Cho Yong-pil tops music chart

By Kang Tae-jun

Korean people have heard two good news items about Korean singers recently. First, Psy’s new single ranked highly on the Billboard music chart. Second, veteran singer Cho Yong-pil’s new single has topped the domestic Korean music charts.

It seems we are entering K-pop’s golden age abroad. Korean music is represented by K-pop singers with perfect dance moves and well-managed appearances. K-pop is attracting attention not only from Koreans but also from people in other countries. K-pop’s impact on the world music industry is growing and seems to be poised to launch the next phase of the “Korean wave.”

However, if you look beyond the surface, not all Koreans have universally assembled behind a united front to support K-pop. One demographic in particular has been noticeably absent in its support of the boy bands and girl groups. If there’s one group who doesn’t get Girls Generation, it’s the “Parents Generation.”

People in this demographic (usually aged 50 and older), arguably with some justification, perhaps feel this new “Korean Music” isn’t made for them and, as a result, have no attachment to it. This is too bad, as this generation of Korean pop culture is preparing to introduce many people to their first impression of “Korea” as a brand.

If we examine how this demographic became isolated from their kids’ culture, we will see that it was gradual rather than sudden and that, while it continues to widen, it does not necessarily have to remain that way.

The current state of Korean media consumption looks something like this - young people do not understand the music their parents listen to, and parents do not find any interest in K-pop. The two groups share the same space, but their ears are pointing in different directions. The media always tells us Korean music is popular all over the world, but there are some people who disagree living here in Korea.

There have been a few attempts to narrow the gap over the years. Songs released in the 1970s and 1980s were re-made to suit the younger generation’s taste. Older singers and K-pop performers have appeared together in an effort to attract music lovers up and down the spectrum.

However, their efforts largely did not accomplish their intended result. While these collaborations gave insight into what other generations listened to, they rarely went farther than assembling stars together on stage for special one-time performances. They were able to make people understand what kind of music other groups enjoy, but were not able to synthesize that into a new direction all Koreans could enjoy.

Only one artist, so far, has been able to pull off this trick, and he wasn’t riding a pretend pony.

Cho has emerged from professional hiatus holding the young generation’s hand in one hand and the older generation’s hand in the other. He has come back as though he already knew he was the one who could link the two groups by releasing music that both younger and older generations could enjoy.

He built a bridge we all can cross together, while Psy, his international stardom and Korean culture promotion notwithstanding, began his march forward with his new single and accompanying dance moves that necessarily would only appeal to the younger generation.

It’s a popular maxim that kids don’t listen to their parents’ music, but Cho proves this wrong. His new single can still be seen on the top of the domestic music chart, even though it was released many weeks ago. This teaches us that different generations can appreciate the same music if the artist is skillful enough to bridge the gap. K-pop should take note.

There is an English phrase, “ice breaker,” which is an activity that encourages people to start conversations to focus on and share some commonality between them so they can then interact without awkwardness. Thanks to Cho, you and your parents, or conversely you and your kids, now have a great topic for an ice breaker. “Have you listened to Cho Yong-pil’s new single ‘Hello’?”

The writer is an aspiring journalist who has finished Korea University Business School recently, and going to start studying journalism in Hong Kong from September of this year. His email address is taejun.kang@outlook.com.