K-pop Generations: From Seo Taiji to Katseye
Start at BTS, rewind to Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992, then ride forward through the groups that reset the game in every generation, back to Katseye today.
This course starts at BTS, rewinds to Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992, then walks forward again to the present. Taking one group from each generation, it traces how K-pop changed its face over time. A beginner course for building a historical frame of K-pop.
- 1
BTSK-pop groupsThe starting point: today's best-known K-pop group raises the question of where this all began. - 2
Seo Taiji and BoysK-pop groupsRewinding to 1992, where Seo Taiji and Boys brought rap and social critique into Korean pop and reset the industry. - 3
TVXQK-pop groupsAfter Seo Taiji and Boys disbanded, agency-built idol groups took over — TVXQ, from SM, marks that next generation. - 4
BigBangK-pop groupsBigBang, debuting in 2006 from YG, shows another path — self-production and a driver of the Korean Wave's spread. - 5
Girls' GenerationK-pop groupsOn the girl-group side at the same time, Girls' Generation earned the title "the nation's girl group" — a parallel track to follow. - 6
ExoK-pop groupsExo, debuting in 2012, shows another SM generational shift and the growing trend of multinational lineups. - 7
TwiceK-pop groupsMoving to JYP's Twice to see how the "nation's girl group" lineage continues, shaped through a survival audition show. - 8
BlackpinkK-pop groupsBack to YG with Blackpink, for the "girl crush" concept and a girl group that scaled to global size. - 9
NewJeansK-pop groupsNewJeans, from Hybe's ADOR, marks the next generation; the dispute around the group is covered in depth in another course (The HYBE Empire). - 10
KatseyeK-pop groupsThe course ends with Katseye, formed in 2023 — a US-based multinational group showing how the K-pop generational lineage now extends beyond Korea.
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