In Seoul, K-pop continues to do something that in the age of TikTok seems almost out of time: enter a television studio, get on a stage and go on air. It may seem like a minor detail, especially at a time when so much music is discovered through algorithms, second-long clips, and platforms that turn a song into a global phenomenon overnight. Yet, to truly understand the success of the Korean Wave, it is necessary to also look at those institutions that accompanied the growth of K-pop long before the arrival of social media and which continue to play a fundamental role within the industry today.
Among these there is Show ChampionMBC M’s historic musical program which this year celebrates the milestone of 600 episodes. Born in 2012, in a period in which the Korean Wave was already attracting attention in Asia but had not yet assumed the global dimensions we know today, the program represents a sort of living archive of the evolution of K-pop. Over the course of fourteen years he has seen generations of idols pass by, accompanied the rise of groups destined to become international phenomena and closely observed the change of an audience which in the meantime has become increasingly international.
However, the best way to understand what a Korean music show represents today is not to start from the numbers, but from what happens behind a door that the audience rarely has the opportunity to pass through. Because K-pop doesn’t actually start on stage. It begins in the lines of fans that form outside the studios hours before recording starts, in the corridors crossed by managers, stylists and staff members who move with the precision of a perfectly synchronized machine, in the dressing rooms where the final details of an outfit are arranged and in the monitors that show rehearsals destined to turn into a few minutes of television.
It is a dimension that the international public rarely sees and which for this reason helps us understand better than any statistics why K-pop continues to exert such a powerful appeal. During the visit to the studios of Show Championthe strongest sensation was not that of watching a television recording, but that of observing a machine capable of transforming a few minutes of performance into an event that will be followed, commented on and shared by fandoms scattered all over the world.
Behind the scenes of a recording
The magic that comes to the screens is only the last step in a much longer process. Even before the cameras are turned on and the public is let in, the work has already begun and involves dozens of people who work away from the spotlight.
During the studio visit, AND2BLE’s pre-recording was underway and observing the preparation of their performance was enough to understand how different K-pop is seen from behind the scenes compared to that consumed through a screen. Everything follows an almost ritual sequence. First comes the technical rehearsal, carried out in an almost empty studio, where artists, directors and operators work together to define every detail of the performance. Camera movements, positioning on the stage, entrances, exits and even the way in which a certain shot should accompany a passage of the choreography are checked.
Then, gradually, the atmosphere changes. The seats fill up. The fans are arriving. The voices increase. Energy transforms.
Suddenly what was a simple technical test just a few minutes before becomes something completely different. The fan chants begin even before the music starts, the artists react to the presence of the audience and the recording takes on a dimension that is difficult to describe to those who have never experienced it live. At that moment it becomes clear that fandom is not just a sociological category or a definition used by industry analysts. It is a physical, concrete presence that changes the atmosphere of a room and directly contributes to the construction of the show.
For those watching at home, all this translates into a few minutes of television. For those behind the scenes, it becomes clear how much work, coordination and preparation are necessary to achieve that result, and how simplistic it is to describe K-pop as a simple succession of songs and choreography.
Over 600 episodes and fourteen years of transformations
Born in 2012, Show Champion has gone through one of the most extraordinary phases in the history of Korean pop culture. «Fourteen years have passed since the birth of the program», explain the team, recalling how in this period of time K-pop has radically changed its size, audience and ambitions.
When the program debuted, the Korean Wave was already an important reality in Asia, but it had not yet assumed the central role it occupies today in the global cultural imagination. The same year that Show Champion was taking its first steps, PSY’s “Gangnam Style” was forever changing the perception of Korean music in the world, opening a phase that would lead K-pop to fill stadiums in Europe and the United States, to dominate international charts and to transform idols into figures recognizable even by those who do not usually follow Korean culture.
In the following years, platforms have changed, ways of consuming music have changed, economic models have changed and even the languages used in songs have changed. Yet the role of music shows has remained surprisingly stable, continuing to represent one of the most important meeting points between artists, agencies, broadcasters and the public.
The invisible machine behind every comeback
One of the most interesting aspects that emerged during the meeting with the program team concerns the process through which the artists who make up each episode are selected. Watching a broadcast from home, one could easily imagine that the choice simply depends on the popularity of the moment. In reality, behind every line-up there is a much more complex organizational machine.
«To choose the artists we organize direct meetings with the companies and constantly monitor their comeback plans», they explain from the program.
Before a new project is even announced to the public, often someone in the offices of Show Champion he already knows it’s coming. Through these meetings, the team closely follows industry movements, observes which artists are preparing new releases and evaluates what would be the most effective time for participation.
It’s not simply about building a TV lineup. It’s a job that transforms the program into something more than a music broadcast, because it allows him to observe the industry while it is still forming. In this sense, Show Champion it works almost like a privileged observatory on the present and future of K-pop, capable of intercepting trends and movements before they reach the general public.
When fandom goes global
If there is an element that more than any other tells the story of the transformation experienced by K-pop in the last fourteen years, it concerns the audience.
“K-pop fandom culture continues to expand,” the team explains.
Behind this seemingly simple observation lies a revolution that has changed the entire industry. When Show Champion was born, the international audience was primarily an extension of the Korean fandom. Today the situation is completely different. Organized fan communities operate simultaneously in Europe, Latin America, North America and Southeast Asia, influencing ratings, sales, viewership and marketing strategies with a force that would have been difficult to imagine just a few years ago.
Fandom growth isn’t just a statistic. It’s something that can be felt physically in the people waiting outside the studios, in the precision with which the fan chants are performed and in the energy they manage to transmit to a recording that, seen from home, will only last a few minutes. It is a force that accompanies the entire system and helps to explain why K-pop has managed to build such a deep relationship with its audience.
Because today K-pop speaks English, Spanish (and a pinch of Italian)
This transformation is inevitably also reflected in the music. «In the past the songs were mainly in Korean. Today we find English and Spanish more and more often”, they observe from the program.
The phrase tells of a much deeper transformation than it might seem at first glance. It’s not simply about inserting foreign words into lyrics, but about moving from an industry that exported Korean content to one that engages with a global audience on a daily basis. English has become a constant presence in contemporary productions, while Spanish reflects the growing weight of Latin America, one of the areas that has shown the greatest enthusiasm towards the Korean Wave in recent years.
The result is a musical genre that continues to be deeply Korean in its identity, but which at the same time has learned to speak an increasingly international language.
A Korean program or global content?
This is precisely why a seemingly simple question ends up touching the heart of the matter. Show Champion Is it still a Korean TV show or has it now become global content?
The team’s response does not come clearly. “We are considering both dimensions,” they explain.
Over the years, the program has organized special episodes and performances outside Korea, accompanying the international expansion of K-pop. At the same time, it also looks with growing attention to artists from other countries, including Japanese groups and international performers such as the Australian Roel, who can be taken into consideration if they have the artistic and performance skills required by the format.
It’s a response that perfectly describes the moment that K-pop is experiencing. More than a geographical category, it is increasingly becoming a cultural and performative language, capable of overcoming boundaries that until a few years ago seemed insurmountable.
BTS’s record tells it all
Finally, there is a number that summarizes the transformation experienced by music shows in the digital age better than any analysis.
The most viewed content in the history of Show Champion is BTS’ performance of “DNA,” which has surpassed 48 million views.
More than a record, it is a snapshot of how the very nature of these programs has changed. Born for television, today they continue to live online long after being broadcast. The performances are shared, commented on, archived and transformed into content capable of reaching millions of people in every part of the world, demonstrating how the boundary between television and digital platforms has now become increasingly thinner.
Because television still matters
While the rest of the industry discusses algorithms, artificial intelligence and ever-new platforms, in the studies of Show Champion a ritual that has existed for over a decade continues to be repeated and which, despite all the transformations the sector has undergone, does not seem to have lost its function.
The artists go on stage, the fans sing fan chants, the cameras turn on and, for a few minutes, the whole complex mechanism of K-pop transforms into what the audience really sees: a performance constructed with almost surgical precision but still capable of appearing spontaneous, emotional and authentic.
Perhaps this is precisely the reason why, after over 600 episodes, Show Champion continues to be much more than a television program. It is one of the places where the Korean Wave continues to take shape in front of an audience that today is no longer found only in South Korea, but wherever there is someone willing to wait, comment, share and recognize themselves in a few minutes of Korean pop.
