🎤

Chapter 01 of 5

The Day Everything Changed

A rap trio gets the lowest score on a TV talent show, then changes Korean music for ever.

1. The Before

   Ballads and trot

   Before the 1990s, Korean pop was dominated by gentle ballads and "trot", an older style with roots in the Japanese colonial era.

2. The Control

   Censored songs

   For decades South Korea's governments strictly controlled music. Songs had to pass censors before release.

3. The Change

   Democracy arrives

   In 1987 South Korea moved to democracy. Young people wanted something new.