Silica Gel, DAY6, The Rose: Korean music tastes shift to rock

As bands like Silica Gel, DAY6, The Rose and Wave to Earth gain popularity domestically as well as abroad, Korean rock music is possibly becoming the next Korean music wave.

Silica Gel [POCLANOS]

Korean indie rock band Silica Gel successfully sold out all three of their upcoming solo concerts at Jangchung Arena in central Seoul.

The band will be performing from May 17 to 19 for its show titled "Syn.The.Size III", its agency Magic Strawberry Sound said.

Silica Gel started off as a project band in 2013. The four members decided to make the band permanent in 2016 after seeing potential with their music. Kicking off its career in the indie circuit, the band reached superstar status with the release of "No Pain" in 2022. Silica Gel is now one of the bands at the forefront of a new Korean music boom extending beyond mainstream K-pop.

The tickets for indie band Silica Gel’s solo concert ″Syn.The.Size III″ was sold out on May 5. [MAGIC STRAWBERRY SOUND]

Another rock band, DAY6, recently pulled off a rare feat. All seven tracks from the band's 8th EP, "Fourever," made it onto the Melon Top 100 chart.

Its agency JYP Entertainment, home to mostly K-pop acts, said DAY6 is the only artist from its roster to have every track from an EP appear on a top 100 chart.

The band is also pulling notable numbers for its concerts. Its recent concert, “Welcome to the Show,” held on April 12 to 14 at Jamsil Indoor Stadium, drew in 34,000 fans.

Unlike western countries, the rock genre has somewhat been neglected by the Korean public, as it's been overshadowed by K-pop. However, this genre of music is beginning to gain traction, securing more shows and larger concert venues as music listeners have started to take notice of its unique style and popularity overseas.

DAY6 [JYP ENTERTAINMENT]

The Rose is an indie rock band with a humble beginning. In 2017, it performed in front of about 20 people at a small club in Hongdae when it debuted.

This year, the band just returned home after performing at Coachella.

The band secured a spot on the Outside Theatre stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and performed twice on April 14 and 21. Recordings of the performance captured an enthusiastic crowd singing along to "Back to Me," a track from the band's second full-length album "Dual" (2023). The song is one of the most popular tracks among foreign fans.

"Dual" became the first album by a Korean rock band to reach No. 83 on the Billboard 200 chart. The Rose went on tour following the release of the album, and wrapped up its U.S. shows last year and its European and Asian shows early this year.

“The demand for bands at concerts has definitely increased, and Korean bands that released English albums are getting more traction in particular," said Seo Hyun-kyu, director of MPMG, who runs festivals in Korea and abroad. "There will be more Korean bands that will step into the spotlight overseas like The Rose."

The Rose [THE ROSE OFFICIAL WEBSITE]

Wave to Earth's talent was also first recognized by overseas audiences.

The indie rock band has 7.24 million monthly listeners on Spotify, according to its 2023 data. It sold out 20 concerts across 18 North American cities while on tour after releasing its album "0.1 Flaws and All." The band performed in Asian and European countries early this year as well, and the 2024 Korean Music Awards organizers recognized Wave to Earth as “the most popular Korean band in foreign countries today.”

Wave to Earth [GETTY IMAGES]

Many bands are getting ready to ride the next Korean music wave.

Antenna, a label that is home to many singers and songwriters like Kwon Jin-ah and Lee Jin-ah, is gearing up to launch its first band, Dragon Pony. A two-member band NND and another rock band 9001, which made its name known through JTBC's band audition show “Super Band” (2019), recently performed in Japan. LUCY, the semifinalist band of the same audition program, is also drawing attention with its debut song, "Flowering" (2020), after the song began resurging on the charts. Bongjaeingan, a recently-formed supergroup of a band consisting of veterans from already-established indie bands, is also making headlines for its experimental endeavors. It plans to produce music videos for all 12 tracks of its first full-length album, "12 Languages,” released last year.

"I don't think music listeners nowadays divide between what is indie music and what is not. The interest of music fans, who have been more inclined toward hip-hop and K-pop, are shifting to band music, widening the spectrum of the genre," said pop music critic Choi Young-kyun. In Korea, rock is referred to as "band music", distinguishing it from other genres like K-pop or hip-hop that don't typically feature a live band.

"It is very positive that bands are experimenting with their sounds. Only when the diversity of band music is secured, can its market grow larger."

BY HWANG JI-YOUNG, KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]