The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time: Number 6

Readers, over the past two months, I have worked to create a list of my favorite K-Pop Songs of All Time. For over ten years, I have enjoyed K-Pop, seeing it blossom into a global genre with millions and millions of adoring fans. I have found K-Pop songs I love, made friends over the genre, and seen legacies built over the years. Some of the songs that have made me feel the most are from K-Pop. Given all I have felt and seen, I thought it was finally time to create a ranking of my favorite K-Pop songs of all time.

I don't claim this ranking is perfect, no ranking of this can be perfect. I can only claim that I did my best to provide my personal opinion, with my personal biases, from my years of enjoying Korean music. There are many more boy band songs than girl group (I just prefer their general soundscape), and many songs come from the second generation (2005-2013).

In a way, K-Pop is a bit of a misnomer here. I have included Korean songs outside of the idol sphere, and songs released nearly a century ago. The end result is a list full of songs that left their mark on me. I hope you, the reader, enjoy this list. You may (and almost certainly won't) agree with my ranking, but that is what makes a personal list like this so wonderful.

With that said, let us enter the rules and regulations for what has been qualified as K-Pop for this list.

• Any musical piece released in South Korea, or any of its direct predecessor states, AND/OR is predominantly in the Korean language, Jejuan, or any of their dialects.
• The musical piece must be lyrical in nature.
• Any song, single, or b-side, is eligible.
• This list is MY personal opinion.
• Song rankings may have changed since previous lists and/or reviews.
• The criterion for "the greatest" is a mix of my personal experience, the overall songwriting (lyrically, compositionally, and performance-wise), and the influence of the track in question.
• A song refers to a particular recording of the track and not the basic composition.
• Only one entry per composition.

With all this said. The list will begin tomorrow. For songs 100-11, they will be grouped into daily posts of 10 (100-91, 90-81, etc.). For the top 10, however, each song would get a post of its own.

I hope all of you enjoy this list over the days! Please give your thoughts in the comments, and I will gladly reply when free.

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Previously:

Honorable Mentions

100-91

90-81

80-71

70-61

60-51

50-41

40-31

30-21

20-11

Number 10

Number 9

Number 8

Number 7

6. Seo Taiji and Boys - I Know (1992)

Lyrics: Seo Taiji

Composition: Seo Taiji

I Know is the greatest debut song in Korean history. Not only is the literal best debut for a group, Seo Taiji and Boys, in this case, but for an entire genre. If one were to view K-Pop as the blend of pop, hip-hop, and Korean influences into a snazzy production that played around with its influences in an exciting form, then I Know is undoubtedly the first K-Pop song ever. In fact, it is widely acknowledged as the most influential song in Korean history, and it has more than lived up to its legacy. Not only is it a direct inspiration for every Korean song that has come after, but it is also superior to almost all of its successors, more than inspiring its status as one of Korea's all-time greats.

Back in 1992, Korean music was almost entirely ballad-based. Slow, melodic balladry that took its time. There were a few exceptions that would act as a bridge to Seo Taiji, including Sinawe's hard rock, Kim Wan-Sun's pop melodies, and Sobangcha's dance melodies, but these were based on trot tunes and acted more like a stepping stone. Western elements, such as rap, funk, new jack swing, and upbeat hard rock elements were firmly outside the mainstream, and in some cases, highly restricted.

The '90s were a time begging for a complete cultural revolution. Democracy was finally stable in South Korea, and the economy was thriving. Few, however, expected the change to come from a shy little seventeen-year-old, but that is exactly what Seo Taiji was at the time. Obsessed with Western music, the little artistic youth created I Know. Before performing it, however, he created a group with two professional dancers, Yang Hyun-Suk (later the founder of YG Entertainment) and Lee Juno (later the creator of the Young Turks Club), both with their own storied careers and controversies.

During its initial month of release, I Know failed to garner too much attention. However, on April 11,1992, Seo Taiji and Boys performed it in a music competition... and garnered the last place. This was a boon in disguise, propelling Seo Taiji and Boys to counterculture status, while giving them the launching pad for a legendary career. I Know went on to become one of the biggest smash success stories and the most influential track in Korean history.

I Know more than lives up to its influence. From its iconic synth opening beats, it showcases the vast range of influences Seo Taiji incorporated into his music. He became the first major Korean artist to use a computer in producing his song, and the jagged synth riff anchors the opening. Beyond it, the dramatic production beat creates an intensity that is instantly engaging and climactic. With its Milli Vanilli-based melody and aggressive Teddy Riley dance beat, Seo Taiji heavily borrows from Western elements he admired but merges them into a package that feels distinctly unique to his brand of songwriting.

Then, the song pulls a full 180 as we jump into a rap verse. I Know keeps listeners on their toes, jumping between three entirely different segments, requiring all members to dance, sing, and rap with incredible competence. The rap segment features a swirling new jack swing beat with floating melodies over a rap flow led by Taiji. Compared to modern K-Pop's "pop with rap" styling, Seo Taiji was a rap fan first and foremost, and the rap flow here is essential for I Know's quality and legacy.

This is followed by a grunge rock dance break, doubling the intensity before we reach the beating heart of I Know, the central refrain. Compared to other refrains, I Know doesn't try to act like as a chorus, instead, it acts a dual-act vocal centerpiece that feels no need to be either the intense climax or a purposeful subversion, but rather an emotional core at the heart of the song. Seo Taiji sings, wishing his love would come back to home in a surging melody, before the elliptical production comes back to the forefront with its rock-tinged new jack swing elements over a stunning call-and-response between Seo Taiji and Juno-and-Hyun-Suk. This is such a perfect centerpiece that it alone could guarantee I Know a spot on this list. But the song only continues to build.

We then get a brief, personality-heavy verse from Yang Hyun-Suk, followed by a high-intensity remix of the track's opening, before Hyun-Suk, Juno, and Taiji trade rap line. Not only is the composition extremely tight here, but the personality is overwhelming, showing Taiji's grasp of charisma while only a teenager.

The song then goes off on a high, with another grunge break (this time with radio scratches). This time, the first phase is cut short, adding one major jolt of surprise before we head back to one of the greatest refrains in pop history. This time, it is repeated twice, allowing it to hit twice as hard.

I Know is both the example of what K-Pop would become, and what K-Pop should be. Few songs have been as invigorating and exciting as I Know is at its every moment. I Know is excellent, its peaks surge, its influence casts a mighty shadow over Korea, and is one of the greatest K-Pop songs of all time.

Next: Number 5

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