Though many new music genres have entered the American consciousness over the last decade, none has made such a widespread impact as K-pop. Groups like BTS, BLACKPINK and NewJeans spearheaded the shift of Korean pop music from niche regional category to international sensation. With such a dramatic change, however, the sheer inventiveness of blowing up a music genre can often be overlooked. People should appreciate K-pop both as a music genre and as a piece of Korea’s identity.

K-pop is interesting musically because standard chord progressions deviate from the all-too-common four-chord loop of the 2000s and 2010s. More songs feature key changes, are not in common keys (like C major or E minor) or are in modes other than major or minor. Western/European-based music has increasingly become the “default” in the global conscience, so any structure that deviates from our expected norm is inherently surprising and more intriguing. This is why America has bought in so heavily to Korean music, and its culture by extent.

 An episode of NPR’s podcast Throughline details Korea’s rise to the global economy in the wake of the Korean War and economic collapse.

“The Korean wave had already been swelling. All the government had to do was harness it. …It became the government’s responsibility to develop finance and promote cultural industries from film to TV to music.”

Korea was so heavily incentivized to export its culture to high-consuming nations (like America) for the greatest profit that the Western world is now hooked on their entertainment. This is why the South Korean government has invested heavily in K-pop stars like BTS: the world is willing to pay enormous sums of money to the country’s tourism industry if they popularize their culture. And it worked: BTS is the best-selling artist in Korean history.

So next time you hear a K-pop hit, reflect on its unique presence in Western music and its legacy as a piece of Korean culture.