K-POP

K-pop (an abbreviation of Korean pop( Korean: 가요 kayo) is a musical genre originating in South Korea that is characterized by a wide variety of audiovisual elements. Although it comprises all genres of "popular music" within South Korea, the term is more often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music covering mostly dance-pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, hip-hop, R&B, etc.
In 1992, modern K-pop was ushered in with the formation of Seo Taiji & Boys, whose successful experimentation with different music styles had sparked a paradigm shift in the music industry of South Korea. As a result, the integration of foreign musical elements has now become a common practice in the K-pop industry.

K-pop uses a set of genre specific expressions. These include traditional Korean honorifics, used by both idols and fans. Besides this traditional social system, K-pop adds its own subculture. As much as age is important, the debut date and popularity of the artist also matters. Younger artists or those who debuted later are called hoobae (후배) and they must greet the older and earlier debuted colleagues (선배, sunbae, "senior") with an insa (인사), the traditional deep bow. Failing to do this have met with strong criticism from the industry and the fans alike, for example in the case of girl group T-ara.
Boy and girl groups in Korea are referred to as idols or idol bands. Idol bands have a strict hierarchy. Every band has a leader, chosen by either the members or the managing company based on age, personality and leadership qualities. The leader is a representative of the band as well as responsible for group harmony. The youngest band member is called maknae (막내), which is a special position as it is traditionally regarded that the cuter the maknae the more potential a band has in terms of popularity.Idols are recruited and trained in a trainee system regarded as exceptional in the pop industry.
The Korean pop industry involves the so-called fan service, which is largely based on bromance of a non-sexual nature between band members of male idol groups. Fans pair their favourites into "OTPs" (one true pairing), who in turn reinforce the pairs by acting cute and brotherly with each other on television. The names of such bromantic pairs are contracted from the original stage names of the members, for example the G-Dragon–Seungri OTP is commonly referred to as "GRi". OTP pairs are called "ships", from the English term "relationship", and fans of these "ships" are called "shippers"

Frequently used expressionsAddressing others

• 오빠 oppa woman's elder brother; Korean women call older male family members and friends as well as their lovers this way. Fans commonly refer to male idols as "oppa".
• 형 hyung man's elder brother; Korean men call older male family members and friends this way. Younger members of idol groups call the older members "hyung" as well. Failing to do this is regarded rude and impolite.
• 언니 unni woman's elder sister; Korean women call older female family members and friends this way. Younger girl group members also refer to older members as "unni".
• 누나 noona man's elder sister; Korean men refer to older women in their family as well as their friend circles this way.
• 동생 dongsaeng younger sibling; regardless of sex, people in close relationship with the speaker are referred to as dongsaengs.
• 선배 sunbae senior, someone with more experience in the respective field, regardless of age.
• 후배 hoobae junior- someone with less experience in the respective field, regardless of age.

Other frequent expressions

• 화이팅 hwaiting Originated from the English "fighting", this expression is widely used for encouragement and support.
• 대상 Daesang At music awards several artists receive Bonsangs for their outstanding achievement in music, then one of the Bonsang winners is awarded with a Daesang, the "Grand Prize".
• 본상 Bonsang

Expression Explanation

• All-Kill (AK)
• Perfect All-Kill (PK) .They refer to chart positions. "AK" means that the song reached #1 on the charts of the seven biggest online music portals of South Korea the same day. "PK" songs also led the ringtone download charts.
• mini album- A mini album in K-pop means that the record (physical or digital) contains no more than two or three songs and their remixes. It is usually longer than a single but shorter than an EP.
• title track- Title track in K-pop means the leading track of the album, which has a music video released and is promoted on music shows like Inkigayo by live performances.
• repackaged album- Repackaged album means that after the first promotions of the album are finished, the album is re-released with new design, containing one or two new tracks, out of which one is a "title track" with a new music video.
• promotion- Promotion in K-pop refers to promoting the "title track" in several televised music shows like Inkigayo. Promotion on TV shows usually last one month, with a "debut stage" for newcomers, a "comeback stage" for regulars and a "goodbye stage" at the end of the cycle.
• point dance -Point dance consists of hooking and repetitive key movements within the choreography, which matches the characteristics of the lyrics