Reviewed by:

• Kpop by Jason Kim
• Kyungjin Jo

When KPOP opened in 2017 as an immersive off Broadway production, curious audience members moved from room to room in a two-story building in Hell’s Kitchen that had been reimagined as a K-pop factory. The show allowed them to voyeuristically observe the manufacturing process for K-pop idols and eavesdrop on their private conversations. K-pop was portrayed as a peripheral subculture waiting to win US acceptance and approval, and the audience became a focus group empowered to share their input on how K-pop could successfully cross over to the US market. Five years later, in 2022, KPOP proudly heralded K-pop as a “global phenomenon” as it ventured onto Broadway. This hybrid production, which blended elements of a backstage musical and a K-pop concert, explored K-pop idols’ struggles and triumphs and celebrated K-pop as a representation of Korean identity and culture, staking its claim on the Great White Way.

KPOP follows the journey of K-pop idols signed to the fictional Korean label RBY—female solo singer MwE, the boy group F8, and the girl group RTMIS—as they prepare for their international debut in New York City. The central tension is MwE’s emotional breakdown as she verges on quitting during dress rehearsal, revolting against Ruby, the label’s dominating CEO and her surrogate mother, in an attempt to pursue her artistic and personal independence. [End Page 110] Through fla hback scenes, the audience learns about MwE’s eighteen-year career progression, from her audition as an 8-year-old K-pop trainee for the RBY label to her rise as a global star.

and RTMIS perform “Blast Off” in KPOP. (Photo: Matthew Murphy.)

One of two subplots highlights F8’s internal strife. Brad, a mixed-race Korean American who joined the group for the US tour, is shunned for being “not Korean enough.” In another plotline, RTMIS’s relentless pursuit of perfection pushes them to the edge of disbandment as they struggle to endure their grueling training regimen. The idols ultimately persevere through the chaotic dress rehearsal and successfully make their New York debut. The show’s final twenty minutes are a spectacular concert.

In performance, KPOP presented K-pop as a platform to joyfully celebrate Korean and Korean American identities. The upbeat and lively electronic dance track “This Is My Korea” introduced K-pop as an exuberant medium to claim and affir Korean culture. The lyrics exclaimed, “This is my Korea / This is my story-a / A new category-a / To make you dance and clap your hands.” “Han Guk Nom (Korean Man)” by F8 depicted the archetypical Korean man as a cool and rebellious badass. F8’s performance of “Amerika (Checkmate)” (note the deliberate use of k instead of c) presented K-pop as a powerful, masculine weapon conquering the US market while alluding to the military-like training members of the group undertook in order to become idols. In equally gendered terms, RTMIS’s “Super-goddess” referred to the group as “moogoonghwa,” Korea’s national flowe .

While centering on Asians, KPOP ridiculed and alienated whiteness. In an otherwise all-Asian cast, a particular standout was Harry—a US film director hired to shoot a documentary about the label’s New York tour. His presence as a documentarian served as a dramatic device to allow the audience to eavesdrop on MwE’s private moments via his secretive backstage recording while also enabling a critique of his exploitative white gaze. KPOP mocked Harry’s extractive desire to dig into “a goldmine” to discover what goes on behind the scenes of the K-pop world and “spice up” the story through his lens as an arrogant tendency of US white-dominant mainstream culture, which consumes K-pop as an exotic cultural item catering to white US audiences’ tastes.

While KPOP’s plot shows idols resisting conformity to a white-dominated media landscape, the underlying premise of...

 审阅者：

• 
  杰森·金 (Jason Kim) 的韩国流行音乐
•  曹京镇

当韩国流行音乐于 2017 年以身临其境的百老汇演出形式开幕时，好奇的观众在地狱厨房的一栋两层建筑中从一个房间走到另一个房间，这座建筑被重新想象成韩国流行音乐工厂。该节目让他们能够偷窥韩国流行偶像的制造过程，并窃听他们的私人谈话。韩国流行音乐被描绘成等待赢得美国接受和认可的边缘亚文化，观众成为焦点群体，有权分享他们对韩国流行音乐如何成功进入美国市场的意见。五年后，即 2022 年，韩国流行音乐进军百老汇，自豪地宣称韩国流行音乐是一种“全球现象”。这部混合制作融合了后台音乐剧和韩国流行音乐音乐会的元素，探讨了韩国流行音乐偶像的挣扎和胜利，并庆祝韩国流行音乐作为韩国身份和文化的代表，在伟大的白色之路上宣示了自己的主张。

《KPOP》讲述了与虚构的韩国唱片公司 RBY 签约的韩国流行偶像（女独唱歌手 MwE、男团 F8 和女团 RTMIS）的旅程，他们正在为在纽约的国际首演做准备。核心的张力是 MwE 的情绪崩溃，她在彩排期间濒临退出，反抗该品牌的独裁首席执行官和她的代孕母亲 Ruby，试图追求她的艺术和个人独立。 [完第 110 页] 通过闪回场景，观众了解了 MwE 十八年的职业发展历程，从她 8 岁作为 RBY 厂牌 K-pop 练习生的试镜到她崛起为全球明星。

RTMIS 在 KPOP 中表演“Blast Off”。 （照片：马修·墨菲。）

两个次要情节之一突出了 F8 的内部冲突。布拉德是一位混血韩裔美国人，他参加了美国巡演，但因“不够韩国人”而被回避。在另一条情节中，RTMIS 对完美的不懈追求将他们推向了解散的边缘，因为他们正在努力忍受艰苦的训练方案。偶像们最终坚持通过了混乱的彩排，成功在纽约首次亮相。演出的最后二十分钟是一场壮观的音乐会。

在表演中，韩国流行音乐将韩国流行音乐作为一个平台来庆祝韩国人和韩裔美国人的身份。欢快活泼的电子舞曲《这是我的韩国》将韩国流行音乐作为一种宣扬和肯定韩国文化的活跃媒介。歌词惊呼道：“这是我的韩国/这是我的故事-a/一个新类别-a/让你跳舞并拍手。” F8 的《韩国男》将典型的韩国男人描绘成一个酷酷而叛逆的坏蛋。 F8 的《Amerika (Checkmate)》表演（注意故意使用 k 而不是 c）将 K-pop 展示为征服美国市场的强大、阳刚的武器，同时暗指该团体成员进行的军事式训练，以便成为偶像。在同等性别的术语中，RTMIS 的“超级女神”将该团体称为“moogoonghwa”，即韩国的国民花。

韩国流行音乐以亚洲人为中心，嘲笑和疏远白人。在全部由亚洲人组成的演员阵容中，特别引人注目的是哈利——一位美国电影导演，受雇拍摄一部有关该品牌纽约巡演的纪录片。他作为一名纪录片导演的出现是一种戏剧性的手段，让观众可以通过他秘密的后台录音窃听 MwE 的私人时刻，同时也可以批评他剥削性的白人目光。韩国流行音乐嘲笑哈里想要挖掘“金矿”，以发现韩国流行音乐世界幕后发生的事情，并通过他的镜头“调味”故事，这是美国白人主导的主流文化的傲慢倾向，它消耗了美国白人主导的主流文化的傲慢倾向。韩国流行音乐作为一种迎合美国白人观众口味的异国文化项目。

虽然韩国流行音乐的情节显示偶像抵制服从白人主导的媒体格局，但其基本前提是……