Retro Boom in South Korea

To start talking about the Retro Boom in South Korea, we must take into account the way it is presented. On one hand, not only does it seek to be a faithful representation of past decades (e.g the 90s), but it is also being taken as a reference point so that, as described by Choi Ji-hye, who is part of the Consumer Trend Research Institute of SNU, elements from the past are taken to create something new (2021). Because of this, it is possible to find it in a variety of versions, such as movies and dramas like Architecture 101, Reply 1988 and 1994, or the famous ones from Netflix and Disney+, 2521, and SnowDrop, whose common goal is, not only to narrate a story but also adventuring the viewer to the old days.

Retro is also visible through the use of a more commercial aesthetic led by Y2K fashion, vinyl, and interior items that are full of personality, colorful and extravagant (Park, 2020), even in the food industry, as is the case of the relaunch of the Pokemon Bread, and of course, in the music industry, being Dynamite, BTS’s successful disco-pop, the example that many of us immediately think of, opening new doors on the K-Pop scene, where synth-pop has also gained popularity with songs like Cupid by Fifty Fifty and Like Crazy by Jimin (Synth Pop Regains Popularity in K-pop, Riding Retro Boom, 2023). This modernized retro is known as a Newtro, a portmanteau of the words “new” and “retro.”

Still, what makes it so famous in South Korea? The answer is divided into two parts. First, in the Korean Entertainment course I took, my professor, Kim Chang-Rae (김창래), explained that the key factor is the feeling of nostalgia that awakens in those who grew up in that era; with the Retro Boom, these people would find themselves reminiscing about the good old days, commemorating the euphoric moments of their youth despite the circumstances the country was going through. Take for example the financial crisis of 1997, when poverty and unemployment levels rose, and young people had to give up on their dreams in order to secure a future. To further illustrate, the drama 2521 achieved huge popularity in Korea, being “greatly loved by the public for its warm melting of retro sensibilities against the backdrop of the 90s” according to K-UNIV (2022).

Indeed, that association created between happiness and the past times in contrast with the present, knowing how deeply rooted Korean society is in the Ppalli ppalli (빨리빨리) culture, is what enchants both old and new generations. Therefore, the second reason behind the popularity of retro is that it is a new experience for young people, which is why many of them find this concept refreshing, and in the same way, feel longing for times different from their own. The girl group NewJeans is a good representation of the use of Newtro with their concept, and Ditto‘s music video is proof of the good reception of retro by younger audiences: from the way it was recorded, the vibes, the interaction between the girls, the portrait of freedom and innocence, all this is just what the Korean public is looking for (Han, 2022). In other words, the Retro Boom is essentially justified by the feelings that surround it.