How "Into the New World" became the song of the community
- lgbtnewskorea
- 5 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Nobody knows what the music industry of tomorrow will look like. But it is clear that today's music industry is rapidly changing. In the midst of this turmoil, we share ideas and examples for a better future for the K-pop industry.
English Translation: Vera
Translation review: 지니, Juyeon
Writer of the original text: 레이
Review and amendments to the original text: Miguel, 희중
Web & SNS Posting: Miguel
News Card Design: 가리
*This piece was edited and translated from "How 'Into the New World’ became the song of the community,” which was published in Woojin Cha's "K-pop Strategy Lab" on December 16, 2024. It has been slightly edited to align with the topic of our website. The opinions and analysis in this piece reflect the views of critic Woojin Cha. Click here to read the original Korean text.
*Writer of the original text: Woojin Cha (Pop culture and K-pop critic)
*Check out the various contents of Woojin Cha's "K-pop Strategy Lab" through the newsletter and author pages listed below.
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👉 "Into the New World" became the song of the community
I was in front of the National Assembly on December 7 and 14. The National Assembly's impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol was rejected on the 7th and passed on the 14th. As you may know, these protests were filled with K-pop and light sticks. My partner and I were also on the street with Subongi (aespa light stick) and Binky Bong (NewJeans light stick). The most moving of the songs that played there was "Into the New World" by Girls' Generation.
The "Into the New World" of the 7th and 14th felt different. When the impeachment motion was rejected, the song had a sense of unshakable determination in it. When it passed, "Into the New World" was filled with victorious joy. At 5 pm on the 14th, as it was announced that the impeachment motion had passed, "Into the New World" played from the stage in front of the National Assembly—and in that moment, the song established its place as a symbol of the community, not just a K-Pop classic.
But how did this song start appearing in the protests? Many people find its root from the Ewha Womans University students' protests in the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye in 2016, but there are quite a variety of contexts. I summarized them here.
▪️Ewha Womans University Protest in 2016
On July 30, 2016, there was a demonstration in Ewha Womans University, protesting against the establishment of the Light Up Your Future in Ewha (LiFE) College. When 1,600 police officers were dispatched during the students' sit-in, the students sang “Into the New World,” and a video that captured this moment went viral.
To know more about this protest, check out this article.
The reason why Girls' Generation’s Into the New World was played at the Ewha Womans University demonstrations in 2016 was due to the influence of popular culture and social media. The song had resurfaced through the audition program Produce 101, which was broadcasted at the time, and stirred nostalgia in conjunction with the teenage days of the 1996 students who led the protests. The students who came back to this song through social media chose it over the traditional protest songs. Later, while developing into the candlelight rallies for the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, LED candles appeared in response to the ruling party's remark that “Candles go out when the wind blows.”
▪️Seoul Queer Parade in the 2010s
But the 2016 candlelight rallies at Ewha Womans University and the protests for the impeachment of Park Geun-hye were not the first time “Into the New World” appeared. It had already appeared earlier at Queer Parades. Of course, "Into the New World" in this case was more of a fun song for participants of the parade to enjoy, rather than one chosen for a special message.
In fact, it’s hard not to mention queer movements when talking about the context of K-pop in street rallies/protests. In particular, K-Pop in the 2000s tried to catch up with the global hit songs, particularly from the United States, and many of them were overwhelmingly popular in queer communities, including those by artists like Lady Gaga and Britney Spears. The Korean queer community began to listen to K-pop as it was inspired not only by these hit songs but also by the styles of the artists. (Of course, it isn’t free from the queerbaiting controversy.)
Check out LGBT News Korea’s translation of the Women News’s contribution piece on queerbaiting and heterobaiting: Stolen Queerness: “Hetero-baiting” in Korean Contents
After the 2009’s girl group boom, K-Pop girl group songs gained popularity even among the international queer community. Around 2010, in queer clubs in Thailand, the music of Girls' Generation, 2NE1, Wonder Girls, and Kara, was often selected with the traditional queer anthems like ABBA and Lady Gaga. At the time, these songs were a hit in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan. Later, with the political climate in Korea since 2016, K-pop also appeared in the anti-government protests in Thailand in 2020.
To summarize, we can see that Girls' Generation's “Into the New World” first appeared through the Queer Parade. However, it is true that the political implications of this song have become stronger as time passed on, the 2016 Ewha Womans University protests being the turning point. Since then, “Into the New World” began to solidify its place as the song that represents the community.
▪️“Into the New World” redefined by fans and artists
Yuri showing support by prepaying food for the fans participating in the protest demanding Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment and mentioning “Into the New World” quickly became famous.
In fact, she talked about her special love for "Into the New World" in 2017. In an interview with W Korea, she answered the question about the "Into the New World" sung by the Ewha Womans University students:
“I watched the video several times, and sometimes cried because it shook my heart. I felt great pride as a singer. It was a message that I wanted to convey through this work, and the inspiration I conveyed through music or performance was realized. It was impossible not to feel special. When I debuted, I might have just been mimicking the song with innocent eyes without fully understanding the meaning of the lyrics. But as time passed, the words began to resonate with me more deeply.”
Tiffany appeared in the YouTube channel “Neon Milk” in 2021 and left a message about Pride Month while choreographing "Into the New World."
"I am so happy to be with Neon Milk. I think the most important thing is to act honestly and confidently by yourself. Thank you for showing me the things that inspired so many people, and that love and kindness always win. Like Girls’ Generation's slogan, ‘Right Now, Tomorrow, Forever’ with you together!”
Through this process, "Into the New World" started to have a more special meaning. As you know, K-Pop is a field where companies' voices and industrial achievements are more important than artists' voices. However, "Into the New World" has gone through various circumstances and historical moments. In other words, it became the song that is difficult for the company or artist to control. Additionally, the members of Girls' Generation actively support the meaning of this song. In that sense, there are many points to think over.
🧑💻 Issues to think over: beyond "Into the New World”
The social status of "Into the New World" is actually a story about K-pop in general. So it leaves more questions, and not simple ones. It presents a very important moment in the K-pop industry. I've summarized it in three perspectives.
1) K-pop has become a part of the social community
In the historical context of "Into the New World", you can see K-pop appearing in the Yoon Suk-yeol impeachment rallies is not a sudden wonder. The context has accumulated for a long time, and it has just unfolded. The K-pop industry, however, tries to erase the social context as much as possible. Critical attitudes only stay in lyrics, styles, or worldviews. How will this affect the future?
K-pop fans are particularly sensitive to fairness. Rather than a generation issue, I think that the K-pop industry has made it like this over the past 30 years. Fairness has become the most important keyword throughout activities such as artist selection, debuts, and fan meetings. This is also the reason why K-pop fans are sensitive to social issues. So far, these attitudes and activities have been considered a matter of minority fandom. However, it is more likely that it will not remain this way in the future. K-pop is not just a cultural product for export; it is something important in Korean society. As a result, I observe that the way or attitude of understanding fans of K-pop enterprises will have to be very different from before.
2) Feminism will become more important
This is what experts have been saying for a long time. In particular, the K-pop fandom after 2015-2020, which experienced the 'MeToo Movement' and 'Nth Room case', has changed completely. In Korean society, the word 'femi', a shortened version of the word feminist or feminism, is used as a word of hate, but the world has entered the era of feminism. K-pop fandom is virtually a 'women's community' and 'feminism' in the global standards, not just in Korea. It has been revealed clearly in recent rallies and activities.
In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that the K-pop's future depends on how to establish a relationship with them, not on the new genre, industrial structure, or business model. However, the K-pop industry’s view on feminism remains generally shallow, like only considering superficial ‘gender conflict’ or female superiority theory. But in the future, if there is no understanding of feminism and patriarchy, it will be difficult to have a relationship with the K-pop fandom and expand the business.
3) Community of minorities cannot be ignored
In the meantime, many people have been trying to explain and define the way K-pop makes relationships with the queer/underground community, such as the ‘Queerdology’ and the ‘K-Pop Party of Sorrow’. It has been established over and over why it is important. However, it is true that these attempts and efforts have often been neglected because they are of the 'minority'.
But it is confirmed again that the minority community has historically existed as a core value of K-pop. This is also a characteristic of popular music (pop music). Music that has acquired some kind of meaning underground acquires permanence by making trends and becoming a genre. Most of the modern popular music, such as rock 'n' roll, soul, disco, hip-hop, and electronic music, also went through this process and grew into its current form. K-pop is also going through this process. The 2020s is the decade in which minority communities are especially more important than ever. It might be strange to say so, but in fact, minority communities are becoming mainstream worldwide as well. What kind of attitude and position should the K-pop industry take?
English Translation: Vera
Translation review: 지니, Juyeon
Writer of the original text: 레이
Review and amendments to the original text: Miguel, 희중
Web & SNS Posting: Miguel
News Card Design: 가리
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