It’s amazing to think of how far hip-hop and rap music has come since its birth in America. To understand the genre breaking out of the American music bubble, I applied the theory of globalization. Kayode stated globalization refers to the “integration of economics and societies from countries around the world” (2012.) He said globalization can involve cross cultural interactions of technological, economic, political, and cultural exchanges through advances in communication, transportation, and infrastructure (Kayode, 2012.)

 

Korean hip-hop began in the early 1990s with a culture for a new generation of Korean youth after the lift of censorship on popular music that gave way to artist freedom and creativity (Um, 2013.) As the country developed into the tenth largest economy, Korean youth embraced consumerism and Western popular culture, specifically music. Um stated hip-hop emerged as an African American cultural form and through production and marketing by major recording industries, fed into the demands and consequences of global capitalism (2013.) The commercialization of rappers and their music essentially globalized their work into neighboring countries such as South Korea, who at the time during the rise of hip-hop, was looking for a new cultural identity. During the advancement of technology in the internet and television, Korean youth found their new cultural identity through American hip-hop.

 

Another perspective I looked to was the theory of cultural hybridization. As Kraidy stated, “hybridity suggests traces of other cultures exist in every culture and described it as the cultural logic of globalization” (2006.) It doesn’t necessarily mean mixing and blending cultural elements but how cultures generate new forms and create new connections with one another (Wang, Yueh-yu Yeh, 2005.)

 

As the globalization of hip-hop dripped into South Korea, K-pop essentially began in 1992 after one specific hip-hop performance, according to Vox. Talent shows were common televised events in South Korea and on April 11, 1992, former rock band member Seo Taiji and two recruited dancers, performed their first hip-hop inspired single. The group received the lowest score of the

evening but after the song debuted, it shot up the South

Korean single charts and currently holds the country’s

longest number one streak, Vox stated. With the performers

hitting top-rocking breakdancing steps and rapping over a

hip-hop break beat, this was the first time American hip-hop

inspired music crossed over and created a connection

between America and South Korea. Cultural hybridization

theory is used to understand how Korean hip-hop generated

a new form of hip-hop culture through Korean lyrics and

music videos while establishing a connection with the country

that founded hip-hop.