Diaspora Influences In K-Pop: How Overseas Koreans Shaped The K-Pop Industry

As K-Pop becomes more popular globally, there is an increasing number of K-Pop idols and producers from different countries joining the industry. These days, it is common to see foreign members in a K-Pop group, and some K-Pop groups like BLACKSWAN even consist of entirely non-Korean members. In 2022, among 645 idols in the top 100 idol groups based on brand reputation, about 10.2% of the members are not Korean nationals. 

Among the foreign population working in the K-Pop industry, overseas Koreans take up a significant proportion due to their Korean ethnic background. They have been contributing to the global popularity of K-Pop by navigating between their Korean roots and foreign identities. Read on to find out the history of overseas Koreans in the K-Pop industry, and how they have been shaping the industry and overcoming challenges throughout the years! 

History of overseas Koreans in the K-Pop industry

Although Korea is a largely homogeneous country, overseas Koreans were already active in the K-Pop industry in the 1st gen era. The first overseas Korean K-Pop idol is Yoon MiRae, who is half-Korean and half-Black American with both Korean and American nationalities. She debuted as a member of UPTOWN in 1997 and later formed a hip-hop group Tashannie in the following year. After Tashannie disbanded in 2000, she became a solo singer and remained active until today. Another 1st gen K-Pop group g.o.d even consists of three Korean-American members (Park JoonHyung, Danny Ahn, Son HoYoung). 

As K-Pop started to expand to the overseas market in the 2nd gen era, more K-Pop groups started to incorporate overseas Korean members to expand the groups’ fandom outside of Korea. Apart from Korean-Americans such as Tiffany from Girls’ Generation and former leader of 2PM Jay Park, overseas Koreans from different countries also began joining the industry such as Alexander from U-KISS, who is a half-Korean and half-Macanese born in Hong Kong and raised in Macau.

U-KISS Official Twitter

The nationality of overseas Koreans working in the K-Pop industry continued to diversify from the 3rd gen era and beyond. Korean-American such as Peniel from BTOB and BM from KARD make up the majority of the population. However, there is also a growing number of overseas Koreans from other countries such Canada (Seok Matthew from ZEROBASEONE), Australia (Bang Chan and Felix from Stray Kids), New Zealand (Rosé from BLACKPINK), and even non-English speaking countries such as China (RenJun from NCT DREAM), Japan (Yoshi from TREASURE), and Russia (Park YuRi from JxR). All these show that the nationality composition of overseas Koreans has become increasingly diverse, which aligns with the growing popularity of K-Pop across the world throughout the past three decades.

TREASURE Official Twitter

Contributions of overseas Koreans in promoting K-Pop

Overseas Koreans have been contributing to the global popularity of K-Pop in various ways. First, they break language and cultural barriers between K-Pop idols and overseas fans. For example, Korean-American soloist Eric Nam founded DIVE Studios, which produces English podcast programs such as “GET REAL”. The series is hosted by several Korean-American K-Pop singers and discusses different topics such as comparing life and society in the West and Korea. It also invites other English-speaking overseas Koreans to share their upbringing overseas. Since overseas Koreans are exposed to both Korean and overseas culture growing up, they were able to serve as a bridge connecting K-Pop and foreign K-Pop fans by introducing Korean culture, while at the same time sharing their experience living abroad. This makes overseas fans feel closer to K-Pop and Korea, which helps solidify K-Pop fandom overseas. This episode invited THE BOYZ‘s Canadian members Jacob and Kevin to share their experiences living in different parts of Canada: 

Second, overseas Koreans add diversity to the K-Pop music genre. Having spent his childhood and teenage years in the US, YG Entertainment’s Korean-American producer Teddy Park is deeply influenced by American hip-hop music. This made him incorporate hip-hop elements in the discography of various YG artists such as 2NE1, BIGBANG, and BLACKPINK, which contributed to the international success of all these K-Pop groups. Jay Park’s music identity is also heavily influenced by American hip-hop and R&B music, which made him produce unique sounds that blend K-Pop with American pop music. This shows that overseas Koreans help promote K-Pop to global audiences by creating music that resonates with fans both in Korea and internationally. 

Third, overseas Koreans promoted K-Pop globally by collaborating with overseas producers and artists. Eric Nam has worked with various overseas musicians for his music. For example, he invited Woodie Gochild to feature in his song “Potion” from the EP ‘Honestly’. He also worked with songwriter Jake Torrey for the same album. Another more recent example is Rosé and Bruno Mars’s global megahit “APT.”, which incorporates elements of K-pop such as repeated Korean lyrics while blending Western pop influences. Overseas Koreans make use of their fluency in foreign languages to work with overseas musicians, which helps spread K-Pop to more audiences globally. 

Challenges overseas faced by overseas Koreans in the K-Pop industry

Despite being ethnically Korean, overseas Koreans have to navigate cultural differences and language barriers while developing their music career in Korea, just like other foreigners working in the K-Pop industry. 

Eric Nam once revealed that he suffered from insomnia and depression when he first moved to Korea. Yoshi also shared that he found it hard to adjust to life in Korea when he came to Korea as an idol trainee. BM took on various part-time jobs such as working as an English tutor to make a living when he was a trainee. However, all of them gradually got used to living in Korea and embraced their Korean heritage, and they are now thriving as K-Pop artists loved by fans across the world. 

In conclusion, overseas Koreans have been in the K-Pop industry even back in the 1st gen era, and their nationality has become more diverse as the popularity of K-Pop continues to grow globally. Overseas Koreans have been contributing to the development of the K-Pop industry by leveraging their knowledge of both Korean and overseas music and culture, which expanded the K-Pop fandom globally. Although they faced challenges in adapting to the Korean language and culture when they first relocated to Korea as foreigners, many of them managed to overcome these barriers and develop a successful music career in Korea. 

Who is your favorite overseas Korean K-Pop idol? Let us know in the comments below!