The Korean trot audition program first aired in January 2020 and received a high viewer rating of 35.7%. The program was loved by many viewers regardless of age and led to the second trot heyday. The broadcast once again revived the Korean trot by adding fire and developed the trot genre with a different feeling from the past. Since the end of the program, the trot craze has been growing in Korea for a while, including season two, women’s trot episodes, and holiday special performances. It also contributed to eliminating the prejudice that trot is a genre enjoyed only by older people and developed it into a genre that younger generations can enjoy together. The Dongguk Post would like to learn about the trot, Korean music genre, and how it has developed.
The definition history of trot
Trot is a popular music genre influenced by Enka, a Japanese popular music genre in the Japanese colonial era. The word “trot” comes from the Western dance song “Foxtrot,” but it is irrelevant except that they have two beats. Trot features a unique five-note scale, and it is a popular song style created in earnest in Korea around 1930s after being influenced by Enka, Japan, and settled in the mid-1930s.
Trot began in the 1920s when Enka’s translations, such as <Wilted Grass>, became popular. In 1928, <Three Friends>, written by Moon Soo-il, appeared as a creative song, and <Tears of Mokpo> by Lee Nan-young in 1935, firmly established the form. From this time until the 1970s, trot was fixed as a monotonous five-note scale and settled as a song with a unique ornament to two beats.
After liberation from Japanese imperialism, the trot became very popular, maintaining its original style. At that time, <Go Sampal Line>, <The Leader’s Miarigogae>, and <My Hometown in Dream>, which reflected the situation of division and war, were widely known. However, from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, trot declined relatively with the emergence of songs influenced by American popular music. Since then, the trot was revived in 1964 by Lee Mi-ja, and numerous trot singers such as Nam Jin, Na Hoon-ah, and Ha Chun-hwa appeared, and the heyday of the trot began again.
Starting with Cho Yong-pil’s <Come Back to Busan Port> in the 1970s, solo singers from rock groups such as Yoon Soo-il and Choi Heon sang a combination of rock and trot, and trot succeeded in a new form. However, during this period, trot became a type of music enjoyed by the middle-aged and low-educated class rather than the highly educated and younger generation.
In the 1980s, trot changed from a tragic atmosphere that it had before to a pleasant atmosphere by strengthening its artificial decoration. Joo Hyun-mi, Hyun-chul, and Moon Hee-ok, popular singers during this period, sang songs that showed pleasant and exciting emotions, not sad emotions.
Later, in the 2000s, the trot broke away from the custom of maintaining the five-note scale and became musically colorful, transforming into a free and new image. During this period, Jang Yoon-jung’s <Oh My> and Park Hyun-bin’s <Gondremandre> became very popular, and songs that younger generations could sing along to appeared.
As such, trot is constantly developing by gradually changing and converging with various music genres, even if there is a period of decline due to dance music or overseas music genres.
The difference between trot culture in the past and today
In the past, trot was perceived to be music enjoyed by older people. However, today’s trot differs from the past due to the success of popularization through TV programs and the development of SNS.
First, today’s trot has become a genre enjoyed by all ages compared to the past. Trot has become a music enjoyed by relatively diverse age groups, away from a subculture only middle-aged people enjoyed. The percentage of comments posted on the video of <18-year-old Soon-i> sung by trot singer Lee Chanwon on Naver TV is relatively evenly distributed, with 4% for teenagers, 12% for 20s, 11% for 30s, 34% for 40s, 27% for 50s, and 11% for 60s and older. The proportion of comments on Youngtak’s <A Cup of Makgeolli> was also 12% for teenagers and 20s, 23% for 30s, 31% for 40s, 27% for 50s, and 8% for 60s and older.
Second, the age range of trot singers has also diversified. Jeong Dong-won, who became famous by appearing on a music program, advanced to the finals despite his young age of 13 at the time of the broadcast, and achieved fifth place. Since then, Hong Jam-eon and Kim Tae-yeon appeared on the show at the young age of nine as child trot singers and are still active as trot singers. In the past, trot singers were mainly adults, but today many young trot singers appear through various platforms such as broadcasting and YouTube.
Third, the genre of trot is becoming more diverse. Today, the trot is in harmony with various genres such as pop, hip-hop, dance, and folk, as well as ballad and trot, away from the traditional trot genre that has a repetitive and rustic feeling of the past. Representatively, Lim Young-woong’s <Now Trust Me> feels different from the trot we commonly know. The song is “Pop Ballad Style Trot,” a combination of pop ballad and trot. In addition, his first full-length album, “IM HERO,” is also a mixture of ballad, pop, hip-hop, and trot in various forms. As such, trot singers today are pioneering new genres by singing trot in their style. Short-form challenges are having a significant impact in today’s society.
These days, trot singers are not limited to trot singing, but are active in various fields. Representatively, Lee Chan-won appeared on an entertainment program and served as a special commentator for the 2020 KBO League, showing outstanding abilities in many ways. In addition, Lim Young-woong is creating his new genre of “Balot” by singing not only trot but also ballad songs for singing drama OSTs and commercial inserts. Also, Young-tak has appeared as a supporting actor in a drama and has been active as an actor.
What does trot mean for Korean society? Trot has been passed down since the Japanese colonial era. Therefore, this trot music contains a long history, from sad stories of suffering from division and war in the past to today’s trot combined with various genres. In addition, the trot is growing from music enjoyed only by middle-aged people in the past to music that attracts attention from all ages. In Korean society, where conflict between generations is intensifying, trot could serve as a medium to alleviate it. Trot becoming increasingly diversified and popular, may have a deeper meaning as a bridge connecting men and women of all ages beyond simple music genres.