When you listen to K-pop songs these days, you can often hear English as part of the lyrics. Of course, as K-pop is becoming globalized, this change is significant. However, there is a problem that if English appears too frequently, K-pop’s unique characteristics may be lost. Reflecting on this, I will recommend two songs that fall under two different categories.

The first is “Shangri-La,” a song by the Korean idol group VIXX. The reason this song is special to me is that it expresses Korea’s unique feelings. More specifically, the lyrics of this song are all in Korean. Not a single word of English, commonly found in other songs, exists in this song. Even the choreography and stage concept of “Shangri-La” express Korean traditions well. The music video to the song, which begins with the sound of a gayageum (traditional string instrument), conveys oriental beauty thanks to a beautifully choreographed fan performance. In addition, the main concept of the choreography is the depiction of a Taoist hermit enjoying the arts in Shangri-La. It can be said that Eastern ideas are well-reflected. This song surprised me because popular music-- not traditional music--can express Korean beauty so well. Therefore, I strongly recommend listening to this song.

The other song that I will recommend is totally different from the song above. As K-pop was being exported to the world, foreign interest in it grew very much. Therefore, K-pop singers’ target audiences have become more diverse. Accordingly, Korean singers have released songs with all of the lyrics in English. Examples of such records include recent songs by BTS, but I would like to introduce another singer. It is Baek Yerin.

Do you know the song “Square” by Baek Yerin? “Square” is one of the songs by a Korean singer with lyrics that are all in English. The song, which delivers a message of comfort to modern people, topped the real-time charts of major music sites on the day of its release. This song is even more meaningful because Baek Yerin was the first to achieve the top spot on real-time charts with a song in English. In addition, releasing her first album was a big challenge because as many as 17 out of the 18 songs on the album Every letter I sent You are in English. Of course, the results were successful. Most of the songs on the album entered the top 100 real-time music charts along with “Square,” which achieved the No. 1 spot.

I express my great respect for the courage that Vixx and Baek Yerin displayed while taking on a big challenge. So I recommend their music to you. I hope you listen to “Shangri-La” by Vixx and “Square” by Baek Yerin. This is because the meanings of a song full of oriental beauty all in Korean and a sensuous song all in English are great.