A man walks past a poster showing images of members of K-pop group BTS at the front of a cafe in Seoul on Dec. 12. AFP-Yonhap
In 2023, Korean culture has seen a spectrum of events that have extended the nation's influence across the globe.
Marked by events like BTS members' solo ventures before their enlistment, the emergence of K-pop groups without Korean members and the rise of fifth-generation K-pop bands, the K-pop scene has continued to evolve and captivate international audiences.
The Korean film industry faced challenges with big-budget blockbusters underperforming at the box office, while streaming services like Disney+ and local platforms brought changes to the competitive industry.
In the art world, Frieze Seoul returned for a successful second edition and the country's experimental avant-garde art garnered international recognition.
BTS members flourish in solo careers, start military service
The globally celebrated K-pop group BTS, known for their pivotal role in globalizing K-pop, has seen all its members enlist in the military this year. Before their enlistment, each member engaged in various solo activities.
The eldest member, Jin, initiated the enlistment process in 2022, followed by J-hope in April this year and Suga commenced social service work in September. RM and V joined the military on Dec. 11, while Jimin and Jungkook followed suit on Dec. 12. The group plans to reunite for group activities in 2025, following their 18-month mandatory service.
During the group's hiatus, each member pursued solo work.
J-hope released "on the street" in March, while Jin released the single "The Astronaut" shortly before his military enlistment. RM dropped his inaugural solo album "Indigo” and Jimin also surprised fans with his debut solo album "FACE" in March.
Suga continued his solo journey with "D-DAY" in April, completing a trilogy that included his mixtapes "August D" and "D-2." He made history as the first member to embark on a solo world tour, performing a total of 25 times in 10 cities from April to June.
Jungkook's solo track "Seven" became a global sensation in July, topping Billboard's Hot 100 and setting records. He continued his solo journey with successive releases like "3D" and "Standing Next to You."
V last ventured into his solo career, dropping his first album "Layover" in November. The title track "Slow Dancing" received acclaim.
Girl group BLACKSWAN / Courtesy of DR Music
Rise of K-pop groups without Koreans
One of the most attention-grabbing phenomena in the K-pop landscape this year is the emergence of groups entirely of non-Korean members. Although some argue that they do not exactly fit into the category of K-pop, many still consider them as novelty acts introducing a broader spectrum of cultural diversity.
At the forefront of the new trend is girl group BLACKSWAN, which is made up of Senegalese-Belgian Fatou, Brazilian-German Gabi, American NVee and Sriya from India. It had Korean members when it first arrived on the music scene in 2020, but they all quit the act. After rebranding itself as a quartet in 2022, BLACKSWAN has been hitting high note after high note, with the music video of its May release "Karma," garnering more than 7 million views on YouTube as of Monday.
"We are so glad to form a K-pop girl group that we dreamed of," BLACKSWAN said through its agency, DR Music.
In addition to BLACKSWAN, a plethora of groups like NiziU and HORI7ON are also carving out their own niches in the K-pop industry, enthralling fans with their international flavor. The former is an all-Japanese group launched by JYP Entertainment, while the latter is a rookie boy band composed of seven Filipinos.
K-pop acts ZEROBASEONE (left), and RIIZE / Courtesy of WAKEONE, SM Entertainment
Fifth-gen K-pop boy bands debut
After fourth-generation K-pop groups saw their peak, 2023 marks the emergence of fifth-generation idols, with numerous boy groups debuting and revitalizing the K-pop industry.
SM Entertainment, giant K-pop powerhouse, introduced the seven-member boy group RIIZE in September. Their debut single, "Get A Guitar," surpassed 1.03 million pre-orders, earning the group a million-seller status from its debut. RIIZE's success extended to awards, securing the "Favorite New Artist" accolade at the 2023 Mama Awards held at the Tokyo Dome, Japan, and receiving the "Rookie of the Year" award at the Melon Music Awards.
KOZ Entertainment, affiliated with BTS' agency HYBE, unveiled BOYNEXTDOOR, a male sextet produced by Korean rapper Zico in May. Their first mini album, "WHY..," achieved international recognition by landing at the 162nd position on the Billboard 200 chart.
Mnet's 2023 survival audition program "Boys Planet" led to the formation of ZEROBASEONE with its top nine trainees. Debuted this summer, they quickly attracted over 1 million followers on their official Instagram account within six days and, within five months of their debut, clinched nine awards.
Additionally, several other boy groups, such as MNH Entertainment's 8TURN, the multinational 10-member ensemble xikers, the 9-member XODIAC, the octet LUN8, The Wind, the 7-member AMPERS&ONE and the quintet ONE PACT, have also made their mark on the vibrant K-pop scene.
Battle for management control over SM Entertainment
Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment / Courtesy of SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment, home to A-list K-pop stars like NCT and aespa, was embroiled in a management dispute earlier this year, shortly after the company terminated its contract with founder Lee Soo-man as its chief producer. SM insisted that it was time to kick off a new chapter by ditching its previous system in which Lee spearheaded the entire process of music production.
SM picked tech behemoth Kakao Corp. as its new partner, so the latter acquired a 9.05 percent stake in the company to become its second-largest shareholder. However, it soon faced a setback when Lee sold his 14.8 percent stake to HYBE, the best-selling K-pop label in Korea that represents the Grammy-nominated boy band BTS. This deal not only sparked a bidding war between HYBE and Kakao, but also divided industry insiders and fans, who hotly debated whether SM-HYBE alliance is a blessing or a boon for the future of K-pop.
In the end, Kakao won the battle by securing a 40 percent stake in SM. But HYBE soon accused Kakao of inflating SM's stock prices to block it from securing a larger stake in the company, leading to the arrest of Bae Jae-hyun, chief investment officer of Kakao Corp, in October on charges of alleged stock manipulation.
A scene from the sci-fi film "The Moon" / Courtesy of CJ ENM
Big-budget blockbusters flop at post-pandemic box office
After years of pandemic-induced delays, a string of much-anticipated movies finally premiered this year, signaling a brighter outlook for the weakened film industry. Despite the success of the action franchise “The Roundup: No Way Out” in May, which collected over 10 million ticket sales in just over a month, major blockbusters hit local theaters failed to see a notable boost at the box office.
Out of summer's big four – disaster thriller “Concrete Utopia,” crime action “Smugglers,” sci-fi “The Moon,” action thriller “Ransomed” — only “Smugglers” achieved box office success, surpassing its 4 million ticket sales breakeven point with 5.1 million ticket sales. Despite the invites from global film festivals, “Concrete Utopia” barely met the breakeven point. Whereas the two other tentpoles — “The Moon” and “Ransomed,” with over 20 billion won budgets each — underperformed, garnering only 516,000 and 1 million ticket sales, respectively.
The Chuseok holiday's big three — sports drama “Road to Boston,” comedy “Cobweb,” mystery thriller “Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman” — targeted moviegoers over the long holiday weekend, but none of them met the breakeven point, despite their star-studded casts and big-name auteurs.
Netflix original reality show "Physical: 100" has been a global hit since its release in January. Courtesy of Netflix
‘Physical: 100' takes Korean reality shows overseas
Netflix's competition reality show “Physical: 100” undoubtedly became the talk of town soon after it was released in January, bringing a global spotlight on Korean reality shows.
The show, which tests participants' physical endurance, stirred a global sensation, becoming the first Korean reality show to top Netflix's non-English TV show streaming chart. It garnered a total of 235 million hours of viewing, claiming the 15th on the platform's most-watched content this year, according to the data released by Netflix last week.
The survival show invited 100 people in top physical shape to take part in a series of grueling challenges to survive as the final winner.
“I felt the elements, like seeing the success of the contestant you are rooting for, would also be supported by people around the world. So we invested in the survival format. Since the filming of the show, we took into account the global viewers and made it comfortable for them to watch as well,” the show's producer Jang Ho-gi said.
The show is picked up for a new season last June and Netflix said the new season will be a step up from the first.
A poster for the Disney+ original series "Moving" / Courtesy of Walt Disney Company Korea
Streaming platforms reshape competitive local market
Disney+ rebounded in Korea this year, picking up its rather disappointing performance since its launch in 2021 with a series of hits with its originals such as “Big Bet,” led by the veteran actor Choi Min-sik, and “Moving,” this year's most-watched local title on the platform.
The star-studded “Moving,” featuring Ryu Seung-ryong, Zo In-sung, and Han Hyo-joo, garnered several awards, including two trophies at the Grand Bell Awards and six trophies at the 2023 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards. It was also nominated in the Best Foreign Language Drama category at the upcoming Critics Choice Awards.
Coupang Play, a local streaming platform, stepped up its game, becoming the second-most-used streaming service. The platform, which won local viewers' hearts with its comedy original “Saturday Night Live Korea,” saw another success with its latest original title “Boyhood.”
Meanwhile, the two local streaming giants, Tving and Wavve, have a memorandum of understanding in an attempt to secure a higher stake in the heated streaming war against international services. Tving's owner CJ ENM and Wavve's majority shareholder SK Square signed the deal on Dec. 4, signaling the formation of the largest streaming service in Korea. Currently, Tving is the third-largest streaming service and Wavve is fourth.
The sophomore edition of Frieze Seoul, held at COEX in Gangnam District, southern Seoul from Sept. 6 to 9, attracted more than 70,000 visitors from 36 countries. Courtesy of Lets Studio, Frieze
Sophomore edition of Frieze returns to Seoul
Following its much talked-about debut last year, the second edition of Frieze Seoul returned to COEX in September in the capital's Gangnam District. This time, it drew a larger crowd of art enthusiasts from different parts of Asia, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and Southeast Asia, following the easing of COVID-19-related travel restrictions.
The fair attracted over 70,000 visitors from 36 countries during its four-day run from Sept. 6 to 9. More than 120 galleries from around the world participated in the Seoul edition, with a stronger core of Asia-based exhibitors and those with outposts in the region.
Despite a slowdown in the Korean art market after an unprecedented turnover, there has been an influx of international dealers entering or expanding their footprints in the local art scene, coinciding with Frieze.
Blue-chip dealers such as White Cube and Tokyo-headquartered Whitestone Gallery are among the newcomers, opening spaces in southern and central Seoul, respectively. Also joining the move is auction house Sotheby's, which unveiled its new premises in the city.
Meanwhile, Thaddaeus Ropac expanded its existing outpost in Yongsan District with the addition of a first-floor gallery. Berlin-based Peres Projects, which initially made inroads into Korea last year, inaugurated its second location in central Seoul.
Artist Park Seo-bo speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Gizi, which triples as his home, studio and gallery, in Seodaemun District, Seoul, in this May 14, 2019 photo. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
‘Dansaekhwa' master Park Seo-bo dies at 91
Park Seo-bo, widely acknowledged as the father of Korea's celebrated “dansaekhwa” (monochrome painting) movement, passed away in October at the age of 91.
Park emphasized the meditative aspects of art production that stemmed from purposeless repetition, reaching to the point of “emptying oneself out.”
“Without attaining that spiritual realm, the painting becomes something that's merely pretending to be dansaekhwa,” he once said.
The artist's renowned “Ecriture” series was what propelled him to international acclaim.
The series originated in the early 1970s as “pencil-Ecriture,” inspired by his three-year-old son's rudimentary penmanship. He began replicating his son's style by applying numerous graphite lines on a canvas coated with wet, white paint.
Later, “hanji” (traditional Korean paper made from the bark of mulberry trees), as well as the hues and composition of both natural and man-made landscapes, found their way into his canvas, giving rise to “mid-Ecriture” and “color-Ecriture” phases.
In 2021, the painter received the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, the highest cultural merit honor bestowed by the Korean government.
Park's works have been featured during the 2015 and 2022 Venice Biennale, as well as other prominent international exhibitions in New York, London, Seoul, Singapore and Vienna.
The first museum dedicated to the artist, tentatively dubbed the Park Seo-bo Art Museum, is set to open to the public next summer in Seogwipo, Jeju Island.
Installation view of the group exhibition, "Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s," at the Guggenheim in New York / Courtesy of Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Korean experimental art in global limelight
The experimental art scene that struck post-war Korea during the 1960s and '70s began with young avant-garde artists.
Amid the turbulent era of military dictatorship, state censorship and breakneck economic growth, these creatives embarked on a quest to find their own language of resistance through a radical mix of temporary happenings, installations, photography and video.
Decades after being overlooked in art history, the movement has finally returned to the spotlight this year with the group exhibition, “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s,” co-organized by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) and the Guggenheim in New York.
As a survey featuring over 95 works by 29 representative practitioners of the period, the show highlighted the contributions of creatives such as Lee Kun-yong, Sung Neung-kyung, Kim Ku-lim and Jung Kang-ja.
Following its summer run in Seoul, “Only the Young” traveled to the Guggenheim in September as the first North American museum exhibition dedicated to these artists. The show, scheduled until early January in New York, will proceed to the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles in February.