You Call That Music?!

Lee Young-Mee was born in Seoul in 1961. She received a B.A. and an M.A. (specializing in contemporary literary criticism) in Korean Language and Literature at Korea University. She worked as a chief researcher at the Research Center for the Arts at Korea National University of Arts and taught at Sungkonghoe University and Munhwa Graduate School. In the 1980s she participated in the progressive drama and music movement, a sector of the democratization movement in South Korea. Her work, Stories of Songs (1993) deals with the history of minjung music and momentous songs that contributed to socio-political changes. Characteristics of the Madang Theater Form (2002) chronicles the aesthetics of the madang ('open air') theater, a unique genre active in the 1980s minjung movement. From the 1990s to the present, Lee has been considered THE pioneer in the field of Korean popular art. History of Korean Popular Music (1998) is the first comprehensive academic treatment of the subject. She has one English publication, "The Beginning of Korean Pop: Popular Music During the Japanese Occupation Era (1910–45)" in K. Howard ed. Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave (2006). Her numerous publications include Understanding Korean Popular Art Through the Lens of Melodramatic Sentimentality (2016) that covers the eight decades of twentieth-century popular arts, novels, plays, songs, films, comics, and TV and radio dramas. The book received two prestigious awards, "Chihoon Academic Achievement Award," and "Nojeong Prize." In addition to her scholarly achievements, she is also known for her media presence through her popular radio shows on Korea Broadcasting Station (KBS), Munhwa Broadcasting Station (MBC), Christian Broadcasting Station (CBS), Buddhist Broadcasting Station (BBS), and Gugak Broadcasting.

Foreword

Introduction

Author's Preface

Chapter 1: Generational Unity: Cause for Celebration?

Songs the Whole Family Can Enjoy

Generational Conflicts Promote Creativity!

The Ebbs and Flows of Generational Conflict

Chapter 2: Grownups in the 1930s: Shocked by the New Pop Music

What’s Your Groupchat Profile Pic?

When Did Koreans Start Making Pop Music?

The New Trends Appall the Adults

How Old Was the Generation that Disliked Trot?

Super Junior on Gayo Stage?

Chapter 3: Was Trot Really for Teens?

Grownups Disliked Trot

Trot and Enka

It’s Greek to Me: Grownups and the New Music

The Generation Educated in Japanese

Twenty-Somethings: Subversive Force in the Popular Arts

New and Refined Trot to Share with Young People in Tokyo

Chapter 4: Mambo Dancing in Mambo Pants: In the Aftermath of the Korean War

The Trot Generation Grows Old

Trot Eases Generational Conflicts

The Infiltration of "Vulgar" Music

Mambo Fever Brings Mambo Pants

"Après Girls" and "Madame Freedom"

Middle-Aged People Swept Up in Postwar Fashions

Chapter 5: American Standard Pop Patches Up Generational Differences: The Early 1960s

Is "Odong-dong Ballad" Really Less Vulgar Than "Yellow Shirt"?

The Scales Tip Toward Standard Pop

Could "Yellow Shirt" Be an International Hit?

Standard Pop: Modern, but not Decadent

Chapter 6: The Late 1960s: A Period of Easing Generational Conflict

The Age of Standard Pop

Youthful, but Still Familiar

Standard Pop: Wholesome and Modern

Chapter 7: Trot Lifts the Spirits—But Wait, Is It Japanese?!

Singing Japanese Songs on Independence Day?

The Remnants of Japanese Imperialism, Trot, and the 1965 Korea–Japan Treaty

Why Did the Middle-Aged Trot Generation Accept Standard Pop?

Does the Younger Generation Have "Superior" Taste?

Chapter 8: The Explosion of Generational Conflict: Youth Culture

A New Kind of Youth: Cheongchun vs. Cheongnyeon

The "Strong" Generation Becomes Middle-Aged

An Even "Stronger" Generation Comes of Age

Being a Student: A New Youth Identity

Chapter 9: Decadent Acoustic Guitars and "Backwards" Ppongjjak Collide

1971: A Pivotal Moment for Folk

"Wearing a Flower Ring" Corrupts Young Girls?

Unfounded Fears about Folk

"Backwards" Ppongjjak: Why Ppongjjak Was Considered "Backwards"

Anti-Folk: The Fear of Corrupting Students

Chapter 10: Cho Yong-pil Brings Generations Together

A Fusion of Trot and Rock?

Cho Yong-pil, a Superstar for All Ages

The Fusion of New Rock and Good Old Standard Pop

Raise That Familiar Melody an Octave and Shout It!

Chapter 11: The Seoul Olympics, Globalization, and "Underground" Music

Would "Morning Dew" Have Been as Popular in 1981?

"Underground" and Minjung Songs Go into Hiding

Korean Popular Music Catches Up to Sophisticated Western Pop

Skilled Artistry and a Sense of Stability

Chapter 12: The 1990s: The Era of Seo Taiji and Generational Conflict

Everyone’s Talking About "the Generation" Again

The "Apgujeong Orange Youth" Emerges as the New Generation

What on Earth Is a Rock Café?

Hard to Dance Hip-Hop if You’re Over 30

Chapter 13: Reversal, Resistance, and . . . ?

History Doesn’t Always Repeat Itself Exactly

Satanism in a Seo Taiji Song?

The Youth Refuse to Conform

The New Generation: Resistance and Subversion

Still, History Continues . . .

Chapter 14: Epilogue: When Will an Age of Conflict Come Again?

The Importance of Knowing History

Toward Generational Harmony Again

When Will the Time of Generational Conflict Return?

Index