Korean boybands have already scored huge global success. Now the gender balance is being reset
When girl group Blackpink took to the stage in Hyde Park in London last month, they made history as the first ever Korean pop (or K-pop) group to headline a UK festival. Yet, despite the quartet clinching eight official Top 40 UK hits, their appearance at such a big UK event was still viewed with surprise by some. British music snobbery is not short of jibes towards the K-pop industry’s overtly manufactured nature.
Now doubters will have to concede that the juggernaut of K-pop music is not showing any signs of slowing. And this year it’s all about the girls.
