K-pop without the ‘K’ just won’t pop

K-wannabes: KatsEye, a new girl group, has only one Korean among its six members. Will it become popular? — Agencies

K-POP is betting that it can reverse its slowing global growth by becoming less Korean. This is a mistake: Without the “K”, the music is plain pop, undistinguishable from – and unable to compete with – the dominant American kind.

There is no question the K-pop wave is waning. Bang Si-hyuk, whose Hybe is behind such acts as BTS and NewJeans, believes the industry is in crisis. South Korean customs data shows that K-pop album exports in 2022 grew just 4.8% to over US$230mil (RM1.08bil), compared with 62.1% in 2021 and 82.6% in 2020.