It's been a long interruption due to the Korean's wedding and such, but the 50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists series is back. This is Part 2 of the roundup of K-Pop artists who were considered, organized by their debut year. Part 2 consists of the artists who debuted after 1990. After getting these names out of the way, the series will move along with a full head of steam.
All of these singers are all pretty famous, and their songs are worth listening to if you want to get the full context of the prevalent music within the genre and the era. The Korean included Korean names of the singers/bands so that readers may copy/paste the names in Youtube search window.
Yoon Jong-Shin (윤종신), 1991
In 15 words or less: Creator of ballad songs that are not cheap and banal.
Maybe he should have been ranked because… Nah, he shouldn’t have been ranked.
He was not ranked because… He shouldn’t have been. His influence was just not that great.
Um Jeong-Hwa (엄정화), 1993
In 15 words or less: A huge multi-talent who can sing, dance, act AND age gracefully.
Maybe she should have been ranked because… She has turned an actress who can single-handedly carry a movie – a rarity in Korea.
She was not ranked because… This chart is about music.
배반의 장미 ("Rose of Betrayal") by Um Jeong-Hwa
Cool, 1994
In 15 words or less: Fairly popular dance group in the mid-1990s.
Maybe they should have been ranked because… Their song Woman of the Beach (해변의 여인) is still the unofficial anthem of summer in Korea.
They were not ranked because… One hit wonders don’t well on this chart.
해변의 여인 ("Woman on the Beach") by Cool
Cho Gwan-Woo (조관우), 1994
In 15 words or less: One of the rarest voices in Korea, climbing five octaves.
Maybe he should have been ranked because… His second album created a boom of remake albums.
He was not ranked because… What have you done for me lately? He somehow could not parlay his massive success of his second album into better and better music.
꽃밭에서 ("At the Flowerpatch") by Cho Gwan-Woo
DJ Doc, 1994
In 15 words or less: Arguably the hardest partiers in K-pop history, with the music to match.
Maybe they should have been ranked because… Sex. Drugs. Scandals. Name it, DJ Doc did it – and they wrote some pissed-off songs in response. It may have been the first instance in K-pop history where an artist/band gave the public the middle finger.
They were not ranked because… Musically they were not particularly special except for one album, and they were not the last one to be mired in scandals and gave the middle finger.
Kim Jin-Pyo (김진표), 1995
In 15 words or less: Pioneering Korean rapper.
Maybe he should have been ranked because... He elevated the very nascent Korean rap to another level of maturity.
He was not ranked because... Close call, but did not last long enough to gain cultural significance like other rappers did. Legacy is also exaggerated because he was associated with Lee Jeok (이적), who was the mastermind of their band, Panic.
Fly by Kim Jin-Pyo
Kim Gyeong-Ho (김경호), 1995
In 15 words or less: The man who kept Korean rock alive in the mid- to late 1990s.
Maybe he should have been ranked because... He really was the only person who kept rock relevant to Korean pop culture for about five or six years.
He was not ranked because... He sustained the genre, but did not exactly advance it.
Clon, 1996
In 15 words or less: The group that could really dance and just have fun.
Maybe they should have been ranked because... A couple of their songs are iconic. (One of them below.) Also, Gang Won-Rae's tragic motorcycle accident, which rendered him paraplegic, provided a much-needed boost for disabled people's rights in Korea.
They were not ranked because... At the end of the day, not special musically. (And they also misspelled what was meant to be "Clone" -- not that it matters.)
They were not ranked because... At the end of the day, not special musically. (And they also misspelled what was meant to be "Clone" -- not that it matters.)
꿍따리샤바라 ("Koongdarishabara") by Clon
Juju Club, 1996
In 15 words or less: One of the pioneers of the weird.
Maybe they should have been ranked because... Also has an iconic song that still plays today.
They were not ranked because... Ended up being a one-album wonder, and were not as weird as they could have been either.
열여섯스물 ("Sixteen/Twenty") by Juju Club
Jinusean, 1997
In 15 words or less: Another rap group that could really have fun.
Maybe they should have been ranked because... They were one of the pioneers of the Korean-Americans-in-Korean-entertainment trend.
They were not ranked because... Close call, but hard to rank too many rappers when rap/hiphop as a stand-alone genre is not that huge in Korea.
Lee Gi-Chan (이기찬), 1997
In 15 words or less: Significant ballad singer.
Maybe he should have been ranked because... He owned the ballad scene for about two years (2001-02).
He was not ranked because... That's not enough to be ranked, considering he did not innovate at all.
춤추는 나무 ("Dancing Tree") by Lee Gi-Chan
Lee Jeong-Hyeon (이정현), 1999
In 15 words or less: The woman who made techno mainstream in Korea.
Maybe she should have been ranked because... Anyone who can carry a genre by herself deserves a consideration.
She was not ranked because... At the end of the day, not musically special, and not much commitment to the genre. Also, much of her fame was based on having the right lyrics ("change") that resonated with the popular politics at the time.
CB Mass, 2000
In 15 words or less: At one point, might have been the top 2 rap group in Korea.
Maybe they should have been ranked because... May have been the best pissed-off rappers in Korea.
They were not ranked because... Given the relatively small influence of rap compared to the overall k-pop landscape, they could not jump ahead of the better rappers.
The Movement II by CB Mass
No Brain, 2000
In 15 words or less: Significant punk rockers, particularly in the live scene.
Maybe they should have been ranked because... Probably had the most unique sound in Korean punk rock to go with fantastic pissed-off lyrics.
They were not ranked because... Similarly to CB Mass with rap, there are only so many punk rockers who can crack the top 50 given the relative influence of the entire genre.
Cherry Filter, 2000
In 15 words or less: One of the best female-lead rock bands in Korea.
Maybe they should have been ranked because... At least one of their songs made it HUGE.
They were not ranked because... Ten years after their debut, their legacy is still not clear, hanging above one-hit wonder but below perennial hit makers.
낭만고양이 ("Romance Cat") by Cherry Filter
Big Mama, 2003
In 15 words or less: Female group that bucked the trend.
Maybe they should have been ranked because... At least for a year or so, presented a real way in which female singers could succeed with the merits of their voice alone.
They were not ranked because... At the end of the day, nothing changed; that's no influence.
체념 ("Letting Go") by Big Mama
Jang Yoon-Jeong (장윤정), 2004
In 15 words or less: Woman who singlehandedly brought trot back to life.
Maybe she should have been ranked because... In terms of the level of difficulty, getting the young people interested in trot again was an enormous feat.
She was not ranked because... Very close call, but not enough to outrank those above her. However, that might change depending on how the current trot trend shakes out.
어머나 ("Oh My") by Jang Yoon-Jeong
Wonder Girls, 2007
In 15 words or less: At one point, the hottest girl group in Korea.
Maybe they should have been ranked because... See above.
They were not ranked because... They sabotaged their own influence through an ill-advised U.S. venture.
Nobody by Wonder Girls
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
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