March 2023 Content Guide
March 2023 Content Guide
A compilation of the podcast episodes and articles released last month!
On 17 Carat K-Pop
K-Pop Talk with Max Cho: In addition to managing Nick Lee (whose production credits include Jimin’s “Set Me Free Pt.2,” SEVENTEEN’s “Ash,” and CL’s ALPHA), Max Cho has global aspirations for his management company, Cho & Co. In this episode, Hope talks to him about these plans, his experiences working with K-pop artists, the “wedding ring analogy” he uses to explain his management philosophy, parallels between working on movies and music, and more!
Stream this episode on Spotify here!
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“That was a Remake?!”: On countless occasions, K-pop songs have interpolated, sampled, remixed, or otherwise drawn inspiration from other songs. This episode features the stories behind the most iconic, strangest, funniest, and most surprising examples!
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Best K-Pop x J-Pop: A guide to the best J-pop albums, songs, and music videos released by K-pop artists!
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Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts here!
Stream this episode on Anchor or another streaming service here!
K-Pop News Recap: March 2023: A wild weekend for Roblox, cult accusations, THAT GQ profile, Mr. Bang’s candid CNN interview, chaos on set of The Idol, alleged military service evasion, exciting graphic novel news… SO MUCH has happened in the world of K-pop over the past few weeks, and this episode breaks down all the major headlines!
Stream this episode on Spotify here!
Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts here!
Stream this episode on Anchor or another streaming service here!
C-Pop 101: A brief overview of C-pop industry milestones and unforgettable moments, the ways many forms of music originated in China, the biggest stars in the C-pop world, the ways C-pop and K-pop differ, and heated reactions to the Hallyu wave among C-pop fans.
Stream this episode on Spotify here!
Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts here!
Stream this episode on Anchor or another streaming service here!
P-Pop and T-Pop 101: How did the T-pop (Thai pop) and P-pop (Pinoy pop) industries get started? How do they differ from K-pop? What do their futures look like? Which T-pop and P-pop stars stand out the most? This episode answers all these questions and more, followed by some interesting facts about the Hallyu wave across Asia!
Stream this episode on Spotify here!
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Stream this episode on Anchor or another streaming service here!
J-Pop’s Past, Present, and Future: From the origins of karaoke to the ways J-pop laid the groundwork for K-pop boy bands, the Japanese music industry is filled with groundbreaking moments and surprising twists and turns. This episode chronologically walks through the biggest ones: a dramatic prank on fans who believed a rumor about their favorite band breaking up, the introduction of Winter Sonata to a Japanese audience, the time Lady Gaga's attempt to promote J-pop was shut down, and so many more!
Stream this episode on Spotify here!
Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts here!
Stream this episode on Anchor or another streaming service here!
Celebrating LOONA: Regardless of what LOONA’s future looks like, it is worth celebrating all they have accomplished so far; they have left an irreplaceable mark on the world of K-pop and proved the vast storytelling potential of music. While past episodes of “LOONAverse Talk” covered LOONA’s story through music video recaps, today’s episode covers their story through song lyrics and album commentary. When looking at LOONA’s commentary on their own work over the years, the life lessons in their work become clear, and the answer to “What’s the big deal about LOONA?” becomes obvious!
Stream this episode on Spotify here!
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aespa Short Film 3 Recap: A quick recap of aespa’s “Girls (Don’t you know I’m a Savage?)” short film and the terms to remember to understand KWANGYA and the SMCU!
Stream this episode on Spotify here!
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Stream this episode on Anchor or another streaming service here!
Best New Music: February 2023: A ranking and review of the twenty best new releases from K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, and P-pop artists!
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Stream this episode on Anchor or another streaming service here!
My Writing
The Best J-Pop from K-Pop Stars
Gearing Up for SEVENTEEN’s Comeback!
TXT’s Weverse Interviews: Four Takeaways
Haven on the Power of Music and Her Stellar New Single
JJAX on His New Album and Constant Growth
2seon: “My Cold Passion was About to Burn Again”
40 Explains the Power of Music
The Best New Music: February 2023
17 Reasons for LOONA’s Popularity (paywalled)
Decoding KAI’s Latest Short Film (paywalled)
Breaking Down aespa’s Third Short Film (paywalled)
Sources and Further Reading
Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World by Matt Alt
Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop by Martin Puchner
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan
More on the iconic “Pale Blue Dot” photograph and symbolism
The Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange’s 2021 report on Hallyu perceptions
The Korea Creative Content Agency’s still-relevant 2020 report
A collection of works analyzing K-pop’s global impact
Some history about K-pop and J-pop worlds influencing each other
“Japan Brand Strategy: The Taming of ‘Cool Japan’ and the Challenge of Cultural Planning in a Postmodern Age”
Deep dives into the elements that make up Japanese music and its influences on identity
Studies related to the global spread of the love of manga
Long-term findings on changing uses of Chinese words
“Between Globalisation and Localisation: A Study of Hong Kong Popular Music”
Questioning the impact and future of Canto-pop
Dissecting the deeper meaning in the ways English is incorporated into Canto-pop songs
More on the language of Canto-pop, as well as Canto-rock
“What the West Doesn’t Know About China’s Silicon Valley”
“Chinese Science Fiction Literature: Can it do for China what K-Pop and Manga do for Korea and Japan?”
The origins of P-pop
More on P-pop
About the MASSIVE new concert venue in Vegas
Live Nation’s “Support for a Fair Ticketing Act”
A study that likens the growling of metal singers to the noises a type of bat makes
The study that noticed a correlation between better sleep and hearing a certain piano chord
The woman who requested a flash mob at her funeral
About the bad-on-purpose orchestra covered on “STAY Tuned” (note: this episode was postponed but will be released shortly!)
Background on the “‘Baby Shark’ Torture Case”
Album breakdown: the top-sellers of 2022
The details on SM Entertainment and Kakao’s new deal
Bang Si-Hyuk’s comments to CNN about HYBE’s future plans and the current state of K-pop
Where to pre-order NCT 127’s graphic novel!
The bombshell report about chaos on set of The Idol
Information on Johnny Kitagawa’s Guinness World Record