Made in Korea: Studies in Popular Music serves as a comprehensive and thorough introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of contemporary Korean popular music. Each essay covers the major figures, styles, and social contexts of pop music in Korea, first presenting a general description of the history and background of popular music in Korea, followed by essays, written by leading scholars of Korean music, that are organized into thematic sections: History, Institution, Ideology; Genres and Styles; Artists; and Issues.
"A fine addition to the highly recommended series Global Popular Music (edited by Franco Fabbri and Goffredo Plastino), this volume on popular music in Korea (short for South Korea) is as comprehensive as such a book can be. ... [T]his book provides an expansive overview, written by an expert team of researchers. This book is certainly not just for scholars of Korean or Asian culture. I think that researchers in popular music, cultural studies, media, and cultural sociology who are interested in the details and intricacies of cultural globalization can find a wealth of information and insights hidden in these pages."
-Motti Regev, Popular Music and Society
"K-pop has increased its reach from Antofagasta in Chile to Zanzibar in Tanzania, and secured its foothold in global cities such as New York, London, and Paris. Nonetheless, analyses that move beyond clichés and display a solid command of the history and the specifics of the Korean popular music scene have not grown with commensurate rapidity, at least in English. Made in Korea addresses this relative lacuna. With contributors from various social sciences and humanities disciplines, the book is an assemblage of seventeen essays organized into four sections: history, genres, artitsts and issues. Taken together, the essays in this edited volume provide a very useful introduction for readers unfamiliar with Korean popular music, and also serve as a foundation for academic researchers seeking to strengthen their knowledge across several antecedents, genres, and artists of contemporary Korean popular music"
-Hyung-Gu Lynn, Pacific Affairs
-Motti Regev, Popular Music and Society
"K-pop has increased its reach from Antofagasta in Chile to Zanzibar in Tanzania, and secured its foothold in global cities such as New York, London, and Paris. Nonetheless, analyses that move beyond clichés and display a solid command of the history and the specifics of the Korean popular music scene have not grown with commensurate rapidity, at least in English. Made in Korea addresses this relative lacuna. With contributors from various social sciences and humanities disciplines, the book is an assemblage of seventeen essays organized into four sections: history, genres, artitsts and issues. Taken together, the essays in this edited volume provide a very useful introduction for readers unfamiliar with Korean popular music, and also serve as a foundation for academic researchers seeking to strengthen their knowledge across several antecedents, genres, and artists of contemporary Korean popular music"
-Hyung-Gu Lynn, Pacific Affairs