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If you’ve paid any attention to pop culture in recent years, you know that K-pop has become a worldwide phenomenon over the past decade. But you’d be forgiven if you don’t know exactly what K-pop is, or who the big names are in the K-pop music industry. Fortunately, there is a new documentary on Netflix that is a great gateway to the world of K-pop. Blackpink: Light up the sky, directed by Caroline Suh, is a surprisingly intimate exploration of a highly stylized industry and an easy-access ticket to this musical world.
Suh is known as the director of the documentary series. Salt, fat, acid, heat for Netflix, so when he got the assignment from the streaming site to document girl group Blackpink on a world tour, he didn’t know too much about K-pop. (Despite being Korean). “I had to get close to my nephew, who is in high school,” he tells Bustle. “He definitely gave me a tutorial, but he didn’t know much at all.” But her nephew’s education was only the beginning. Suh quickly fell in love with Blackpink’s vibrant, bubbly, and colorful videos, and before she knew it, she was a Blink (the name Blackpink fans call themselves).
So if you are new to K-pop, or just want to brush up on the industry before watching Blackpink: Light up the skyHere are some things you need to know, courtesy of Suh.
What is The Doc about?
Suh’s film is a behind-the-scenes look at the work process and backgrounds of the four Blackpink members: Lisa, Jisoo, Rosé, and Jennie. From their time in the studio recording songs, to their flamboyant world tour, to the intense fandom that follows them wherever they go, the film tells a little-seen side of one of the world’s biggest K-pop groups. The documentary also delves into their background, childhood, and features personal intimate interviews with each member. And it’s been a huge hit with critics, scoring 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
What is K-pop?
K-pop is not a specific style of music, but the genre encompasses elements of R&B, rap, hip hop, soul, traditional pop, among many others. It’s also more of a pop culture system than just a musical one. As Vox explains in its extensive K-pop history, its appeal comes from its “distinctive blend of addictive melodies, witty choreography and production values, and an endless parade of attractive South Korean artists who spend years in grueling studio systems learning to sing. and dance in perfect sync. “
The studio system, powered by megacorporations SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, is, “an ‘idol system’ for auditioning and creating pop talent, not unlike Berry Gordy’s mechanization of Motown in the 1960s and 1960s. 1970, and support for the arts by the South Korean government, “according to NPR.
Who are Blackpink?
Blackpink is a girl group that debuted in 2016. The members of the group are Jenny, 24, lead rapper Jisoo, 25, the oldest member of the group, and “visual mood maker” Rosé. 23, the lead singer and Lisa, 23, the youngest member, also called her “maknae.” Here’s Suh’s take on each member of the band:
“Jenny is shy, but she is very direct,” says Suh. “She’s very direct. So she talked about things very easily,” she says of the intimate interviews that appear in the film.
Rosé “is pushing herself musically,” Suh says of the group’s type of singer-songwriter. “She has a true love and respect for music and is really trying to become a songwriter, but she is very shy.”
Jisoo, Suh says, “holds back. I think it’s due to maturity and the fact that she’s the oldest. She’s really caring and sees herself as the one who should support the other girls. Strong personality.”
And Lisa, who is actually from Thailand, is just a burst of bubbly energy. “She auditioned [in Thailand] with thousands of people and he was the only one who did it, “says Suh.
What makes Blackpink so special?
Blackpink landed a Korean girl group’s debut single on America’s highest charts and became the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella. But K-pop fans, Suh says, really gravitate towards individual members. “That’s part of what makes K-pop, K-pop is that there is appeal to different members and they have different personalities.”
Part of the goal of the film, Suh says, was to highlight her background and tell her individual stories. “Lisa and Rosé relate because they are both kind of foreigners, although Rosé is Korean, she grew up in Australia. They had very different lives before starting training and they are also the youngest. Jisoo and Jenny are the oldest, which is a great problem in Korea being even like a year older, younger ones respect you.
The four of them together, Suh says, “are very sweet, laugh easily, and are very upbeat. But you realize that behind it there is this kind of perseverance, determination and incredible will that got them where they are.”
What about the controversy?
South Korea’s idol training programs have spawned some controversial accusations, from abusive situations to strict regimes, weight control, and exploitative contracts. “Going through training school, you really have to have some inner strength,” Suh says. “And I think that’s something they all have in common.”
While Suh was initially nervous about broaching the subject of training programs with the band members, she was surprised by his honesty. “We didn’t know how they would feel talking about it, but they were really sincere,” says Suh. “It is of their own free will, for what they want[ed] be be [in the program]. They want to do this. Like anything else, I think that to become excellent, you would have to invest a lot of work and time. “
What makes K-Pop resonate around the world?
Suh considers the global dominance of K-pop to be “one of the most fascinating things about it, I don’t know yet. [why it resonates] to be honest. As a Korean, I think it’s crazy that people sing Korean at Coachella. It’s something I could never have imagined growing up. “
The K-pop combination of pop music, R&B, soul, Bollywood, rap, and hip hop, plus mind-blowing videos, are part of what made the genre such a global phenomenon. Since sound and style embody so many cultures, it’s easy to dive into them, especially with this new document as an introduction. “You really don’t have to know anything about K-pop,” Suh says of his movie. But he hopes it will make people want to learn more about the industry. “[I hope] people will find some inspiration in [Blackpink’s] classic and simple story. [The doc] it’s intended for people who don’t know anything about K-pop to just watch and get this kind of escapism trip. “
