Industry & Legacy

A deck by Gemma Mancini · 4 cards

Label, fandom, and Korean pop's global wave.

Big Hit Music

Big Hit Music Co., Ltd. (Korean: 주식회사 빅히트뮤직, stylized in all caps), formerly Big Hit Entertainment (Korean: 빅히트 엔터테인먼트), is a South Korean record label established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk. In March 2021, it was announced the label business of Big Hit Entertainment would be spun off and re-branded as an independent label under a newly named Hybe Corporation (formerly Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd.). As of date, the label is home to soloist Lee Hyun, and boy groups BTS, Tomorrow X Together, and Cortis.

Hybe

Hybe Co., Ltd. (Korean: 하이브), commonly known as simply Hybe (stylized in all caps), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate. Founded as Big Hit Entertainment, Hybe has grown from a traditional music entertainment company into a tech-driven lifestyle platform corporation.

K-pop

K-pop (Korean: 케이팝; RR: Keipap; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. The music genre that the term is used to refer to colloquially emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians influenced by Western dance music, hip-hop, R&B and rock. Today, K-pop commonly refers to the musical output of teen idol acts, chiefly girl groups and boy bands, who emphasize visual appeal and performance. As a pop genre, K-pop is characterized by its melodic quality and cultural hybridity.

Korean Wave

The Korean Wave, or hallyu (Korean: 한류; IPA: [ˈha(ː)ʎʎu] ), refers to the rise in global interest in South Korean popular culture that has spread rapidly since the 1990s. It is led by the spread of K-pop, K-dramas, K-beauty, K-food, and films, with key successes including K-pop groups 2NE1, BTS and Blackpink, the Oscar-winning film Parasite (2019) and the Netflix television series Squid Game (2021–2025). The Korean Wave has been recognized as a form of soft power and a significant economic asset for South Korea, generating revenue through cultural exports and tourism. Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the end of military censorship over the South Korean entertainment industry, the country emerged as a major exporter of popular culture.