Decoding the 4 Generations of K-Pop
Designed by Nicole Solero
K-Pop music has experienced an unprecedented but extraordinary boom in the last few years. From early teenagers to golden agers, K-Pop has managed to garner fans across different phases of life. Courtesy of viral TikTok and Instagram challenges, everyone seems to know the latest chartbusters, the fandoms, and the chorus, including the hook steps. But did you know your favorite K-Pop group belongs to a generation of artists?
Veteran fans may well be aware of this, but the origin of K-Pop stems as early as 1885 when American and British folk songs were taught to Korean school students by American missionary Henry Appenzeller. Based on Western music but sung with Korean lyrics, these songs were called changga. Years later, in 1925, when Korea was under Japanese rule, the first K-Pop album titled Yi Pungjin Sewol (translation: This Tumultuous Time) was released. However, it wasn’t until 1992, when Seo Taiji and Boys debuted, that we saw a resemblance to what K-Pop is today.
Since then, there have been multiple generations of K-Pop—four to be exact. Whether it’s fashion, concepts, music, or even fandom, each generation is representative of changes that reflect pop culture trends, industry shifts, and aesthetics. Let’s decode all 4 generations right now!
1st Generation
Active Years: 1996 - 2004
Groups like H.O.T., SECHSKIES, S.E.S, Fin.K.L, and Shinhwa are the foundation of K-Pop. Romance and youth were running themes of this generation’s music. The pace of the music was either slow and soft or highly influenced by Hip-Hop music. Fashion was predisposed from American 90’s staples like baggy jeans and fitted tops. Outfits were mostly monotone and almost matching for all members, with the color white being a popular choice for stages. Hair was naturally black and often down. Makeup was minimal and simple, almost non-existent for boys. Popular songs from this generation include “Candy” (H.O.T.), “('Cause) I'm Your Girl” (S.E.S.), “Couple” (SECHSKIES), “Eternal Love” (Fin.K.L), and “Perfect Man” (Shinhwa). Shinhwa and SECHSKIES are the only active first generation groups to date.
2nd Generation
Active Years: 2005 - 2011
Dubbed the ‘Golden Age of K-Pop’, this is the generation that gave rise to what we call ‘Hallyu’ or The Korean Wave. Groups like Super Junior, BIGBANG, Girls’ Generation, Wonder Girls, KARA, SHINee, 2PM, and 2NE1 were born and popularized K-Pop outside of Korea. This generation probably gave the most iconic songs to date, and some of the most popular ones include “Gee” (Girls Generation), “Ring Ding Dong” (SHINee), “Sorry Sorry” (Super Junior), “I Am The Best” (2NE1), and “FANTASTIC BABY” (BIGBANG). This era’s music focused on giving listeners earworm syndrome rather than an emphasis on lyrics. Fashion-wise, this generation was more experimental and eccentric compared to the last. Girls sported outfits that were poppy and colorful, whereas, guys were seen in suits, tees, jeans, and even flashing bare chests.
It was common for these artists to do bold eye makeup and wear accessories like earrings, caps, necklaces, and wristbands. Notably, many groups or certain members of the group were known to change their hair colors with every comeback. This generation also saw open and friendly interactions between girl and boy groups—something absent in the current generation due to constant shipping by fans. Many groups from this generation like Super Junior, SHINee, Apink, Girls Generation, and BIGBANG are currently active and have broken the infamous ‘7-year curse’ in K-Pop.
3rd Generation
Active Years: 2012 - 2017
This generation spread K-Pop beyond China, Japan, and the USA. It took K-Pop ‘worldwide’ and granted numerous opportunities for the current generation. PSY’s “GANGNAM STYLE'' pioneered K-Pop’s globalization, with the first video ever to hit 1 billion views on YouTube; it now stands at 4.7 billion views. The 3rd generation saw the development of stronger fan bases but stricter expectations of an ‘idol’ image. World-class acts like EXO, BTS, MAMAMOO, GOT7, TWICE, Red Velvet, BLACKPINK, and NCT were formed. This generation witnessed maximal revolutions out of any other generation. K-Pop idols started taking an active approach to communicating with fans using social media to increase their fan bases and develop parasocial relationships. Companies started focusing on building the group's image, providing fan service, and merchandising.
Groups showcased variety in their music styles, diving deep into concepts and even creating universes. This is when music video theories started blooming. School/teen concepts, self-love and exploration, and girl crush became popular concepts for this generation. Since school concepts were popular in the first half of the generation, so were school uniforms. In the second half, groups transitioned to soft pastels or brightly-colored looks and appeared stylish with outfits inspired by fashion weeks. Boy groups in particular started to incorporate more color in their outfits. Makeup was angsty at first, with boys wearing full kohl (heavy eyeliner) around the eyes, but later changed to a more neutral and pastel palette. Songs like “CALL ME BABY” (EXO), “Ice Cream Cake” (Red Velvet), “Blood, Sweat & Tears” (BTS), “TT” (TWICE), “You’re the Best” (MAMAMOO), and “AS IF IT’S YOUR LAST” (BLACKPINK) still make top picks for K-Pop playlists. Most groups from this generation are still active.
4th Generation
Active Years: 2018 - Present
The ‘most viral generation’ of today is sweeping the maximum benefits from the efforts of artists from previous generations. The most popular groups today include Stray Kids, ATEEZ, (G)I-DLE, TXT, ITZY, ENHYPEN, aespa, IVE, LE SSERAFIM, and NewJeans. What took years to achieve success in the yesteryears, many 4th generation groups were capable of achieving in a matter of a few months. Despite the negative impacts to the touring and live performance industry due to the 2020 pandemic, K-Pop groups unexpectedly continued to achieve multitudes of success and the attractiveness of K-Pop heightened. Many songs started topping global charts, raking in millions of views on YouTube within hours, and multiple albums were surpassing 1 million in pre-order sales. This forced companies to up their game in a bid to outdo others. Companies began investing millions of dollars to deliver top-class music, with escalated focus on choreography, music video production, and fashion.
Although choreography only improved with each passing generation, this generation excelled with innovation, speed, and difficulty levels. Noticeably, there has been an increased focus on creating easy hooks for building viral social media challenges. The production quality of music videos is at its finest, with each video outdoing the previous ones. This generation has explored darker and bolder concepts, Sci-Fi and self-love, a theme that’s been exploited to its fullest. The 4th generation has also seen the birth of virtual or AI idols like MAVE. Both fashion and makeup have been the most experimental to date. It’s theatrical and screams luxury brands from top to bottom. However, that hasn’t stopped many looks from becoming a trend internationally. Outfits these days either focus on the individual personality of the artist or the concept, and are less about being coordinated between members. Popular songs include “LATATA” ((G)I-DLE), “WONDERLAND” (ATEEZ), “WANNABE” (ITZY), “God’s Menu” (Stray Kids), “Savage” (aespa), “0X1=LOVESONG” (TXT ft. Seori), “Polaroid Love” (ENHYPEN), “FEARLESS” (LE SSERAFIM), “Hype Boy” (NewJeans), and “LOVE DIVE” (IVE).