In the past year alone, we’ve seen a significant increase in the so-called westernisation of the K-pop industry. With the debut of Kalseye, an American group, and the onslaught of English tracks from word-famous names such as Twice, BTS and BlackPink, it is becoming clearer that selling albums is more important to the industry than their creative output. 

Keeping in mind that K-pop isn’t a genre but an industry whose main goal is to create profits. it’s sad to see that conforming lo the West comes at the cost of the quality of the music being released. 

A popular example of English tracks harming a K-pop group is BTS. Their recent English releases, ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Permission to Dance’ have been highly criticised for their poor lyricism and generic pop sound, and I couldn’t agree more. Before these songs, BTS was adamant about keeping their music in Korean. This level of creative control can be traced through their lengthy discography, and it becomes apparent when going through the later releases that the decision to move towards English tracks has caused a decline in quality. BTS is known amongst die-hard fans for writing songs about mental health, self-love, and Korean society, but their English releases are shallow in comparison – they’re filled with meaningless lyrics accompanied by unmemorable music videos. 

How does a group go from releasing ‘Fake Love’, an emotive song about hiding depression, to the empty dance track ‘Permission to Dance’? Watching a group popularised for their fresh approach to pop music become caricatures of what they claimed they’d never become is baring. I now see this in many groups, who opt out of pushing against Western ideas and instead lean into them in full force. 

The prioritisation of English-speaking audiences may lead to K-pop’s downfall, as it reveals the companies’ money-grabbing intentions. K-pop has always been tied to America, with the creators of first-generation -pop crediting hip-hop for the industry’s birth. However this is purely influence, which is not in itself negative. If anything, it displays how music can permeate across the globe, making way for new sounds. What is happening today appears more sinister and charged by greed. If you walk into an HMV today, you’ll likely see four or more different versions of the same K-pop album. They aren’t even trying to be subtle about the state of the industry being more about money than music. 

K-pop appears to be less about the Korean aspect or audience and more about creating a certain type of upbeat sound accompanied by high-concept music videos, constructing idol-like stars and selling photocards. This definition of K-pop leaves me unsure whether K-pop’s “K” part matters anymore. I believe that companies and fans of the industry are a most equally liable for this shift. If fans stopped engaging with poorly made English tracks the industry might focus on creating high-quality music again. But I don’t have much hope in fans, as the extreme support they provide to every single release means these companies will always get what they want more money.