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All-American K-pop group more social experiment than music stars
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EXP Edition, made up of four US singers -- Frankie, Sime, Koki and Hunter -- debuted in Korea as a K-pop band Monday with a single, “Feel Like This." (EXP Edition's Instagram via The Korea Herald/File)
An all-American K-pop group is throwing the question, “What is K-pop?”
EXP Edition, made up of four US singers -- Frankie, Sime, Koki and Hunter -- debuted in Korea as a K-pop band Monday with a single, “Feel Like This."
The group was quickly picked up by Buzzfeed, which filed a story titled “People Are Not Happy With This All-American K-Pop Group.”
Some online users questioned the qualification of EXP Edition as a true K-pop group because none of its members are of Korean descent.
But a group of foreign K-pop fans view the group as an agent for realizing their dreams.
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An Instagram user said, “I support you (EXP Edition) wholeheartedly. I love the fact that you are not going for the norm and breaking through to Korea.”
EXP Edition is the brain child of Bora Kim, who founded IMMBB (I’m Making A Boy Band) Entertainment in Korea in 2016 to open up a conversation about post-colonialism and identity politics that surround the transnational spread of K-pop.
Kim first began the project in 2014 in New York, where EXP Edition, then as a six-member group, took part in art performances at MoMa, Queens Museum and other events.
Now all the four members of the group have been living in Seoul since last summer, honing their Korean and dance moves.
This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
