K-pop (an abbreviation of Korean pop; Hangul: 케이팝) is a musical genre originating in South Korea that is characterized by a wide variety of audiovisual elements. Although it comprises all genres of "popular music" within South Korea, the term is more often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music covering a range of styles including dance-pop, pop ballad, electropop, R&B, and hip-hop music.The genre emerged with one of the earliest K-pop groups, Seo Taiji and Boys, forming in 1992.Their experimentation with different styles of music "reshaped Korea's music scene".As a result, the integration of foreign musical elements has now become common practice in the K-pop industry.

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K-pop entered the Japanese market at the turn of the 21st century and rapidly grew into a subculture among teenagers and young adults of East and Southeast Asia.Currently, the global spread of K-pop and Korean culture known as the Korean Wave is seen in Latin,America,India,North Africa,the Middle East,and elsewhere in the Western world.This is owing largely to Internet social networking services.