The commencement speakers for this virtual ‘Dear Class of 2020’ event include former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Malala Yousafzai and Korean pop group BTS. To cap this rather long list, they became the first South Korean group to perform at the Grammys in January 2020. By the 1990s, Korean pop music began taking its own unique form and shape, and was heavily influenced by American and European pop music styles, especially, hip hop, rap, rock and jazz. Saeji points to Korean pop groups like Girls’ Generation (SNSD) and Big Bang, that were among the first K-pop groups that gained popularity outside East Asia. These social media platforms have impacted the large universe of Korean pop music in some interesting ways.

Source: Indian Express June 06, 2020 13:09 UTC