K-pop is hugely popular worldwide, and boy band BTS’s “Dynamite” was virtually inescapable in 2020. And yet, the genre is hard to find on American radio. Despite K-pop’s takeoff online in the US and all over the globe, radio DJs still find most of it too risky to play for a Top 40 audience. Aja Romano, a culture writer at Vox, explains why.

Learn more: 

Read Aja’s story about K-pop and American radio here.

While you’re at it, check out Aja’s BTS explainer. 

And they made a K-pop playlist! Check it out on Spotify.

Also, Explained has a Netflix episode on K-Pop! 

This episode of Tell Me More was made by

Host: Emily Stewart (@emilystewartm)

Producer: Sofi LaLonde (@sofilalonde)

Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey


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