What do you think?
Rate this book
Hanguk Hip Hop: Global Rap in South Korea
How has Hanguk (South Korean) hip hop developed over the last two decades as a musical, cultural, and artistic entity? How is hip hop understood within historical, sociocultural, and economic matrices of Korean society? How is hip hop represented in Korean media and popular culture? This book utilizes ethnographic methods, including fieldwork research and life timeline interviews with fifty-three influential hip hop artists, in order to answer these questions. It explores the nuanced meaning of hip hop in South Korea, outlining the local, global, and (trans)national flows of musical and cultural exchanges.
Throughout the chapters, Korean hip hop is examined through the notion of buran—personal and societal anxiety or uncertainty—and how it manifests in the dimensions of space and place, economy, cultural production, and gender. Ultimately, buran serves as a metaphoric state for Hanguk hip hop in that it continuously evolves within the conditions of Korean society.
Throughout the chapters, Korean hip hop is examined through the notion of buran—personal and societal anxiety or uncertainty—and how it manifests in the dimensions of space and place, economy, cultural production, and gender. Ultimately, buran serves as a metaphoric state for Hanguk hip hop in that it continuously evolves within the conditions of Korean society.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2019
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 8, 2025
I started this book way back in 2023, before moving to Seoul. Since then, a lot has happened but as I had this one chapter left, I felt a duty to finish.
Song has written a compelling account of Korean rap. While it's academic, I definitely felt that it's readable. In particular, I enjoyed the little tidbits about her research experience, such as the anecdotes from interviews. The books focuses on how the Korean rap scene evolves, while lingering on various social factors, such as gender and class.
I'm hardly a professional when it comes to rap and yet, Song manages to make me deeply care about this art form and its social implications. Having lived in Korea now, I found myself appreciating more the notion that rap reflects a process of westernization while also finding this Korean authenticity.
I read most of this book a long time ago so I'm struggling to fully recall what else I enjoyed but I do feel I'll return to this book if the need to know more about Korean rap arises. It's a solid body of work, full of fieldwork and interlinked with theory.
What I'm taking with Me
- Despite many fears and anxieties, during the last two years, I've achieved multiple of my childhood dreams. It's so easy to be overcome with disappointment and stress but fuck that, even if I haven't reached exactly where I want to go, I've made more progress than I ever could have imagined. I need to cling to that notion.
- Gender in Korea is such a fascinating subject, very cool to see how that translates to rap
- and Korea's music culture is so intense, also interesting to explore that tension between how rap is perceived in the US vs Korea, as Song does. Especially with regards to notions of race, such a cool lens to understand broader societal processes.
Song has written a compelling account of Korean rap. While it's academic, I definitely felt that it's readable. In particular, I enjoyed the little tidbits about her research experience, such as the anecdotes from interviews. The books focuses on how the Korean rap scene evolves, while lingering on various social factors, such as gender and class.
I'm hardly a professional when it comes to rap and yet, Song manages to make me deeply care about this art form and its social implications. Having lived in Korea now, I found myself appreciating more the notion that rap reflects a process of westernization while also finding this Korean authenticity.
I read most of this book a long time ago so I'm struggling to fully recall what else I enjoyed but I do feel I'll return to this book if the need to know more about Korean rap arises. It's a solid body of work, full of fieldwork and interlinked with theory.
What I'm taking with Me
- Despite many fears and anxieties, during the last two years, I've achieved multiple of my childhood dreams. It's so easy to be overcome with disappointment and stress but fuck that, even if I haven't reached exactly where I want to go, I've made more progress than I ever could have imagined. I need to cling to that notion.
- Gender in Korea is such a fascinating subject, very cool to see how that translates to rap
- and Korea's music culture is so intense, also interesting to explore that tension between how rap is perceived in the US vs Korea, as Song does. Especially with regards to notions of race, such a cool lens to understand broader societal processes.
June 3, 2020
I started this book in hopes that it would provide me some insight into the connection between Korea's hip hop culture and the current riptide of the Black Lives Matter movement. I ended up learning so much more than I anticipated - Song really crafted a masterful book that covered Hanguk hip hop from end to end. Rich in anecdotes from artists or self pronounced "rapstars," readers can really notice the care, detail, and time that the author put in to connect the dots among all the interviews to paint a larger picture.
My personal favorite chapter was "Unpretty Rapstar: Gender and Representation in Korean Hip Hop." As an avid female listener of Hanguk hip hop myself, I could connect strongly to the insights Song picked up about the stereotype of hip hop listeners and the lack of room or acknowledgement for females in this audience. I was even more fascinated by the conclusions Song drew about the double bind that female rappers in Korea are against and the lack of community that is build up within the gender.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Korean hip hop and wants to learn more about the industry from the artists themselves and an expert (Song). I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book - I applaud all the hard work the author put into crafting it!!
My personal favorite chapter was "Unpretty Rapstar: Gender and Representation in Korean Hip Hop." As an avid female listener of Hanguk hip hop myself, I could connect strongly to the insights Song picked up about the stereotype of hip hop listeners and the lack of room or acknowledgement for females in this audience. I was even more fascinated by the conclusions Song drew about the double bind that female rappers in Korea are against and the lack of community that is build up within the gender.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Korean hip hop and wants to learn more about the industry from the artists themselves and an expert (Song). I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book - I applaud all the hard work the author put into crafting it!!
November 1, 2022
Song Myoung-sun provides an invaluable piece of documentation that I would recommend to anyone interested in the subject matter, particularly in the English-speaking world.
Nevertheless, there were many instances throughout this book that made me question this work's sense of scope: every other page or so, I was craving more depth. I needed it.
I did not get it.
It would be wrong to suggest that this book is without bite, but I wish there were more teeth, and they were sharper as well.
The tendency to document rather than criticize is particularly frustrating when the text gestures at underlying problems and far-reaching historical complexities that are forgotten in the next paragraph, seemingly to preserve focus on one topic, only to switch to a different one in the next chapter two pages down the line.
For example, when RM is cited as saying "There are two things that Warren G told me that I will never forget. First, hip hop is open to anyone, regardless of one’s race or where s/he comes from. It is always ready to give a corner and space to anyone who loves hip hop, so I should not box myself in prejudice. The second thing he said was that I was doing well and that I should believe in myself and do what I want. I know it is something anyone can say but coming from him, it really stuck with me" (p. 141-142), why does the chapter end on the same page? Why is there no discussion of that statement at all? Is that an acceptable take-away to have? There is nothing on the page. The entire discussion of idol rapper as a legitimacy crisis is not an interesting choice of focal point, because the previous discussions on blackness aren't incorporated here; they would fit so well! The manufacture of authenticity via what is essentially a form of modern blackface is not picked up on again at this point. That's a wasted opportunity.
This book is a great work of documentation, but the critical appraisal of the content of the interviews, of much of what was presented, though it may work as an introduction to the subject matter, really needs more work. Otherwise the gesturing at criticism is going to appear hollow every time. I'm excited to read this author's next work! And other authors/scholars building on this work!
Nevertheless, there were many instances throughout this book that made me question this work's sense of scope: every other page or so, I was craving more depth. I needed it.
I did not get it.
It would be wrong to suggest that this book is without bite, but I wish there were more teeth, and they were sharper as well.
The tendency to document rather than criticize is particularly frustrating when the text gestures at underlying problems and far-reaching historical complexities that are forgotten in the next paragraph, seemingly to preserve focus on one topic, only to switch to a different one in the next chapter two pages down the line.
For example, when RM is cited as saying "There are two things that Warren G told me that I will never forget. First, hip hop is open to anyone, regardless of one’s race or where s/he comes from. It is always ready to give a corner and space to anyone who loves hip hop, so I should not box myself in prejudice. The second thing he said was that I was doing well and that I should believe in myself and do what I want. I know it is something anyone can say but coming from him, it really stuck with me" (p. 141-142), why does the chapter end on the same page? Why is there no discussion of that statement at all? Is that an acceptable take-away to have? There is nothing on the page. The entire discussion of idol rapper as a legitimacy crisis is not an interesting choice of focal point, because the previous discussions on blackness aren't incorporated here; they would fit so well! The manufacture of authenticity via what is essentially a form of modern blackface is not picked up on again at this point. That's a wasted opportunity.
This book is a great work of documentation, but the critical appraisal of the content of the interviews, of much of what was presented, though it may work as an introduction to the subject matter, really needs more work. Otherwise the gesturing at criticism is going to appear hollow every time. I'm excited to read this author's next work! And other authors/scholars building on this work!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews