Before we proceed, however, we must understand the current influence of South Korean popular culture throughout the world. Even 7-8 years back, the scenario was completely different. While there were certain K-Pop groups that many people outside of East Asia knew, this wasn’t true for the majority. However, since around the later half of the last decade, we have seen massive changes. BTS broke out massively in the American market in 2017. They attended the American Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards in the same year. Not only did the band give superhit performances but also won awards. Since then, other bands like NCT, Stray Kids, TXT, BLACKPINK, and TWICE, among many others, have also found a big audience group in the West. Recently, BTS was nominated for a Grammy in the major Best Pop/Duo Performance category. It was their first all-English single Dynamite that helped them achieve this feat. BTS has also had four songs debut at the No.1 position in the Billboard Hot 100 charts over the course of the last nine months.
K-Pop in Jamaica- Why is K-Pop Banned In Jamaica?
Back in 2018, an article without proper credits started doing rounds on the internet. According to this article, due to the rising popularity of the K-Pop music industry in Jamaica, young teenagers were apparently losing their focus in life. This article quoted the Jamaican president and said that girls were losing focus on homework and other chores. Boys were also losing their clarity in life. It was a three-paragraph article. However, it was completely a rumor. K-Pop is not banned in Jamaica. One thing that people did not notice about the website that posted this news was the disclaimer at the end of the page. It was clearly stated here that the website is a satire and humor website. Everything here was fictional and entirely for fun. You can check the website here. Certain content on this website can be homophobic. Reader’s discretion is advised. Interestingly, Jamaica has actually undertaken several steps to popularise the K-Pop music industry in the country. Over the last few years, our world has seen a massive shift in the power to influence from the hands of the West to that of the East. The South Korean Hallyu Wave is overtaking the entire world. The music and entertainment industry from the country has found a global audience outside of East Asia. While several second-generation K-Pop bands like 2NE1 and Big Bang have initiated this movement, it is actually the prodigal fourth-generation K-Pop band BTS that has completed the revolution.
Jamaica on K-Pop
To continue with Jamaica’s stance on K-Pop, back in 2019, the country was all praises for the industry. They carried out a cover story on a major Jamaican tabloid about how K-Pop was all about positivity and hope. EXO and BTS’ popularities, in particular, were focussed on. The story also spoke extensively about the BTS ARMY and the group’s UNICEF speech in 2018 as a part of their ‘Love Yourself’ global campaign. BTS has spoken extensively about matters of homophobia and racism through this campaign. In their 2018 UNICEF speech, BTS leader RM said, “No matter who you are, where you are from, your skin color, your gender identity, just speak yourself. Find your name and find your voice by speaking yourself.” Later, in September 2018, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Jamaica held several events to promote the K-Pop culture in the country. There was a Korean Language Speech Competition, Talent Competition, and K-Lovers’ Party. All of these events were heartily enjoyed by the Jamaican youth. There were several K-Pop tracks that played in the background during the event. This gave the people some much-needed exposure to South Korean culture. All of these initiatives taken by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in collaboration with the Jamaican Government further render the above information as nothing but rumors.
