G-Dragon and the K-Pop Movement

It started out in the early 2000 with Taiwanese stars like Jay Chou and Will Pan.

Then J-Pop and J-Rock took their time in the spotlight with bands like Luna Sea, The Gazette, and UVERworld.

Now, in 2014, it looks like the K-Pop sensation is taking over. A crescendo has been building with Psy’s Gangnan style, and Girl Generation’s US tour, although a flop, brought general awareness to Korean pop music.

These days, US-based girl fans are starting to swoon over K-Pop stars. This is good for the Asian guy, because we don’t have a lot of mass media, well-known sex symbols that dominate society. In Korea, however, this is the opposite – Korean boy bands become brand ambassadors of their own. Their endorsements alone draw $1 – 1.5 million USD per deal.

There’s a lot to learn from Korean boy bands, I think. Going from boy band group Big Bang to now, at least pan-Asia sensations, G-Dragon and T.O.P. have transcended Asian country-specific pop culture. Their styles can be emulated here in the US. Let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of really cool icons for Asian dudes:

Case in point:

I showed a female model (white girl) G-dragon and her response was, “oh yeah, I’d fuck him. Never said that about an Asian guy before”. When I probed further, she said, “it’s the bad boy image, and his attitude”. For guys, behavior-cues trump everything else. Doesn’t hurt to be super good-looking either (plastic surgery or not, Korea has some of the best surgeons and many boy and girl bands are rumored to have gone under the knife.)

Besides surgery, take a look at their style, and more importantly, ATTITUDE. This can be translated into a cool, alpha Asian guy in US society. We just have to go back to Asia to emulate and personify our heroes.

 G-Dragon’s charisma is obvious during an all-fan show:

G-Dragon again in his MV. Checkout his various hair styles and clothing in each cut scene:

G-Dragon and T.O.P. started out as brothers in a boy band, now each one has their own act. In Korea and Asia, the concept of “brotherhood” and paying respect to your older classmates is very entrenched. I kind of like that. Respect your elders – they have traveled in your shoes. Americans tend to put down or make fun of the old. Ironic, since everyone will grow old one day.