such as nu-metal. .
Ultimately, I found the essay on popular music by Adorno to be a good comparison to the K-pop industry as a whole, with several aspects fitting near-perfectly. I decided to dedicate an entire chapter on the parallels between Adorno's theory, which was written in 1941 about jazz, and K-pop. .
Most research was done online, thanks to the wealth of information available on the subject of K-pop. As an international media phenomenon, the non-academic English translated resources on the subject are astronomical in number. I read several books on the subject, but found only a few pertinent to my topic specifically – with most just being a guide for new fans of K-pop. .
.
1.5 Chapter Outline .
Chapter 1: Introduction .
Chapter 2: The Start of K-pop, Foreign Influences & the Golden Idol .
This chapter starts with an overview of what the driving force behind K-pop is, and draws a short comparison to Berry Gordy – the founder of Motown Records in the U.S. It mentions how seminal group Seo Taiji & the Boys started K-pop with their 1992 hit song Nan Arayo, and how K-pop as a whole has changed from the self-written nature of it since. It then touches on SM Entertainment opening the gate to Korean artists and groups becoming successful in Japan with BoA and TVXQ. Finally, it discusses the nature of idols themselves, what they are expected to represent and how they are utilised by their agencies' marketing machines. .
Chapter 3: The Engineers of K-pop .
This chapter identifies the three founders of the top three K-pop music labels in Korea. It first touches on Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment, who is a central figure in how modern K-pop's production came to be. Most importantly, it defines the theory of "cultural technology," as coined by Lee – the blueprint of modern K-pop itself. It then discusses Park Jin-young of JYP Entertainment, the label-head with the most influence from Western musical culture.