[Kulture Issue] The current status and next chapter of K-pop with music critic Kim Youngdae

On August 20th, Arirang TV hosted a special program titled "K-Pop: The Next Chapter", which explored the South Korean government’s cultural policy direction with President Lee Jae Myung himself.

Today, we want to delve into the current status and future prospects for K-pop, which still makes up a large portion of the global K-wave trend.

We’re going to do that with music critic Kim Youngdae, who happened to be one of the six panel members of that special show last month and is joining us in the studio today. Welcome Youngdae!

There's hardly a single day that we're not talking about "KPop Demon Hunters" It's the most watched title on Netflix now, and as Bella earlier reported, the singers who were the voices of HUNTR/X will present awards at the MTV VMAs. and "KDH" was also a major topic on "K-Pop: The Next Chapter". How is the K-pop-themed animation appealing to this wide range of people from all over the world?

As a person working in the K-pop industry, what implications do you believe the success of "KPop Demon Hunters" has for the K-pop market?

"KPop Demon Hunters" centers around Korean culture, but it’s made by an overseas production team. We also have that within the K-pop industry, which incorporates multinational personnel and capital. To what extent can we call those cases K-pop? What defines K-pop today?

During "K-Pop: The Next Chapter," you mentioned that the divide between "global" and "Korean" does not apply anymore in this era. Could you please elaborate on that statement?

"KPop Demon Hunters" director Maggie Kang said there are no limits to the expansion of Korean cultural content. How far and in what ways do you think K-pop can expand further?

During the special program, the issue of concert venues was also brought up. With the growing K-pop market, do you believe there is a need for more concert halls and bigger venues?

Youngdae, next month if I’m correct, your YouTube channel " School of Music" becomes one-year-old. Just like "The Kulture Wave", we both launched in October 2024. What kind of music stories have you shared so far and what are you planning on next?

Thank you very much Youngdae, for your insights today.

Thank you Bella, as always. See you tomorrow.