VICE K-Pop

The K-Pop industry has a dark side, one that Lee Kyung-Mi – now Monk Bohyun – knows all too well. From performing pop songs on stage to singing Buddhist prayer songs on YouTube.

Kim Ji-hun trained with 30 other trainees for what would later become the biggest K-pop band in the world, BTS. However, life had other plans for Ji-hun. This is his story of being on the brink of fame and then losing it all.

We met up with the members of EXP Edition, the world’s first non-Korean K-pop group, to find out why they’re trying to become the genre’s next breakout stars—and explore the backlash they're facing from people accusing them of cultural appropriation.

With Asian pop acts suddenly dominating charts around the world, a new band called FFC-Acrush hopes to be China’s answer to K-Pop.

Grace Neutral meets a Korean gang member and a K-Pop superstar, to paint a more detailed picture of what influences the country's youth and their vision of modern beauty.