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African American Influence
Many of the genres that K-Pop is influenced by were invented by African Americans. Genres such as hip hop, rap, and R&B were originated as a vehicle to express the Black experience. Though African American music was originally exported to South Korea after the Korean War as a result of an increased military presence, the influence of African American music on Korean music became evident in the 1990’s because of the end of the long authoritarian rule. Both the inauguration of President Kim Young Sam, as well as the relaxation of censorship laws, allowed for Korean musicians to take advantage of their democratic and creative freedoms, leading to further exploration in Korean music. This increase in creative freedoms led to R&B and Hip-hop to rise to popularity, as it "represented musical traditions that spoke to the creative possibilities opening in Korean society.”

African American aesthetics have been present in K-pop since its modern inception. For example, rap, "a tradition nurtured by African Americans," has been present in musicians like BTS and Psy. In addition to the tradition of rapping, Korean musicians have adopted mixing from African American originated genres. Mixing is used by most K-pop artists, from Seo Taiji and Boys, to more modern K-pop groups, such as Big Bang. Mixing, as originated in hip hop and rap, is the process of cutting and mixing different sound bites from all kinds of media in order to create something new. Since the method allows artists to create something new out of something already existing, mixing has become a “tool for reworking local identity all over the world.” Styles of singing have also been borrowed from African American traditions. Polytonal vocal keys, the key often used in R&B music, has become more popular for Korean musicians to use. For example, the Korean group Big Mama are utilize this scale to sound more soulful in their music. This shift to polytonal vocal keys marks a departure from the pentatonic scales more widely used in the 70’s and 80’s in South Korea.

Cultural Appropriation
There are both critics and supporters of Korean groups utilizing African American aesthetics. Those who critique K-pop's usage of African American genres often accuse Korean musicians as culturally appropriating Black aesthetics. Some critics say that these Korean musicians are using Black culture for their own advantage, which ultimately leads the Black cultures who originated the aesthetics voiceless, which means these cultures are unable "to properly convey the culture, meaning, or values of their own culture.” Some critics also claim the utilization of African-American originated aesthetics commoditizes Blackness. In addition to musical aesthetics, many also critique K-pop for appropriating visual aesthetics. For example, groups like Exo and 4Minute have utilized cornrows and bandanas in their music videos.

In contrast, there are also some supporters of the blending of African American genre into South Korean music. For example, one argument for the use of African American aesthetics in K-pop is that "[a]ppropriating elements of a culture by taking them out of their original context and using them in a completely different way does not automatically constitute negative cultural appropriation." In addition, some fans of K-pop often applaud the groups for being well versed in many genres, including ones originated by Black cultures. Other supporters claim that allows Koreans to have a vehicle to express their own experiences of dominance and local conditions.

Though K-pop is influenced by African American music, many South Korean musicians have also mixed in local characteristics of their culture into their music to make it a more genuine expression of their culture. Many Korean musicians fuse the images and instruments that originated in their own culture with conventional aesthetics of Hip Hop For example, Master Plan Production utilized traditional Korean art styles, as well as traditional hip hop aesthetics to create the cover of their compilation album, P’yungnyu (2002).

Beyond aesthetics, South Korean musicians also localize Black genres by using them as vehicles to discuss their specific experiences in South Korea. By straying from classic genre conventions and focusing on specific issues in South Korea, many Korean musicians recontextulize African American genres to be an expression of South Korean attitudes. For example, one thing many Korean students experience is a lack of freedom as a result of their strict education system. Seo Taiji and Boys expresses their anger about this through their song "Class Idea" with lyrics like "I don't want to be a part of this education anymore!" Modern K-pop groups such as BTS have even covered this song, showing that this is an experience that Korean youths continue to struggle with.