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The story
The thread’s original poster argued that “K-pop never managed to produce a truly universal, hum-along classic like ‘Gangnam Style.’” Some pushed back, pointing to BTS’s “Dynamite” and ROSÉ & Bruno Mars’s “APT.” as proof of plenty of reach, while others cited how songs by Miyuki Nakajima and Shinji Tanimura are known across generations in the Chinese-speaking world, arguing K-pop still has no equivalent. The discussion rolled on without ever sorting out that “global smash hit,” “name recognition in Japan,” and “cross-generational reach” are three different yardsticks.
What people said
Seriously, nothing since then, right?
Whatever else you say, this one's legit — it's kind of off-putting seeing people deny it
Never heard of Tamaki being popular in the Chinese-speaking world
Not sure about BTS, but I think "APT." was a genuine hit
Re: #20
Compared to "Gangnam Style" that's nothing
Dunno about Korea-hate, but we're talking like 5% name recognition in Japan at best
I only know this one from the "Jolly" dance trend
Wait, really? In the Chinese-speaking world, Koji Tamaki and Miyuki Nakajima are basically gods. To be precise, their songs got covered without permission, so it's this weird situation where people know the songs but not the names
There's an official survey from the Chinese-speaking world backing this up
No, that's what I'm saying — even without knowing the name, people know the song because of the unauthorized covers
And anime just got totally outdone by "Demon Hunters" anyway
Funny how it's packed with Korean elements but made by Japanese and American companies, so none of the profits actually go to Korea
That's KARA's "Mr."
Aren't you taking those kinds of articles too seriously? Regular J-pop actually gets more streams in China than Showa-era songs do
"Gangnam Style"
"Dynamite"
"APT."
"Golden"
Isn't that plenty?
I've only heard the first one, "Gangnam Style." Don't know the rest
There's probably no Japanese song more widely known than that lineup — if anything, maybe the Mario BGM
That's way too skewed a perception, honestly
In Japan, unfortunately, K-pop skews super heavily toward a specific generation. Step outside that bracket and people know absolutely nothing — honestly, people just tune out anything they're not interested in and it doesn't stick. That's why name recognition is basically nil outside that group
It doesn't, does it
Jumping from Tatsuro/Mariya — known only to a niche overseas audience — straight to Queen is a bit of a stretch
Japan doesn't have a song like that either
That's about the same career length as Kenshi Yonezu or Official HIGE DANDism — if that's the bar, there are plenty of artists since then too
Yonezu, sure, but Official HIGE DANDism feels like a stretch? If anything BTS has higher name recognition
This was supposed to be about name recognition in Japan, but someone got heated and forgot the premise. Factoring in media exposure, there's no way BTS beats someone like Yonezu for recognition in Japan — they probably even lose to random Johnny's talent doing variety shows
Okay then, is there a K-pop song that gets listened to across generations within Japan? It's been quite a while since K-pop made its push into Japan
You can tell just from the punctuation, but you're not getting what the person you replied to is actually saying
There's not really much from just the last decade or so that gets listened to across generations anyway. It'll only happen decades from now, once today's young people are old and their kids start listening to the "old songs" — that's how a handful of cross-generational songs will finally emerge. Today's 60- and 70-somethings aren't exactly listening to Mrs. GREEN APPLE or YOASOBI
Background and Key Points of the Debate
The core of this thread’s conflict came down to people using different definitions of “classic.” “Gangnam Style” set a singular, record-breaking global streaming milestone back in 2012, and some posters wanted that same scale of reach, while others argued that songs like BTS’s “Dynamite” and “Butter,” or ROSÉ & Bruno Mars’s “APT.,” are plenty widespread within their generation. The reception of Miyuki Nakajima and Shinji Tanimura in the Chinese-speaking world is also rooted in anecdotes about their songs spreading through unauthorized covers rather than under their own names — a different context from official popularity surveys, and another reason the discussion kept talking past itself. On top of that, “KPOP Demon Hunters,” which came up in the thread, is a Netflix animated film made in the US, a separate venture from Korea’s own revenue structure — a distinction that never got sorted out before being folded into the argument.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “K-pop never managed to produce a song everyone knows, right to the very end.”
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