A Look At K-pop's Black American Influence And Activism During Black Lives Matter

It’s no secret that K-pop groups such as BTS are heavily influenced by Black American artists. But now these groups are facing a call to action that comes along with embracing American culture — and that’s activism.

Here & Now‘s Tonya Mosley speaks with Crystal Anderson, affiliate Korean studies faculty member at George Mason University and author of the new book “Soul in Seoul: African American Popular Music and K-Pop.”

Book Excerpt: ‘Soul In Seoul’

By Crystal Anderson

Rhythm and blues as practiced by Motown represented cultural work because it effected a cultural change by shifting pop music itself. It was initially positioned opposite pop music. Going back to the 1950s, pop music initially included songs by Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, whose style Martha Bayles (1994) describes