K-Pop - by John Lie (Paperback)

About the Book

"K-Pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea seeks at once to describe and explain the emergence of export-oriented South Korean popular music and to make sense of larger South Korean economic and cultural transformations. John Lie provides not only a history of South Korean popular music--the premodern background, Japanese colonial influence, post-Liberation American impact, and recent globalization--but also a description of K-pop as a system of economic innovation and cultural production. In doing so, K-Pop delves into the broader background of South Korea that gave rise to K-pop in this wonderfully informed history and analysis of a pop culture phenomenon sweeping the globe"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

K-Pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea seeks at once to describe and explain the emergence of export-oriented South Korean popular music and to make sense of larger South Korean economic and cultural transformations. John Lie provides not only a history of South Korean popular music--the premodern background, Japanese colonial influence, post-Liberation American impact, and recent globalization--but also a description of K-pop as a system of economic innovation and cultural production. In doing so, he delves into the broader background of South Korea in this wonderfully informed history and analysis of a pop culture phenomenon sweeping the globe.

Review Quotes

"K-Pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea succeed[s] in its aim of providing an overview of the historical evolution of South Korean popular music, and in doing so, addressing to varying degrees the three questions with which it began. Combining a solid command of empirical facts with dexterous explorations of genres, contexts, and concepts, this is an engaging, stylish work that will be useful for both academic researchers and general readers alike."-- "Journal of Asian Studies"

"This book investigates one of the most compelling issues in current transnational cultural flow and production driven by domestic factors. It provides insights into global pop culture by offering rich empirical detail and useful historical milieus surrounding the emergence of K-pop. It is presented as a convincing contribution to a growing body of literature on popular music, the Korean cultural industries, and cultural politics. It is highly recommended for a wide range of readers who are interested in K-pop, the Korean Wave, and popular culture."-- "Pacific Affairs"

About the Author

John Lie teaches social theory at the University of California, Berkeley.