Will trot bring a breath of fresh air to K-pop?

As K-pop continues its significant expansion in the global market, another genre has been surging rapidly in the domestic music industry: Trot. Following the remarkable success of some trot singers, major K-pop powerhouses are diving into the unexpected combination of trot and K-pop.

Trot -- part of the Korean popular music scene since the 1930s -- is a genre characterized by lively rhythms and abundant use of vibrato, the lyrics often catering to the sentiments of the older generations,

However, in recent years, the success of audition programs featuring trot singers has led to the emergence of young trot artists enjoying popularity on par with that of K-pop stars, drawing the attention of a wider audience.

Lim Young-woong, one of the most popular trot singers today, rose to stardom after competing in TV Chosun's “Mr. Trot” in 2020. He became the first solo artist to surpass 10 billion cumulative streams on the domestic music streaming site Melon, and the first trot singer to win two grand prizes at the Melon Music Awards in 2022. Recently, Lim held a solo concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium, one of Korea's largest venues, attended by some 100,000 people over the two days.

Some K-pop powerhouses seem to be interested in this trot revival, and are beginning to blur the boundary between trot and K-pop. Among those enthusiastically embracing the new approach is Emily, 19, a longtime K-pop fan from the US, who wished to be identified by her first name only.

“There’s a new K-pop boy group debuting soon that is going to be a trot band and I’m really excited. I know trot is mainly associated with the older generation, but I’ve listened to a few trot songs and they were pretty good!” she said in an email interview.

SM Entertainment plans to debut a trot idol group later this year in collaboration with TV Chosun. The group, named Mytro, consists of five members: Im Chae-pyoung, who appeared on the hit TV Chosun audition show “Mr. Trot”; former MR.MR member Tey; actors Seo Woo-hyeok and Jung Yoon-jae; and Shohei from Japan who was a K-pop trainee at SM before a back injury stopped him from debuting as a K-pop idol.

TV Chosun will air a new variety show titled “Falling for a Trot-dol: Lovestruck Noonas,” documenting the journey of the Mytro members leading up to their debut. The show is also set to air in Korea and Japan, a sign that Mytro will venture overseas.

“Both trot and K-pop have solid fandoms and we hope that the combination of these two genres will create synergy. SM Entertainment has been experimenting across genres, ranging from classical music to EDM and R&B, so this could be seen as an extension of that,” said an industry insider.

Another K-pop powerhouse, JYP Entertainment, announced plans to select new trot talents through its subsidiary, INNIT Entertainment.

K-pop fans seem to have mixed feelings about the new fusion of genres.

Kim, a Korean K-pop fan in her 20s, expressed both anticipation and concern regarding the fusion of trot and K-pop. “The listeners who primarily consume trot have very different preferences from the audience K-pop powerhouses have traditionally targeted. I wonder if this group will be able to meet the needs of a specific consumer base," she said.

She noted one similarity that could work in favor of the fusion of genres. "Both trot and K-pop are genres known for their strong fan engagement, so it could work out,” she said.

She added that trot might also appeal to global audiences because it’s a genre they’ve likely never heard before.

“While trot might seem outdated to young Koreans, it could be received as something fresh and unfamiliar by international audiences,” Kim said.

K-pop fan Emily said K-pop insiders should try to embrace more Koreanness in the songs.

“K-pop has its own specific sound that makes it different from other pop genres and I wish that companies would focus on keeping that sound rather than trying to appeal to Western audiences," she said. Noting that Korea has many different music genres, like trot, Emily suggested that is where the expansion should come from, not from "whatever is popular in the global market."

Critic Lim Hee-yun stated that the fusion of K-pop and trot is one of several choices the industry is exploring as it faces the limitations of existing K-pop IP.

"New attempts often raise questions about whether they can still be considered K-pop, as seen with multinational K-pop groups or localized groups like Dear Alice and Katseye. At the same time, major agencies seem to believe that content and IP created under the traditional K-pop formula have reached a growth ceiling."

Lim added, "Considering that Japan, one of the major overseas K-pop markets, has a genre called enka, which shares a similar emotional tone with trot, trot idol seems like a venture worth attempting," Lim said adding, "The domestic success that trot has achieved so far is also encouraging."