K-pop Faces Crisis of Self-Erosion...Identity Under Threat Due to Rising English Lyrics and Trainee Exoduses

K-pop is confronting a crisis of self-erosion. The genre that once captivated the world with its artistic quality and creativity is losing its identity by repeatedly adopting trends like those on TikTok and repeating similar concepts. One K-pop fan noted, “It’s hard to realize that K-pop has completely lost the art form it once loved,” adding, “Current K-pop gives up true artistic integrity, endlessly recycling the same ideas, changing the group’s musical style with each new album, and mechanically imitating already-established viral moments.” Particularly as K-pop enters its fifth generation, it faces criticism that it is on the verge of self-erasure due to exploitative management practices and excessive consumption, constantly changing in meaningless ways despite a lack of creativity. The structural problems within the K-pop industry are reflected in even more alarming figures. According to a survey by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the number of trainees under agencies dropped sharply from 1,895 in 2020 to 1,170 in 2022, representing a 38.3% decline over two years. During the same period, the proportion of trainees leaving their agencies rose from 31% in 2020 to 34.4% in 2022. This trend of increasing trainee exoduses persists even though agencies have increased investment in trainee development by over 30%. Language changes also symbolize K-pop’s identity crisis. Recent K-pop lyrics exhibit a “80/20 English/Korean” phenomenon, meaning English accounts for 80% and Korean for 20%. There are even many songs that use only English. A music critic emphasized, “Language is key if K-pop wants to retain its ‘K’ identity,” stressing that just as J-pop does not abandon Japanese, K-pop must keep Korean as its primary language to preserve its identity. Historically, K-pop originated in the late 1990s as a “brand” aimed at international markets. Psy’s “Gangnam Style” proved that global success was possible even with Korean lyrics, achieving Billboard success through excellent media utilization and creative ideas without relying on English. However, today’s K-pop agencies are dismissing the value of Korean in order to expand into global markets. The critic pointed out that this is not genuine K-pop simply because the headquarters are in Korea and the singers are Koreans; the inevitability of English lyrics is merely a business logic driven by the desire for greater profits. Japanese linguists who specialize in Korean have demonstrated the “musical thrill” provided by Korean consonant clusters, and it is no coincidence that international K-pop fans strive to learn Korean and Korean culture. As the essential element of “Korea” that supports K-pop’s identity becomes increasingly blurred, there are growing concerns that K-pop as a genre will eventually erode itself.