Trot (music)

Trot (music)
Hangul 트로트 or 트롯트
Revised Romanization Teuroteu or Teurotteu
McCune–Reischauer T'ŭrot'ŭ or T'ŭrott'ŭ

Trot, pronounced as "teuroteu" in Korean (sometimes called ppongjjak, due to its distinctive background rhythm), is the oldest form of Korean pop music. It was developed in the years before and during World War II around the early 1900s. Famous interpreters of this genre are South Korean singers Tae Jin Ah and Song Dae Gwan. Rock musicians such as Cho Yong Pil also performed this type of music.

The name derives from a shortening of "foxtrot", a ballroom dance which influenced the simple two-beat of elements of the genre. Trot music is described as two-beat rhythm or duple rhythm, traditional seven-five syllabic stanzas, and unique vocal style called Gagok.[1] The trot was originated from Japanese Enka during the occupation by Japan. [2] [3] [4] [5]

The popularity of trot music declined seriously in 1990s due to the great hit of "Hayeoga" by Seo Taiji and Boys. After that, dance music was the main stream of Korean pop music and trot was pushed into minor genre in Korean pop music scene.

This style of music has recovered its popularity due to the emergence of "semi-trot" singers such as Jang Yoon Jeong (장윤정), who had great crossover success with her first single "어머나!" ("Eomeona!" - an exclamation similar to "Oh my goodness!"). This has led to both an increased awareness of older trot musicians and the debut of other singers and groups wanting to capitalize on the genre's comeback (including LPG, Super Junior-T, Epik High, and Daesung of Big Bang).

Origin

The trot originated from Japanese Enka during the occupation by Japan. [6] [7] [8] [9]

In 1960s, the Broadcast Ethics Committee of the South-Korean government banned popular trot songs because of its overt Japanese musical influence.[10]

In 1984, the origin of trot was fiercely debated among the Korean scholars. [11] [12]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/1699/sonmj12158.pdf?sequence=2
  2. ^ Bernstein; Sekine, Naoki; Weissman, Dick (2007). The global music industry: three perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 0415975794. http://books.google.com/books?id=5uE3AQAAIAAJ&q=trot+enka&dq=trot+enka&hl=en&ei=1Nk0Tq70O8fumAXvpIXxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAg. "From the 1950s to the 1980s, Korean pop music was overall much the same as Japanese enka and popular music. This music was called trot, which was influenced by Japanese songs during the land's occupation by the Japanese army," 
  3. ^ Shepherd, John (2005 Isbn=0826474365). Continuum encyclopedia of popular music of the world, Volumes 3-7. Continuum. http://books.google.com/books?id=ShUKAQAAMAAJ&q=teuroteu&dq=teuroteu&hl=en&ei=bNg0TvfEM8bomAXLwKDwCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA. "Teuroteu, influenced by Japanese enka, owes its name to the fox trot, as its duple- meter structure was a striking departure from the triple-meter structure of most indigenous musics in Korea." 
  4. ^ Lee, Gang-Im (2008). Directing Koreanness: Directors and playwrights under the national flag, 1970--2000. ProQuest. ISBN 1109055269. http://books.google.com/books?id=2zTyuNdmECcC&pg=PA91&dq=trot+enka&hl=en&ei=1Nk0Tq70O8fumAXvpIXxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAQ#. "Despite the considerable popularity of trot song in South Korea, due to the origin of trot song in Japanese enka, this genre is still debated among (pop) critics." 
  5. ^ Performing arts. Korea Foundation. 1997. ISBN 8986090112. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vz_0AAAAMAAJ&q=trot+enka&dq=trot+enka&hl=en&ei=1Nk0Tq70O8fumAXvpIXxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBQ. "Most South Korean pop singers of the 'trot" or ppongtchak style, a sentimental genre influenced by Japanese enka, prefer the characteristically powerful chest voice of the p'ansori singers to the typical Japanese style which employs ..." 
  6. ^ Bernstein; Sekine, Naoki; Weissman, Dick (2007). The global music industry: three perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 0415975794. http://books.google.com/books?id=5uE3AQAAIAAJ&q=trot+enka&dq=trot+enka&hl=en&ei=1Nk0Tq70O8fumAXvpIXxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAg. "From the 1950s to the 1980s, Korean pop music was overall much the same as Japanese enka and popular music. This music was called trot, which was influenced by Japanese songs during the land's occupation by the Japanese army," 
  7. ^ Shepherd, John (2005 Isbn=0826474365). Continuum encyclopedia of popular music of the world, Volumes 3-7. Continuum. http://books.google.com/books?id=ShUKAQAAMAAJ&q=teuroteu&dq=teuroteu&hl=en&ei=bNg0TvfEM8bomAXLwKDwCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA. "Teuroteu, influenced by Japanese enka, owes its name to the fox trot, as its duple- meter structure was a striking departure from the triple-meter structure of most indigenous musics in Korea." 
  8. ^ Lee, Gang-Im (2008). Directing Koreanness: Directors and playwrights under the national flag, 1970--2000. ProQuest. ISBN 1109055269. http://books.google.com/books?id=2zTyuNdmECcC&pg=PA91&dq=trot+enka&hl=en&ei=1Nk0Tq70O8fumAXvpIXxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAQ#. "Despite the considerable popularity of trot song in South Korea, due to the origin of trot song in Japanese enka, this genre is still debated among (pop) critics." 
  9. ^ Performing arts. Korea Foundation. 1997. ISBN 8986090112. http://books.google.com/books?id=Vz_0AAAAMAAJ&q=trot+enka&dq=trot+enka&hl=en&ei=1Nk0Tq70O8fumAXvpIXxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBQ. "Most South Korean pop singers of the 'trot" or ppongtchak style, a sentimental genre influenced by Japanese enka, prefer the characteristically powerful chest voice of the p'ansori singers to the typical Japanese style which employs ..." 
  10. ^ McConnachie, James (2000). World music: the rough guide. Rough Guides. p. 164. ISBN 1858286360. http://books.google.com/books?id=QzX8THIgRjUC&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=%22Tongbaek+Agassi%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22Tongbaek%20Agassi%22&f=false. "Lee Mi-ja. has produced many hits since the mid-1950s, including "Tongbaek Agassi" (Camellia Maiden), released in 1964, but later banned by the Broadcast Ethics Committee of the South-Korean government because of its overt Japanese musical influence. Although the banning of "Tongbaek Agassi" and subsequent banning of other Ppongtchak songs with a more than tolerable amount of Japanese influence somewhat dampened the genre's popularity." 
  11. ^ Berry, Chris; Liscutin, Nicola; Mackintosh, Jonathan D.. Cultural studies and cultural industries in northeast Asia: what a difference a region makes. Hong Kong University Press, 2009. p. 261. ISBN 9622099750. http://books.google.com/books?id=z-ZsUQoKoDUC&pg=PA261&dq=trot+enka&hl=en#v=onepage&q=trot%20enka&f=false. " These ballads are sometimes compared to Japanese enka, and the origins of both genres are fiercely debated in Korea" 
  12. ^ Gloria Lee Pak, “On the Mimetic Faculty: A Critical Study of the 1984 Ppongtchak Debate and Post-colonial Mimesis,” in Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave, ed. Keith Howard (Folkestone: Global Oriental 2006), 62–71.