence and everlasting will helped them to make their dreams into reality. They have succeeded in going around the world and making people happy with their music for the reason that this is their life goal. I hope that we can all make these 11 people an example to chase our own dreams and one day be as successful as them. Thank you.