Learn What K-Pop Stands For And Other Kpop Acronyms

With bands like BTS and Black Pink growing more popular by the day, it’s no secret that K-pop has become a global phenomenon. But what does K-pop stand for? Below we’ll explain the meaning of K-pop and what K-pop stands for, and we’ll explain some other common K-pop acronyms like BTS, NCT, and MC.

What Does K-Pop Stand For?

K-Pop stands for Korean Popular Music, and is a music genre popular in South Korea. The term K-Pop has been used since the early 1990s and the genre is influenced by many styles of western popular music including hip-hop, rap, and dance music.

What Do Koreans Call K-Pop?

As we mentioned above, K-Pop is short for Korean Popular Music, and so you may be wondering what Koreans call K-Pop seen as that for Koreans ‘Korean pop music’ is just pop music.

Koreans call K-pop music 대중음악 [dae-jung-eu-mak] or 대중가요 [dae-jung-ga-yo] which means ‘pop music’ or ‘pop songs’. Koreans may also refer to K-Pop as 케이팝 [ke-i-pap] which is K-pop in Hangeul (the Korean alphabet).

What Does BTS Stand For?

BTS stands for BangTan Sonyeondan which translates to ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts’ in English. BangTan Sonyeondan in Hangeul is 방탄 소년단 (pronounced [bang-tan so-nyeon-dan]). As you can see, the letter B from BTS comes from the word 방 [Bang] (to defend), the letter T comes from 탄 [Tan] (Bullet) and the letter S comes from the word 소년단 [So-nyeon-dan] (boy group).

What Does NCT Stand For in K-Pop?

In K-Pop, NCT stands for Neo Culture Technology. NCT is a famous K-Pop boy band formed by SM Entertainment which consists of 23 members from various different countries.

What Does MC Stand For in K-Pop?

When you’re watching K-Pop concerts or other Korean shows, you may hear the acronym “MC” a lot. MC stands for Master of Ceremonies, just as it does in English, and is used to refer to the host of a show. In Hangeul, MC is written as 엠시 [em-si]. As you can see, MC comes from the English word so MC would be considered a Konglish Word.

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