The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time: Number 10

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

10. Girls' Generation - Into the New World (2007)

Lyrics: Kim Jeong Bae

Composition: Kenzie

When it comes to iconic and influential K-Pop groups, few groups' names come up prior to Girls' Generation, also known as SNSD. With a frankly ridiculous number of major hits and classics to claim as their own, it is quite impossible to realize a time when Girls' Generation were not the standard-bearers for K-Pop. But it existed, and that time was August 2007, when the then-nonet debuted with Into The New World.

While almost universally regarded as a K-Pop classic and included in lists of this caliber, it may surprise many to know that Into the New World was only a minor hit. Additionally, it and the newly debuted Girls' Generation had several anti-fans. This culminated in the infamous "black ocean" incident. Performing at the Dream Concert 2008, Girls' Generation were met by a stadium with barely any lightsticks (a symbol of K-Pop fandom support) and chants in support of their then-more popular rival, the legendary Wonder Girls. It was only in 2009 with Gee that Girls' Generation garnered their much-deserved commercial success.

Since then, Into the New World has slowly but surely had a renaissance, almost always considered one of the greatest Korean songs of the 21st century. In 2016, the song rose to the top of the charts, being used by women's rights protesters and protesters against the incumbent government. Since then, Into the New World has been considered a symbol of resistance and strength, along with hope for better times.

Indeed, Into the New World's hopeful lyrics may be one of the main reasons for its rise to such incredible heights. The song tells us, "Don't wait for any special miracle, our rough path in front of us, might be an unknown future and challenge, but we can't give up." Into the New World doesn't pretend everything will be a-okay, but it does promise that even this situation will pass, and goodness will eventually win. Combine this with the vague nature of the eventual threat and you can see why Kim Jeong Bae's lyrics have transcended K-Pop generations.

Of course, the lynchpin at the heart of Into the New World's nostalgia is composer Kenzie, and the song is widely regarded as the magnum opus of her storied career. One of the few female composers to have reached the A-List in the K-Pop industry, Into the New World stood as a breakout for Kenzie, and solidified her into a bona fide K-Pop legend.

Much of the production of Into the New World recalls old themes and motifs, reusing classic ideas rather than creating new ones. Famously, Dvorak's 9th Symphony's fourth movement is sampled in the track. Given that Dvorak's 9th is known as the "new world symphony," and has themes relating to optimistic hope, it is not hard to see the direct parallels in the tribute.

Additionally, the ever-iconic electric keyboard riff that opens Into the New World and acts as a guiding force is heavily inspired by a similar riff in Don Henley's Boys of Summer. Nonetheless, Kenzie's use of the riff is very different from Henley's. For Henley, it was for looking back nostalgically, for Girls' Generation, it is about looking forward with hope.

Despite these Western samples, Into the New World's greatest inspiration comes from J-Pop. The simple optimistic melody is quite a drastic shift from the edgy rap-rock that dominated the earlier second-generation releases. Instead, we get a keyboard-driven pop melody. The song slowly grows and swells through its runtime. There might be implements from other genres (funk, synth-pop, hip-hop), but Into the New World is one of the most straightforwardly pop songs ever. Thus, Kenzie can be very centered in the production. The little percussion implements and keyboard riffs are heavenly and make any instrumental version of the song perfect already. In one of the most underappreciated tricks in pop history, the opening keyboard melody is the central backbeat of the chorus, adding both a texture that feels intimate and familiar, but also expands beyond what already existed.

Of course, all of this is in service of a good melody. K-Pop fans easily tell you that this one basic element is the most important for any song, but is most often inefficiently accomplished. Into the New World does not suffer from this issue. Indeed, its melody might be one of the best in K-Pop history. Each hook plays seamlessly into the next. Each melody is fully realized and takes its time to develop. No effort is spared to make the melody complete.

This is best seen within the iconic chorus. Every piece of the melody is thoroughly devised, rising and falling with every beat to create a tune that is hopeful and instantly iconic. Such a melody would be considered a classic within any land, or within any year. Words can hardly describe the melody, but a listen certainly would.

For debuting rookies, Girls' Generation were certainly quite skilled, and their determined performance was certainly a major part of what made Into the New World such an ethereal piece. Every note is performed with a mix of grit and optimism. The members also unite for the legendary aforementioned chorus. Despite Girls' Generation initially being criticized for not allowing the members to shine, Into the New World certainly has moments of individual greatness, perhaps best seen in the high notes. Years before they would become some of Asia's most influential celebrities in their own right, Jessica and Taeyeon defined endurance and determination with their now-iconic high notes. So much there is said with so little.

Into the New World is where Girls' Generation's legend began. And frankly, even if it had ended with Into the New World, it would still be a legend. The song is incredible in every way, and is one of the greatest K-Pop songs of all time.

Next: Number 9

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