The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Ronny Chieng Teaches You About K-Pop

Episode Date: October 3, 2022

The signature elements of K-Pop? Next level dance choreography and being Asian. Ronny Chieng digs into how K-Pop is used to boost Korea's cultural profile and economy, and its worldwide impact today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. No, not climate change. All right, all right, settle down, everyone. Because today we're learning about something that's blowing up all over the world. No, not climate change. I don't teach boring stuff in this classroom. I'm talking about K-pop. It's why your cousin suddenly speaks Korean more fluently than English.

And believe it or not, K-pop used to be something that only Koreans knew about. The rest of the world wasn't always into it, like how there was a time when white people didn't know about yoga. The first group to really break through internationally was the Kim Sisters. Sookja, Eja, and Minja started singing as children during the Korean War for American GIs. They sang, they danced, and the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their the during the Korean War for American GIs. They sang, they danced, and they played 20 instruments. I can't even name 20 instruments. Saxophone, no. In 1959, they got a contract to perform in Vegas.

Ed Sullivan was taping his show there, and they managed to book a performance on the show. There was such a hit they got asked back 20 more times. Do you know how great you have to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to get to be to get to get to get to get to be to get to get to get to to get asked back back back back back back back to to to to to to to to to to to get a to to to to tweckckcked twecked 20 twoomecked 20 twoom. twoom. twoom. twoen 20 twoen There was such a hit that got asked back 20 more times. Do you know how great you have to be to get asked back to anything 20 times? I don't even get invited to join LinkedIn that much. Unfortunately, the growth of K-pop hit a bump in the road soon after, when South Korea fell under the dictatorship of President Park Jonghi, who started banning music. They even created blacklist songs that radio stations couldn't play.. th. th. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. th. Do. Do. th. th. Do. th. the th. th. the th. th. their. thi. thi. Do, the tho. Do, the tho, the tho, the tho, their, tho, tho, th. Do, th. Do, the th. Do, th. Do, th. Do, th. Do, th. Do, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. Do, the th. Do, the the the th. Do, the th. Do, th. Do, the, the, the, the, the the the the the the togu togu. togu. togu. the, list of songs that radio stations couldn't play. Everyone's end of year Spotify summary just said, your most played song was the national anthem.

But Korean artists kept making music that challenged the status quo, like folk singer Han Desu-Desu, whose albums were banned for anti-government messaging. Or rock guitarist Sin Chonghe, who, the story goes, defied the dictator's request to write a song in his honor. And let's face it, wanting a song to be written about you is classic dictator behavior. Right after military parades and having a weird haircut everyone tells you looks great. By the 80s, the dictatorship had loosened.

And by loosened, I mean the dictator was assassinated. But whatever, it made listening to the radio radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio the radio th th th to to th. to to to to to to to tooome. tooing to to is tooome. too- is too- is too- is too- is too- is tooing is to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th is is is the the th is th is thi. thi. thi. the. the, is the, is thean. their iss. their iss. thea. thea. thea. thea. thi., it made listening to the radio fun again. Outside music was allowed back in the country, and two of the most influential genres became hip-hop and R&B. Black artists from Michael Jackson to run DMC reshaped the musical landscape of self-career. It inspired performers like Deuce, DJ Doc, and Sir Tejee and Boys, who are the earliest examples of K-K as we know it today. They even made it into the movie soundtrack for Three Ninjas Kickback. You didn't think we're watching a movie in class today, did you?

Yeah, well, I didn't think I still have a hangover, but sometimes life surprises you. This was a big moment for Korean pop music, even if the song was being played over a scene set in Japan. But give them a break, okay? They're the three ninjas, not the three cultural sensitivity experts. The next big step towards today's Kpop was in the 1990s when major music studio started putting performers together in boy and girl bands. That's right. Korea was doing that long before Simon Carwell's nips ever started poking through his t-shirts. That's a no for me dog. It's no surprise this new wave of K-pop blew up around the world. It featured complex melodies unlike any other pop music and always had next-level dance choreography. To this day those remain the signature elements of

Kpop. That and being Asian. Very important requirement. This new generation of K-pop stars became so successful, the government started to take notice and soon launch a program to promote Korean music around the globe. They saw K-pop as a way to boost Korea's cultural strength and economy, without having to do a squid game. But one of the biggest K-pop sensations was a surprise no government could predict. I'm sorry, I know it took you 10 years to get this out of your head, but we've got to talk about it.

Gundam style was the first video to break a billion views on YouTube. It was so popular, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the song, saying the odds towards the path to cultural understanding. He said that about Kandem style. That's like if they played baby they the they they're their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their theiry during a war and all the soldiers started laying down their weapons and hugging each other. Since then, the rest of a world is more into K-pop than ever before. From girl groups like Girls Generation and Black Pink

to artists like CL. But let's get to the group you've been waiting for, the reason you all enrolled in this class in the first place. B th you th you're th you're th first place. BT, mother-fix 3 letters so important, the rest of the alphabet doesn't even exist anymore. They've dominated the charts, they've generated billions in revenue, they made it okay to eat butter again, they even increased tourism to South Korea. I mean, I'm glad my fans aren't that devoted, because then they'd have to travel to Australia, which trust me, you don't to do that. BT that. B that. B th. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. their, their, their, th. th. th. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. I, tode. I's, toda. toda. toda. toda. toda. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, trust me, you don't want to do that. BTS is without a doubt the biggest group in the world. You can tell by their fans, the BTS Army is the second largest military after the US,

and they've drawn zero weddings. BTS might be on hiatus, but there's so much new Kpop we can enjoy what they're gone. And now you know how I got to where it is today. Oppaganham style. Oh, f- Now it's in my head. Get it out. Get it out. Watch the Daily Show, Week Nights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.