The Korea Herald

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[Korea Quiz] K-pop for senior listeners?

By Korea Herald

Published : March 11, 2024 - 10:26

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Find the answer at the bottom.

K-pop, mixing addictive beats, catchy hooks, rap and meticulous choreography, continues to captivate music fans worldwide.

In its homeland, however, some of the most popular music stars come from a uniquely Korean music tradition that remains largely unnoticed abroad: trot.

Lim Young-woong, a 33-year-old trot artist, embodies this genre’s dominance among listeners in older age groups. He is the titleholder of last year's song of the year, based on music streaming revenues. He was also named singer of the year in 2023 in the annual Gallup Korea poll, sharing the honor with the K-pop girl group NewJeans.

Lim, the breakout star of the TV singing competition show “Mr Trot” in 2020, commands legions of devoted fans primarily in their 50s, 60s and beyond. Mirroring the popularity of K-pop idols, his concert tours are consistently sold out, with tickets disappearing within minutes.

Trot is the oldest type of Korean pop music. Although its name comes from the American foxtrot, the genre is an amalgam of more diverse styles from Korean pansori and Japanese enka to American and European sounds of the early 20th century.

Answer: (b)