Books, blog and other blather
Hey, just got some fun news: K-Pop Now! has been published in Spanish! And by Penguin Random House Mexico.
I’ve written a lot about how K-pop has found much popularity in much of Latin America, but I never thought that I would get to be a part of it. ¡Fantastico!
So I was checking out the Kyobo Gwanghwamun store today, and in addition to stationary, toys and presents, it actually sells a lot of books. Who knew?
What’s more, when I was walking around the foreign language section of the store, I came across an interesting fantasy book on display:
Yep, there had several copies of Young-Hee & the Pullocho. Nice to know the book is not only in stock, but actually visible. Yay.
Here’s another view:
Maybe it’s a small thing, but it still picks up my spirits to see my books in a store. Especially such a big, flagship bookstore like that Kyobo.
Anyhow, 2015 is nearly over, so a big thanks to everyone who bought one of my books this year — whether it was Young-Hee & the Pullocho, K-Pop Now or Pop Goes Korea. And an extra-big thanks to everyone who took the time to rate or review them, too, whether on Amazon or Goodreads or anywhere else. It’s so nice to know that people are reading something I wrote and enjoying it.
Is K-Pop Now some kind of stocking stuffer? Because in the last couple of weeks, its sales ranking has risen noticeably over on Amazon. And I know I haven’t been doing any marketing or publicity.
Weird, but most appreciated. Once again, K-Pop Now is the No. 1 book on Amazon for Popular Dance, and it’s up to No. 28 for Travel -> Japan. Why Japan Travel? I have no idea. Maybe that was the categories my publisher entered.
(Hey! Over of Amazon.ca, K-Pop Now is doing even better, and is the No. 7 book for Travel > Japan. Again, weird, but appreciated).
Anyhow, I think it’s wonderful anytime anyone buys one of my books. Thanks much, mysterious Internet people.
Oh, and if you are looking for more books as stocking stuffers, might I humbly suggest Young-Hee & the Pullocho…
Hard to believe it’s been a year already since K-Pop Now came out (thanks once again to all to bought it and/or read it). On one hand, it’s amazing how much has changed already in the world of K-pop — new groups, people leaving old groups, etc. But at the same time, I think the last year has been a bit static, without anything transformative really going on.
K-Pop Now wasn’t the most academic book ever, nor was it the most in-depth (it was fairly short with a lot of images). But I tried to give a sense of what K-pop is, why fans love it, and the spirit of the K-pop age.
One line from the book, though, I wish I had been clearer about:
“K-pop is overwhelmingly genuine. When a singer loves, he loves completely. When he misses his love, it is a deep, soul-crushing ache”
Now, clearly the industrial nature of the K-pop business doesn’t really nurture singer-songwriters, people who spill their souls and reveal their deepest truths. But I wasn’t talking about the industry that makes the music; I was talking about the sentiments expressed by K-pop singers. The industry and the structure of the industry might be cynical and full of artifice, however the emotions and ideas of the songs are not.
Does that make sense? I might compare it to professional wrestling. Professional wrestling isn’t “real”, but the reason people like it is because of the force of the emotions expressed by the wrestlers. It seems genuine.
It’s kind of an adolescent way of viewing the world and emotion. A grown-up, disillusioned view of love might be more like Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” or Radiohead’s “Creep” (okay, not really “grown-up”, but certainly more jaded). K-pop is more like an opera aria, and the feelings expressed by most K-pop songs are more straightforward and pure. Personally, I find the artifice of honesty a fascinating subject in all creative areas.
My publisher was nice enough to send me a few photos from the book launch party on Tuesday — not a lot, but hopefully it gives you a taste of the evening.
Here I am talking to Eric Oey, the publisher of Tuttle:
(Honestly, it was fairly crowded at the event. More than it looks in these photos).
You can’t have a book event without signing some copies:
Here I am with Brad Moore of Busker Busker, apparently having a smirking contest:
Both Daniel Tudor and I have new books on the way from Tuttle, coming in January:
Tuesday night was the official launch party for K-POP NOW! and for Daniel Tudor’s new book A GEEK IN KOREA. And I think it was fairly successfully — we had a good turnout of book store reps, journalists and friends, and people seemed to have a good time.
Unfortunately, things were busy enough that I did not get a chance to take many photos. Hopefully some of the other people who took pictures will send me some to share soon. So for now, all I have is this one picture from before the event started.
Honestly, this photo is from before the event. We really did have a good turnout. I swear.
Thanks to all who came. I really appreciated it and had a great time.
Tomorrow evening there’s going to be a book launch party for K-POP NOW, together with Daniel Tudor’s new book, A GEEK IN KOREA. It’s my first time having an event like this, so I hope it goes well. I’m sure it will be fine — especially with such a strong partner as Tudor and his new book — but one still gets a bit nervous about these things.
Still, it will be interesting who turns up. Hopefully I’ll have some fun photos to post.
So, Jessica is out of Girls’ Generation. That makes three major SM Entertainment artists to leave their groups this year, along with Kris leaving Exo and Sulli taking a “haitus” from f(x), not to mention Sunye leaving Wondergirls and other high-profile shakeups.
Now, any pop music industry is going to be inherently volatile — fans and artists are young, careers are short — but the increasing troubles that K-pop seems to be going through has me wondering if we could be seeing the beginning of the end of K-pop.
As with so many things about Korean pop music, Motown is in interesting comparison. It had a very similar business model as K-pop and it did very well for a number of years before eventually burning out in the early 1970s. What led to the end of Motown?
I think it is pretty clear that several of those issue apply to K-pop. Management companies that are the most controlling over their artists are also having the most problems these days, while Jay Park and Drunken Tiger and the like are enjoying their independence.
Are tastes changing? I’m not a teenager, so it is a bit hard for me to talk to that point. However, when I take a look at the Melon charts, “idol K-pop” certainly does not dominate. I see a lot of ballads, hip hop and other genres. Maybe those genres don’t sell themselves or their singers as well as K-pop does, but clearly the music people enjoy in Korea is much more diverse than most music websites would have you believe.
Of course, the end of idol K-pop would not mean the end of Korean popular music. Korea had a thriving music scene long before Seo Taiji and Boys or H.O.T came along. YG Entertainment snapping up Akdong Musicians or CJ signing Busker Busker are signs that the music industry knows tastes are going to keep changing. So I’m not worried about the long-term success of Korean music. But it is very possible that the structure of it and the types of music we hear about could be changing.
I do wonder, though, if I’m going to have to change the title of K-POP NOW to K-POP THEN.
(Btw, I quite like this Soompi article for insights about what happened to Jessica. There’s a good post in the comments translating the latest by Dispatch).
So, I’ve kindly been invited to speak at the 10 magazine book club this Saturday (thanks to Barry for the invitation). And although I’m still not 100 percent sure what I’ll be saying, I’m happy to say that I finished my Prezi presentation this evening.
(One thing I like about Prezi is that it gives you some flexibility to riff, if you want).
Usually, I just talk about Korean pop culture history, but I think this Saturday I will mix things up and combine Korean history with a bit of personal history, and talk about how I got into writing and how the writing business has changed over the years. (Or I might not … all is subject to change).
Details:
Saturday, July 26, 4pm
Haechi Hall at the Seoul Global Culture & Tourism Center in Myeongdong
Cost: 5,000 won
A reader writes:
Dear Mark
I’d like to know why you left out the fact that TVXQ started off as a 5 member group? You included their discography from 2004 which was when they were a 5 member group. You included the fact that Jay Park was an ex-member of 2pm but you failed to include the fact that TVXQ started off as a 5 member group.
It’s distressing and disheartening for me as a long time fan from when TVXQ used to be a 5 member group to read what you wrote. I can accept JYJ not being included in your book but it’s upsetting to think that new comers to kpop may very well think that, after reading your book, TVXQ has always been a duo and that’s far from the truth.
Sincerely
Thanks much for writing. That is a very fair question and, as it has come up in pretty much every review of the book, one I think I’ll address now.
So, K-POP NOW! was conceived of as a positive, fun look at Korean pop music, something designed for the fans. I was asked to write it in April 2013 by Tuttle Publishing, so we put together a list of groups that we thought needed to be covered, as well as other subjects fans might like to read about.
Then I approached the K-pop labels about getting their help (for photos and information about the groups). Some never answered, a couple just said “no,” while most were very nice about the process. Of those who said “yes,” some just sent me photos and disappeared, while others had a few small comments about the write-ups. SM Entertainment was the most active in the process.
Which I totally understand. SME is the biggest company in K-pop, and their groups are the label’s lifeblood. SME was very active in checking for errors big and small (which, given the 4 Minute typos, I really appreciated). They also had strong opinions about how they wanted their groups presented.
Now, I was not interested in embarrassing anyone or making anyone look bad, and I know that the whole TVXQ history is a very sensitive one, so I tried to write a very positive article on the band, which mentioned them starting as a five-member unit, then transitioning to a duo. I did not mention anything controversial about what happened and just looked at the positive — i.e., that everyone is doing well now, and fans have a lot of great music to choose from.
However, SM Entertainment did not like that approach. They were worried that any mention of the group’s history would upset the fans. I tried being flexible, and repeatedly pointed out that not addressing the group’s history at all would likely just draw attention to what happened and upset people more. But, in the end, SME had its approach and was firm. So that is how we ended up with the book the way it is.
Oh, and I clearly do like JYJ, as I specifically mentioned Joonsu’s “Incredible” in my look at 2013 K-pop. But they slipped through the cracks when I was writing and did not make the book. Originally, I intended to have a big section briefly looking at the history of K-pop and all the big groups that have come and gone. Unfortunately, securing photo rights for older acts turned into a nightmare, so the whole section was dropped. Which I think made the book a bit unbalanced.
K-pop is constantly changing, with new groups rising up, while former leaders often settle down and become more established, with a core group of long-time fans. There are many groups I would have chosen differently had I been writing the book now and not in the middle of 2013, as I’m sure I would change again in 2015.
Anyone who feels that their band was overlooked or shortchanged, well, I never intended to hurt your feelings. What I wrote was one person’s view of K-pop at a specific moment in time. Someone else might write something very different, as I would if I were writing today (and, as I did in 2008 with POP GOES KOREA, a book that was more serious and explored issues with idols and their labels more in-depth).
Anyhow, if we ever make a 2nd edition of K-POP NOW!, I’m sure there will be plenty of changes. In the meantime, I’ve switched my focus into fiction, and am excited to have my first novel on the way (coming in early 2015, I think). But for anyone who has read or bought my first books, I’m really thankful.
Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music and Internet Culture (2nd edition) is the only English-language book to examine the whole of Korea's entertainment industry and how it became such a powerhouse over the past 20 years. With profiles of many of Korea's top stars (including Lee Byung-hun and Rain), Pop Goes Korea features chapters on movies, music, television, comic books, the Internet, and more.
On sale now at:
Amazon.com
Kobo eBooks
And hopefully more ebooks stores very soon.
The original edition of Pop Goes Korea is now out of print.
K-Pop Now! takes a fun look at Korea’s high-energy pop music, and is written for its growing legions of fans. It features all the famous groups and singers, and takes an insider’s look at how they have made it to the top.
You can buy at:
Amazon.com
Chapters Indigo
Tuttle (my publisher)
Kyobo Books (in Korea)
Goodreads (not for buying, but still a good link)
© 2024 Mark James Russell
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑