Son Dam Bi: Sound of Dam Bi

Son Dam Bi is a solo female artist who debuted  in 2007 on the Pledis Entertainment label. That same year, FT ISLAND, Wonder Girls, and Girl’s Generation also debuted, making Son Dam Bi’s introduction as a solo artist even more unique. In addition to her singing and dancing skills, which she has won several awards…

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g.o.d: Getting On Down

g.o.d. (Groove Over Dose) was a male R&B/rap group that was signed with JYP Entertainment from 1999 – 2005. Group members included Park Joon Hyung, Danny Ahn, So Ho Young, Kim Tae Woo, and Yoon Kye Sang, who left the group in 2004 to begin his compulsory military service. To see the enhanced profile, including…

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Sechs Kies: Pebbles Rippling Out to Hallyu

During their three year tenure, Sechs Kies (German for “six pebbles”) successfully mastered and promoted several genres of music (pop, rap, R&B). Their efforts earned a number of awards (almost all Bonsang awards) from various entities, including Mnet’s Golden Disk and Korean Music Television Awards. To see the enhanced profile, including discographies and videographies, click…

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SM☆SH (SMASH): Hitting Hallyu with Backup

While Internet searches for the stylized name SM☆SH bring back results about an Indonesian pop group with the same name, in K-pop, SM☆SH (SMASH) is a five-member group made up of World (Nam Hyun), Jerry (Shim Min Gyu), Naru (Joo Young Suk), Hanbang (also known as One Shot; Han Jung Soo), and Hero (Kim Min Soo). Cheon…

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K-pop Fandom 101

Crystal S. Anderson, PhD Elon University Many know that K-pop fans play an active role in K-pop, but few may know just how complex K-pop fandoms are.

Who Does Speak on K-pop?: A Survey for U.S. Fans of K-pop

Crystal S. Anderson, PhD Elon University Last week, I wrote a piece, Who Can Speak For K-pop, for my public blog, High Yellow and received a huge response.  As I suspected, there are a variety of fans in the United States whose voices are not being heard in the larger discussions of K-pop. In order to…

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Communities of Practice in Digital Humanities

Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, M.S.L.S University of South Carolina Lancaster Collaboration is an often-cited characteristic of Digital Humanities (DH) projects (Jӧttkandt 2008, Liu 2009; Honn & Morse 2013); however, does that collaboration signal something more? What kinds of relationships are created due to (or outside of) those projects? What other problems are solved as a result…

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Jewelry: Diamonds Hanging Tough

Girl group Jewelry was formed by Star Empire Entertainment in the spring of 2001, consisting of four members Park Jung Ah, Lee Ji Hyun, Jung Yoo Jin, and Jun Eun Mi. The group has gone through several member changes, including tenure by Seo In Young (Elly). . . . To see the enhanced profile, including…

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Jaurim: Raining Down With Rock

Korean rock group Jaurim (Purple Rain Forest) includes members Kim Yoon Ah, Kim Jin Man, Goo Tae Hoon, and Lee Sun Kyu. Before their breakout song “Hey Hey Hey” in 1997, Jaurim was well-known in South Korea’s independent music circles. Jaurim’s albums have been produced under the Soundholic Entertainment label, which is owned by Goo…

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