Mapping K-Pop Past and Present: Shifting the Modes of Exchange

The global music industry has typically been theorized as a recording industry which embraces and controls the creativity of artists while simultaneously seeking to influence the tastes of consumers in order to generate profits. This article critiques conventional accounts by exploring modes of exchange within the Korean music industry. It discusses censorship, control, and policing as the industry emerged in the early 20th century, how it reacted to changing government and media pressures in post-liberation Korea and, with the coming of satellite and cable television, how visual imaging became as important as audio soundtracks. The article shows how the recent rise of transregional entertainment companies has allowed the Korean music industry to leap-frog international “majors,” so that in today’s neo-liberal environment, the music industry’s profits accrue from everything except direct sales of its primary products - recordings.