K-pop cover

K-pop

by Stuart A. Kallen

While most Americans have only been aware of Korean pop, or K-pop, music since the infectious 2012 hit song Gangnam Style by Psy, it is a genre that has been widely popular since the 1990s. Its sudden notoriety marks a global trend called Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, which encompasses not only music but also other pillars of pop culture, such as movies and television, cuisine, and Korean cartoon art known as manhwa. This colorful, informative book is a study in cultural diffusion that began with American GIs during the Korean War and then continued through the repression of Park Chung-hee's regime and into today's rise of South Korea as an economic powerhouse.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?