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Once mocked for being tacky, this Korean music genre is making a comeback
Before K-pop, there was trot.
This traditional South Korean music genre gets its name from the American "foxtrot", which shares the trot's distinctive two-beat rhythm.
It was popular for decades and produced the country's first musical superstars, but has more recently struggled to compete with newer, trendier sounds, particularly with the global rise of K-pop.
But trot is making headlines again - this time thanks to social media.
Korean content creators have started using generative AI to transform popular K-pop songs into buttery, catchy trot-style tunes, paired with AI-generated images of idols in glittering suits and teased hair - the iconic look of classic trot singers.
These videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on social media platforms like Instagram, Line and YouTube.
But critics have raised copyright concerns and questioned the trend's novelty, arguing that it is too far a departure from the true essence of trot.
Trot first emerged in the 1930s, when Korea was still colonised by Japan. It developed from Korean folk traditions, while drawing influence from Japanese enka and Western styles such as jazz, according to music critic Jung Minjae.
Trot songs often express "han" - a deep-seated feeling of sorrow, resentment and longing shaped by Korea's history of foreign subjugation and one of the most enduring themes in Korean culture. The lyrics of trot songs typically revolve around love and separation, or the yearning for a warm, familiar home.
In Baek Nyeonseol's 1940 classic The Sorrow of a Traveler, for example, the lyrics translate to: "It has been half a lifetime, over 10 years, walking barefoot in a foreign land; sorrow settles deep in this man's heart; when twilight falls, I miss my hometown; calling for dreams with tears, I look for it."
Musically, trot is defined by its frequent use of minor scales and a distinctive vocal style marked by heavy vibrato and kkeokgi - a technique that bends notes to heighten emotional expression.
The genre also produced some of the country's earliest music superstars. Nam Jin and Na Hoon-A, widely considered South Korea's first pop "idols", pushed trot to new heights during their fierce rivalry from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. They shared similar fan bases, whose members carried their favourite artists' on-stage rivalry into real life, often trading attacks and insults.
Listen to No, I'm not crying by Na Hoon-A below:
But trot's glory days appeared to be well and truly over, with many young people viewing the genre as tacky and old-fashioned. Its core audience has largely remained those who grew up listening to it.
In recent years, however, trot has enjoyed somewhat of a revival, led by a new generation of performers.
At the centre of this resurgence are reality TV-style trot audition programmes, where tens of thousands of aspiring singers compete for stardom.
The most successful of these singers is 34-year-old Lim Young-woong, who beat 17,000 applicants to be crowned winner of a televised trot competition in 2020.
Since then, Lim has become a household name.
In 2024, he held solo concerts at Seoul's World Cup Stadium, becoming part of an elite list of South Korean artists, including Psy - of Gangnam Style fame - and major K-pop acts such as Big Bang and Seventeen, to perform there.
Yet despite the strong ratings of these audition programmes, some critics question if teenagers and young hopefuls can do justice to a genre that is so emotionally weighty. This has created a mismatch between what the market is producing and where the demand lies - among older listeners with greater spending power in an ageing society.
And few are optimistic that these young talents will elevate trot into the broader mainstream.
"Although there are many young talented trot singers at the moment, there aren't mega hit songs like Oh My! and Battery of Love in the 2000s," says Jung Minjae.
These two songs marked the peak of trot's popularity. Both are sung by female artists who, while young, presented a more mature image than typical K-pop idols. The tracks are fast-paced and energetic, with repetitive choreography that audiences can easily follow.
Lim Young-woong's generation, however, has modernised trot's sound.
He often incorporates elements of ballad and pop-rock into his music, delivering them with a softer, more contemporary vocal style. While he has achieved remarkable success, many of his peers have struggled to broaden their appeal.
The demographic of trot's loyal fanbase is driving this stylistic shift, explains Jung.
"As the older audience that traditionally consumes trot gradually declines, these artists need to connect with younger and middle-aged listeners," he says.
But even that may not be enough to secure the genre's future.
When its senior fans fade away, so too may much of its remaining popularity, Jung adds. He believes trot will likely remain "classic K-pop" - respected, but limited in reach.
Enter content creators from Gen AI.
With the help of AI generative tools, K-pop-infused trot is reaching younger audiences who find it a refreshing change from the polished K-pop sounds they have grown up with.
"Our mums would go crazy for this," an Instagram user commented under a viral trot remake of Jay Park's hip-hop track, Mommae.
Some remakes are being created by K-pop fans themselves. Kim Ji-hoon, a 29-year-old office worker, runs a YouTube channel and an Instagram account that posts AI-generated trot clips. He says he began producing the videos because he "wanted to shine a light on some hidden gems in K-pop".
The trend, however, carries legal risks. Copyright ownership of AI-generated music and images remains a developing legal issue. Kim, who says he is not monetising his accounts, acknowledges the controversy and says he is willing to take the videos down if necessary.
Many experts believe the AI trot trend may soon run its course. Jung argues that the phenomenon is driven more by curiosity about AI than genuine appreciation for the genre itself.
People are not genuinely enjoying trot as a genre through this trend," he says. "Rather, they're just experimenting with and having fun with advanced technology.
But for some creators, the experience has prompted a reassessment.
YouTuber "Ppong Me the Money", who works in the music industry and has joined the trend, says producing the videos changed his perception of trot, which he once considered tacky and outdated. He has since taken down all his AI clips due to copyright issues.
Trot isn't just cheesy or old-fashioned music," he tells the BBC. "Its lyrics and melodies are deeply tied to the Korean experience, and it's arguably the only modern genre that has survived the upheavals of the 20th Century.
Source: BBC
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