Anyone living in Korea has heard some KPOP, whether it’s while working down the street or in the comfort of your own home it’s always around. But for those who don’t know so much about KPOP here’s a little insight.
There are countless brands and countless styles and sub-styles, but here are in my opinion the main 5 styles / genres of KPOP with example videos for your enjoyment.
1) KPOP Traditional Ballard:
This track maybe a little out of date, but it shows a perfect example of a traditional KPOP ballad from Brown Eyes “Already been a Year” (sorry it’s a little long).
2) KPOP Cute Asian Bubble-gum Pop:
When you think of Asian music this style often comes to mind first, cute girl next door type groups of girls wearing matching clothes and displaying boundless amounts of energy. Here is an unsurprisingly cheesy prime example from Secret “Shy Boy”.
3) KPOP Boyband Hysteria:
Of course boybands are big allover the world, for example Take That, Westlife, One Direction and even a generation back to the Monkeys and the Jackson 5. Here is an example of a current Korean Boyband Teen Top “Crazy”.
4) KPOP Rap / R&B:
This genre is very popular in Korea at the moment with 10’s maybe 100’s of R&B and Rap clubs in Hongdae alone. I felt this track from Big Bang “Bad Boy” that showcases the quality of KPOP Rap and R&B.
Also I had to add this althought it’s a few years old now, the video is amazing. From Cho PD “My Friend”
5) KPOP European Disco Pop:
The second Big Bang track “Fantastic Baby” but this one is a bit different as it’s more of a club style. Not really a western club style but more EuroClub style.
Finally
These styles or genres are the main 5 in our opinion, please if you feel there is anything of note you feel we’ve miss please comment below or via Twitter / Facebook.
Thank you for your time.
Jeonghye & Sujeong
Modern Seoul
contact@modernseoul.org
Modern Seoul 
I think now there is also an up & coming trend in Alternative style music like 10cm and Busker Busker! I also really like Acoustic Collabo as well 🙂
Hey I was wondering if you could categorize Lee Minho’s style even though he’s not primarily a singer hehe. I think of it as like Ballad Electro-Pop Rock but I’m sure you would think of a better way to put it with your more experience especially because some of his songs are more soft and sweet (You and I) as compared to others (Burnin’ Up). Thanks!
Almost certainly, this post is over 3 years old and therefore the genres listed are now a little out of date.