Survival of the shortest, as seen in K-pop and K-dramas

K-pop

Published: 04 Oct. 2022, 15:17 Updated: 04 Oct. 2022, 15:28

Survival of the shortest, as seen in K-pop and K-dramas

Girl group IVE's hits are all under three minutes. [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

Only the shortest and the simplest survive.

This seems to be the latest mantra of the Korean content industry, from K-pop to K-dramas. In order to cater to the masses as they gravitate toward shorter content that gets straight to the point, songs and videos now have to be as concise as possible to hold viewers' ever-fleeting attention.

Girl group Blackpink’s latest song “Shut Down,” released on Sept. 16, lasts just 2 minutes and 55 seconds. Netflix Korea’s latest original series “Narco-Saints” consists of six episodes for a total running time of 6 hours and 11 minutes; short for a Korean drama series.

Conventionally, the standard length of K-pop songs is considered to be somewhere between three to four minutes, and K-dramas would have a minimum of 16 episodes for a “miniseries.”

But that is no longer the case, and the change is especially noticeable in the K-pop scene. The top songs on recent domestic music charts mostly have a running time no longer than three minutes: Girl group IVE’s megahits “After Like” clocks in at 2 minutes 56 seconds, “Love Dive” is 2 minutes 57 seconds, girl group NewJeans’s “Attention” is 2 minutes 58 seconds, “Hype boy” is 2 minutes 56 seconds and rapper Zico’s “New Thing” is 2 minutes 27 seconds. All were released this year.

Girl group NewJeans' hits "Attention" and "Hybe boy" are both under three minutes. [ADORA]

The shortened lengths stand in stark contrast to K-pop hits from 10 years ago. Among the top 10 songs of 2012 on local music platform Melon’s streaming chart, none were shorter than three minutes. The shortest was Sistar’s “Alone” at 3 minutes 26 seconds, followed by Big Bang’s ‘Fantastic Baby” at 3 minutes 50 seconds and 2NE1’s “I Love You” at 3 minutes 57 seconds. The majority of hit songs of 2012 had running times around the four-minute mark, which means K-pop songs have generally become a whole minute shorter over the past decade.

The way people consume content has changed dramatically, industry insiders say, which has spurred on the change. With the influx of short-video platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Naver Moment, many have come to prefer one-minute or shorter videos that get straight to the point.

Taeyong of boy band NCT 127 in a YouTube Shorts challenge video [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Lead tracks released by idol groups — which have to be heavily promoted in the saturated K-pop market to appeal to younger audiences — must be exceptionally catchy and also tend to be shorter than their B-side tracks.

“For today’s younger generation who is used to watching short-form content, we have to minimize any part that may come across as boring,” said Lee Ji-hyun, PR Director at Starship Entertainment, the agency behind IVE.

The girl group’s latest hit “After Like,” which topped local music charts and surpassed 100 million views on YouTube, starts rather abruptly after a three-second prelude.

“We decided to get rid of the prelude in a quite bold manner,” Lee continued. “It made it very convenient for us when we promoted the song on TikTok and YouTube Shorts in the form of challenge videos, which are important outlets to appeal to listeners in their teens and 20s. Short-from challenge videos, which features fans and usually other celebrities dancing to the song’s highlight, has become a major part of idol groups’ promotion activities once they release new music. That way, they hope the catchiest part of their song spreads to other celebrities’ fandoms and gains publicity. Some K-pop idols have shared that mastering how to use short-form content is now a key part of the training process."

Rei of IVE in a TikTok challenge video [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“We film a TikTok and get it checked by the instructor,” member Rei of IVE said during an interview earlier this year, sharing that she received “TikTok lessons” as a trainee. “The instructor would give us feedback about our facial expressions. We also had to learn how to add video effects like sparkles ourselves.”

Shifting trends have also reached major television channels, which in the past tended to create series of at least 16 episodes. SBS’s “Business Proposal” (2022) and “Through the Darkness” (2022) and JTBC's “Thirty-Nine” (2022) aired 12 episodes; noticeably brief considering many Korean television series have well over 20 episodes. The shows saw high viewership ratings and positive reviews for its concise storyline.

Korean dramas released as original series on streaming platforms are even shorter. Netflix’s “Narco-Saints” (2022) and Coupang Play’s “Anna” (2022) have six episodes. The global hit series “Squid Game” (2021) had nine.

Many modern viewers think even that’s too long, and turn to summary videos on YouTube. A YouTube video that summarized the nine-episode “Squid Game” in just half an hour garnered some 5.3 million views.

A YouTube video that summarized the nine-episode series “Squid Game” in 30 minutes garnered some 5.3 million views. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“There’s so much content pouring in, viewers now look for density of information rather than length,” said pop culture critic Jeong Deok-hyun. “People today are frequently exposed to short-form content, and that is bound to influence the way they consume other types of content as well.”

Another factor is that binge-watching on streaming platforms has become a common occurrence in many Koreans’ lives. Rather than waiting to watch a new episode of a K-drama once or twice a week on TV, more viewers are now opting to watch an entire series in one sitting, or at least multiple episodes at a time. Naturally, they have to consider how much of a time commitment it will be to watch a whole series.

“Korean viewers have become familiar with series that are aired in multiple seasons, a system that was at one time only seen in foreign TV shows,” said pop culture critic Ha Jae-keun. “Binge-watching an entire series at once, even if it is in multiple seasons, has also become normal. As a result, more viewers think that too many episodes or long running times are too much of a commitment. Producers cannot ignore this trend, which is why we keep seeing fewer episodes and shorter running times.“

Netflix original series ″Narco-Saints″ has six episodes. [NETFLIX]

Sometimes, the shortness is useful in keeping viewers interested, guaranteeing more seasons in the future. A fewer number of episodes means that some plotlines are inevitably — sometimes intentionally — left unresolved, leaving viewers hanging on until the next season. Netflix Korea’s original series “Squid Game,” “D.P.” (2021), “Hellbound” (2021) “All of Us Are Dead” (2022) and “Juvenile Justice” (2022) have all been confirmed for second seasons. “Sweet Home” (2020) was confirmed for a second and third season at once.

However, critic Ha also voiced concerns that the extremely fast-paced culture of content consumption may lead producers and viewers alike to miss out on depth.

“Being too focused on following the trend might lead to fewer content that makes the viewer really experience the story in-depth,” Ha added. “I am concerned that culture may turn overly consumerist.”

BY PARK KUN, HALEY YANG [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]