ABSTRACT
In early 2009, several South Korean popular music (K-pop) videos were introduced on one of the most well-known websites in Hollywood, perezhilton.com. 1 These music videos were all 2009 hit songs by regionally popular K-pop stars, such as “Nobody” by the Wonder Girls, “You Go Girl” by Lee Hyo-Ri, and “Gee” by SNSD. The clips rapidly attracted hundreds of replies, demonstrating web users’ instant interest, both positive and negative, in otherwise marginalized Asian pop products. Later, one of the K-pop idol girl groups introduced on the website, the Wonder Girls, signed a contract as the opening act for the Jonas Brothers’ US summer 2009 tour. In an interview with a US entertainment news blog chubbyjones.com, the Wonder Girls’ member Yenny said that Kevin Jonas (manager and father of the Jonas Brothers) came to their Los Angeles concert because he was intrigued by the music video for “Nobody” that he had seen on perezhilton.com. It was soon after this concert that the Jonas Group offered JYPE (the Wonder Girls’ management company) a contract for the lucrative 2009 support slot on the Jonas Brothers US tour. 2 During the concert tour, the Wonder Girls appeared on various on- and offline US media, including The Wendy Williams Show on Fox TV. This case is a significant example of the growing interest in South Korean popular culture in the contemporary global market, highlighting the power of new media technologies. 3
