Psy took the world by storm, specifically the UK charts, when its hit, "Gangnam Style" was released in 2012. Upon its release, it did had more than two and a half billion views on YouTube.
There were a lot of people who thought that the K-pop single would have finally broken its barrier in Britain. However, that was not the real case, as it needs more than just a single hit.
According to Korea Portal, the Korean boy group, BTS, also experienced their own type of success in the U.K. This is thanks to their "Wings" album.
Unfortunately, it just gained a number 62 spot in the UK album charts. This just shows that K-pop is still not widely accepted in the U.K. But what might the reason be behind this seeming unbreakable barrier to the country? It has been proven that the K-pop industry is a very big phenomenon. EXO, the Korean boy band even outcompeted One Direction in a ratio of four to one.
This happened in 2015 when the group had the fifth best-selling album globally. But then again, the K-pop fever cannot easily break through the British market. According to Hello Kpop, language is the number one barrier. The U.K. is not really into foreign language music.
But in the rare times that it does, those foreign songs tend to be the novelty hits. Take for example "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco and Los del Rio's "Macarena". This was the reason why "Gangnam Style" was successful in the country. Another one of the problems that K-pop music has to face is the stereotype.
Even though "Gangnam Style" was a huge success, reports suggest that it contribute more negative things to K-pop music, then gave it positive things. Reports say that the overall look of Psy contributes negatively to the stereotype that most Westerners hold of Koreans.
The overweight and unorthodox haircut of Psy is the one to blame, according to the report. Perhaps, everyone should accept that K-pop cannot fully take on the U.K. market. But with the success that they have over other parts of the world, maybe they really don't need to force themselves in the U.K.
