Introduction:

Through this blog I hope to introduce South Korea's musical artists and their contributions. Many people are unaware of the various musical genres in the South Korean industry. There is a range from Classical to Hip Hop and even a musical style called 'Trot,' but most popular are the male and female groups.

In the 1990s, boy and girl bands dominated the music industry in the USA. Well they had their run. Now it's Asia's turn and frankly, they put bands such as N'SYNC and The Backstreet Boys to shame.

With help from the internet, people from all over the world have started to take notice and become devoted fans of Korean musicians. Hip Hop in South Korea started in the early 1990s, and has been progressing ever since. From this, many entertainment agencies began to branch out into other styles of music, including Pop. Thanks to Hip Hop artists such as 3534, Seo Taiji and Boys, Deux, and DJ DOC, South Korea's music industry has become a phenomenon.

Today, some of Korea's most popular artists are RAIN, TVXQ, BIG BANG, Wonder Girls, SNSD Girl's Generation, and Epik High (to name only a few). These bands are from some of the most successful agencies: YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and Map the Soul, Inc./Woolim Entertainment.

A number of Korean artists have expanded to American shores. In 2009, the female group Wonder Girls, toured the US with Jordyn Sparks and the Jonas Brothers and also performed on various TV shows. Perhaps Asia's most famous solo artist, RAIN, branched out in the entertainment industry and recently starred in the Hollywood film Ninja Assassin, directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix).

South Korea's music industry is growing and hoping to expand beyond Asia. Unfortunately, this is a commonly overlooked country by the rest of the world. I hope to make a small contribution in changing that. So without further ado, let's begin...