![<span class="mw-page-title-main">K-pop</span> South Korean popular music genre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/320px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png)
K-pop, short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, rock, jazz, gospel, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, disco, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. The term "K-pop" became popular in the 2000s, especially in the international context. The Korean term for domestic pop music is gayo, which is still widely used within South Korea. While "K-pop" can refer to all popular music or pop music from South Korea, it is colloquially often used in a narrower sense for any Korean music and artists associated with the entertainment and idol industry in the country, regardless of the genre.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">TVXQ</span> South Korean male duo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/TVXQ_December_2023.jpg/320px-TVXQ_December_2023.jpg)
TVXQ, known as Tohoshinki in Japan, is a South Korean pop duo formed by SM Entertainment, composed of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Junior</span> South Korean boy band](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/KCON_2015_Super_Junior_DSC02998_%2820357930851%29.jpg/320px-KCON_2015_Super_Junior_DSC02998_%2820357930851%29.jpg)
Super Junior , also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band composed of Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun. Han Geng, Kibum and Kangin were originally part of the group before departing in 2011, 2015 and 2019, respectively. The group was formed by the founder of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man in 2005 as a 12-piece group with rotational members but the concept was abandoned after addition of Kyuhyun in 2006. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent contributions in Korean Wave.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eunhyuk</span> South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and television personality](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/180502_%EC%9D%80%ED%98%81.jpg)
Lee Hyuk-jae, better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and Super Junior-H. In 2011, he joined Super Junior's Mandopop subgroup Super Junior-M and the duo Super Junior-D&E, active in China and Japan respectively.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls' Generation</span> South Korean girl group](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/220805_%EC%86%8C%EB%85%80%EC%8B%9C%EB%8C%80_%28SNSD%29.jpg/320px-220805_%EC%86%8C%EB%85%80%EC%8B%9C%EB%8C%80_%28SNSD%29.jpg)
Girls' Generation, also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensemble, member Jessica departed from the group in September 2014. Among the most known South Korean figures and successful K-pop groups worldwide, Girls' Generation has earned numerous accolades and the honorific nickname "The Nation's Girl Group" in their home country.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gee (Girls' Generation song)</span> 2009 single by Girls Generation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/Girls%27_Generation_-_Gee_%28Japanese_version%29_single_cover.png)
"Gee" is a song by South Korean girl group Girls' Generation, who originally recorded a Korean-language version for an extended play (EP) that was released in South Korea by SM Entertainment on January 5, 2009. Nayutawave Records released a Japanese-language version of "Gee" on October 20, 2010, as the group's second single in Japan. Music duo E-Tribe wrote and produced the track, and Kanata Nakamura wrote additional Japanese lyrics.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">2NE1</span> South Korean girl group](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/2ne1_adidas_2013.jpg/320px-2ne1_adidas_2013.jpg)
2NE1 was a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, which was active between 2009 and 2016. The group was composed of four members: Bom, CL, Dara, and Minzy. Known for breaking typical stereotypes of K-pop, musical experimentation, fashion, and stage presence, they are recognized for expanding girl group styles in the Korean music industry and have become one of the leading figures of the Korean wave.
![<i>2NE1</i> (2009 EP) 2009 EP by 2NE1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/2NE1_1st_Mini_Album_Cover.jpg/320px-2NE1_1st_Mini_Album_Cover.jpg)
2NE1 is the self-titled debut extended play (EP) by South Korean girl group 2NE1. The album was released by YG Entertainment on July 8, 2009, and contains seven songs composed and produced by South Korean producers Teddy Park and Kush. Three singles were released in support of the record, including the LG Cyon promotional single "Lollipop", "Fire", and "I Don't Care". All three singles were met with success on the charts in South Korea, with the latter single winning Song of the Year at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
![<span class="mw-page-title-main">SM Town Live '10 World Tour</span> 2010–11 concert tour by SM Town](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/50/Smtownlive10.jpg/320px-Smtownlive10.jpg)
SM Town Live '10 World Tour was the 2010–11 worldwide live concert tour by SM Town. The tour commenced with one show in Seoul in August 2010 and continued on to the United States, Japan, China and France.
![<i>SBS Gayo Daejeon</i> South Korea annual televised music festival](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0e/SBSGayoDaejeon23.jpg/320px-SBSGayoDaejeon23.jpg)
SBS Gayo Daejeon is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musical artists from 1997 to 2006. The awards ceremony portion of the festival was revived in 2014 and discontinued the following year.
The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2014 in music in South Korea.
Young-hu Kim is a South Korean music producer, songwriter and software engineer. He works mainly with SM Entertainment artists, and has written songs for Girls Generation, Exo, TVXQ, BoA, Shinee, f(x), Super Junior, Shinhwa, and Fly to the Sky.
![<i>Billboard</i> K-Town Online magazine column about K-pop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3f/Billboard_K-Town_Column_launch_2013.JPG/320px-Billboard_K-Town_Column_launch_2013.JPG)
Billboard K-Town is an online magazine column presented weekly, on various days, by Billboard on its Billboard.com site. The column, launched on January 29, 2013, reports on K-pop music; artists, concerts, chart information and news events. Billboard and its website had reported on K-pop for a number of years, following the evolution of K-pop, increasing the number of articles with the spike in 2009, and finally culminated in a column specifically for the genre after Psy's July 2012, "Gangnam Style" hit made K-pop history and doubled online viewership. K-Town was created as part of the popular music publication's website relaunch, with new features for fans, and the goal of providing more on-site reporting of festivals, award shows, and other major music events.
The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2012 in music in South Korea.
"Lies" is a song recorded by the South Korean boy group Big Bang. The song was written and composed by rapper G-Dragon. It was released on August 16, 2007, by YG Entertainment as the first single from BigBang's first extended play Always (2007). It became the group's breakout hit, topping charts in their home country for several weeks and consequently winning Song of the Year at the 2007 Mnet Asian Music Awards. The song remains one of their most critically acclaimed song to date and is often viewed as one of their signature songs.