5 of Korea's Cutest K-Pop Songs - And Intriguing Glimpses Into Korean Pop Culture
South Korea does cute very thoroughly, and very well. This is reflected in Korea's clothing, dramas and even how people interact (acting cute is called "egyo" in Korean.) But where you can see it best is in Korea's cutest k-pop songs.
When I first saw and heard a k-pop song in 2008 - was it the Wonder Girl's song Tell Me? - I felt flabbergasted, intrigued, amused and entertained by this song about a schoolgirl superhero - and I'd never seen or heard anything like it. On the allkpop website forum, a common answer to “Why do you like k-pop” was “..because they don't focus on sex, drugs, and all those things that our American fellow idols do.” While western pop music often delves into dark, gritty or sexual themes, k-pop often thrives on it's more clean-cut image. Not all k-pop is cute, that’s for sure, but some of it is super sweet and rather interesting to see! Here’s my top 5, which are mostly older songs.
Korea's Cutest K-pop Songs
1. Bar Bar Bar by Crayon Pop
The latest k-pop hit song “Bar Bar Bar” by the young girl group Crayon is a good example of cuteness in k-pop. The song is performed by a girl group acting similar to young High School students dressed in motorbike helmets and dancing around various locations including a theme park.
2. Roly Poly - by Kara
A lot of k-pop groups are cute even when they're not particularly trying to be, like in Kara's song "Roly Poly". The group's attempt at 60's attitude is very cute and rather chic.
Image courtesy Youtube, 1TheK
3. Starlight
Some of the cutest k-pop songs are from Secret. The girl group Secret has a very cute and sweet style, with "Starlight" being one of their best songs. With an old style train station setting and a love story with the train station cleaner, this music video is pretty sweet and light-hearted. It has a nice lilting tune and a fair bit “aegyo” (Korean slang for acting sweet/cute) thrown in.
4. Cherry Blossom Ending
The Cherry Blossom ending film clip by Busker Busker is a more natural and refreshing type of cuteness. The song is in Busker Busker’s 1st album - actually the only k-pop album in our tiny pop music collection. The white bunnies are a nice touch. ^^
K-pop is becoming popular in the overseas music market, with a rise in interest since Psy’s hit “Gangnam Style”. According to Google trends, Indonesia leads the way with it's passion for K-Pop, followed closely by Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
K-pop has also become increasingly popular in English speaking countries over the past 8 years. Have any more songs you think should be on the list?
