Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

This article is by Shin Ha-nee and read by an artificial voice.

K-pop juggernaut BTS is set to make more history with its upcoming full-length album, "Arirang" — the seven-member group's first release in nearly three years. Its agency, BigHit Music, has called the record an exploration into the band's "roots and identity."

What does that musically entail for BTS, a group whose sound has constantly evolved?

Since its debut in June 2013, BTS has been on a constant sonic evolution — starting from raw, old-school hip-hop to a more pop-oriented turn in the mid-2010s, followed by the English-language chart-toppers "Dynamite" (2020), "Butter" (2021) and "Permission to Dance" (2021) during the pandemic era.

As anticipation builds for what is expected to be one of the biggest K-pop releases in history, "Arirang" arrives not simply as another comeback but as a moment of self-examination.

To understand what may lie ahead, here is a closer look at how BTS's musical identity has evolved — and how each era has laid the groundwork for the next.

Hip-hop beginnings

BTS's earliest albums, often referred to collectively as the "Skool" trilogy, may not be familiar to casual listeners today.

Yet, these works contain the DNA that would later propel the group to global relevance, with key sonic architects — including main producer Pdogg, alongside Supreme Boi and Slow Rabbit — shaping BTS's sound from the beginning, along with members RM and Suga.

At its earliest stage, BigHit Music and HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk envisioned BTS not as a conventional idol group but more as a hip-hop crew, modeled after acts like Teddy's 1TYM, with rapper and leader RM positioned as its key pillar.

BTS's debut single "2 Cool 4 Skool" (2013), followed by its first EP "O!RUL8,2?" (2013) and second EP "Skool Luv Affair" (2014), established a confrontational tone. Tracks like "No More Dream" (2013) and "N.O" (2013) were blunt critiques of Korea's rigid education system and the suffocating social pressure placed on youth, reflecting the members' real-life experiences.

Verses like "Why are you forcing me to go in a different direction? Mind your own business, please don't force me" from debut track "No More Dream" are representative of this era.

Musically, BTS's early discography leaned heavily into aggressive, old-school hip-hop sounds, which continued into the group's first full-length album, "Dark & Wild" (2014). The album was the last episode in the band's hip-hop driven era, brandishing a raw edge while also broadening its thematic scope into romantic narratives through "Danger" (2014) and "War of Hormone" (2014).

Meanwhile, B-sides, such as "Paldogangsan" (2013), highlighted the members' diverse regional identities through dialect-heavy lyrics — an early demonstration of BTS's commitment to personal storytelling, which continues into later tracks like "Ma City" (2015).

"BTS's debut with a fresh identity as a hip-hop idol group helped set it apart from existing acts, yet cannot be viewed as an elaborate strategy for broad public appeal," said late music critic Kim Young-dae in his book "BTS: The Review" (2019).

"Nevertheless, it has undeniably been the core driver behind BTS's significant overseas expansion," Kim pointed out, noting that the group's emphasis on authenticity and creative agency resonated particularly with U.S. audiences.

A sonic makeover

BTS's first major turning point came with its third EP "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life PT. 1" (2015), the beginning of a trilogy that redefined the group's musical and narrative scope.

While the core theme of youth and embedded critiques on Korea's societal landscape remained intact, the sound softened from its earlier hip-hop-centered aggressiveness. The members adopted a more pop-oriented approach as they closed the chapter on their late teenage years and opened a new one into early adulthood.

This transition, coupled with elaborate visual storytelling that expands throughout the band's discography, reflect...

This article is by Sarah Chea and read by an artificial voice.

[NEWS ANALYSIS]

After being undercut by lower-cost Chinese rivals in the EV market, Korea's major battery makers have recently gained a much-needed jump from the burgeoning humanoid robot sector.

Korea now finds itself on a much stronger footing with humanoid robotics, where the demand for high-output, high-performance batteries plays directly to the country's strengths in nickel-rich chemistries — a sector in which China still lags behind.

Korean battery makers like LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On are scrambling to partner with humanoid leaders such as Tesla and Hyundai Motor Group to develop batteries purpose-built for robots.

High power, high density: Korea outpaces China

Unlike in EVs, space for batteries in humanoid robots is severely limited — often confined to the torso — yet must simultaneously power dozens of motors in joints and energy-intensive AI computing systems. The result is a punishing energy profile that demands batteries capable of delivering both exceptionally high output and high energy density.

That requirement exposes the limits of lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries, a type dominated by Chinese manufacturers, which makes Korea's ultra-high-nickel lithium-ion technology the most viable alternative.

"Most humanoid robots unveiled so far rely on high-nickel cylindrical batteries optimized for high output," said Ju Min-woo, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities. "Battery capacity per unit typically ranges from 2 to 4 kilowatt-hours — about 2.3 kilowatt-hours for Tesla's Optimus and roughly 3.7 kilowatt-hours for Boston Dynamics' Atlas."

"Battery demand from humanoid robots could eventually reach roughly 20 to 40 percent of today's EV battery market," Ju added.

LG Energy Solution recently said it is supplying cylindrical batteries to six major robotics companies, noting that the list includes "most of the leading players one could readily name."

LG Energy also supplied batteries for LG Electronics' CLOiD home bot, which was first unveiled at CES 2026 earlier in the year, and also provided 46-millimeter cylindrical cells to Naver Labs' autonomous robots and service robots produced by Bear Robotics.

Samsung SDI, meanwhile, is widely expected to supply batteries for Hyundai's recently unveiled Atlas humanoid robot. The two companies in February last year inked an agreement to jointly conduct research and development on robot-specific battery technologies.

Samsung SDI displayed MobED, Hyundai's autonomous mobility robot platform, and its service robot DAL-e, at its booth at InterBattery 2025 in March, which was equipped with its own cylindrical batteries.

Hyundai plans to begin mass production of MobED in the first quarter of this year.

SK On has recently begun supplying batteries for the logistics robots of Hyundai Wia, a Hyundai Motor-owned auto parts maker specializing in powertrain and engines.

"We understand that even Chinese robotics companies themselves are now approaching Korean battery makers for supply," said a source at a major Korean battery materials company. "High-nickel ternary technology is something China simply does not yet possess."

The humanoid robot market, which was valued at around $2.43 billion last year, will grow to $66 billion by 2032, according to a prediction by Fortune Business Insights, a global market research firm.

Korea leads 'dream battery' race

A critical component for the expansion of the humanoid robot market is the development of solid-state batteries — with Korean companies at the forefront.

Often dubbed the "dream battery," solid-state technology replaces liquid electrolytes with solid ones, simultaneously boosting energy density and safety. While commercial deployment in EVs has been delayed by cost and technical challenges, smaller applications such as robots and drones are proving far more conducive to rapid development.

Solid-state batteries offer distinct advantages in energy d...

The author is an honorary professor at UST and former president of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information.

Nature, an international academic journal, identified "AI for Science" as one of its trends to watch in 2026, signaling that artificial intelligence has begun to intervene actively in the process of scientific discovery. AI is already playing a significant role in laboratories. AlphaFold, an AI system for predicting protein structures, opened vast search spaces through computation in a field that had relied on experiments for decades, an achievement that led to the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. It marked the first time AI was formally recognized as a contributor to scientific achievement.

Today, AI is less a tool that rapidly computes correct answers than a colleague that proposes the next question. In materials science it suggests novel combinations, in chemistry it maps reaction pathways and in astronomy it detects signals humans have missed. Nature even views 2026 as the first year in which AI could produce new scientific discoveries without direct human involvement. In that sense, AI has grown from an assistant into a peer.

Yet every new partnership raises new questions. If humans cannot understand results proposed by AI, can they still be called science? When errors occur, where does responsibility lie? What becomes of the scientist's role in an era when experiments are not directly designed by humans? AI accelerates the pace of research, but it also forces a reexamination of scientific standards and ethics.

These questions do not stop at the laboratory door. AI is now embedded throughout daily life. The issue is no longer how extensively it is used, but the attitude with which humans coexist with it. Rather than accepting AI-generated answers at face value, the capacity to ask why a result emerged and to verify it becomes critical.

Education, therefore, must cultivate the ability to formulate questions rather than merely find correct answers quickly. In everyday decision-making, the principle that humans remain the final agents of judgment and responsibility must not be lost. AI should not replace thinking but expand its horizons. It should function as a companion that widens the space of inquiry, not a substitute that decides in our place. The future of this partnership will depend on the questions humans choose to carry as they walk alongside AI. With curiosity, skepticism and responsibility, AI can deepen understanding without eroding accountability. Without them, speed and automation risk hollowing out the meaning of science itself.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

The author is a professor at Sogang University's EuroMENA Research Institute.

Last October, Ayandeh Bank, the Iranian lender that built the world's largest shopping complex, the Iran Mall, collapsed. The mall covers an area equivalent to 270 soccer fields. Ayandeh had expanded its deposit base by offering interest rates as much as four percentage points above the ceiling set by financial authorities. Its business model closely resembled a Ponzi scheme, using a steady inflow of new deposits to pay interest to earlier investors. Since adopting the Ayandeh name in 2013, the bank grew rapidly, accounting for 7.6 percent of total bank deposits nationwide by 2017. The deeper problem lay in its asset allocation. Roughly 70 percent of its loans were extended to a wholly owned subsidiary developing the Iran Mall, concentrating risk heavily in real estate.

Ayandeh built the mall in the hope that the nuclear agreement would attract foreign investment and generate profits. The complex opened in 2018. That hope collapsed when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal on May 8 that year and reinstated economic sanctions. Ayandeh soon sank into insolvency. By last October, the bank shut its doors with liabilities totaling 550 quadrillion rials, or about $5.1 billion.

Warnings that the government would be forced to print money through state banks if Ayandeh failed to liquidate its real estate assets soon materialized. Inflation surged, adding strain to an already battered economy. Iran's central bank had long been aware of corruption at Ayandeh but was unable to act decisively, amid persistent rumors that powerful elites stood behind the bank.

By October and November last year, consumer inflation reached nearly 50 percent. The rial hit record lows against the dollar. When the nuclear deal was concluded on July 20, 2015, one dollar bought 32,370 rials. By Dec. 28 last year, it took 1,432,000 rials, a 44-fold depreciation. In Korean terms, it was akin to paying 61,880 won for a dollar that once cost 1,400 won.

Merchants importing electronics were the first to erupt in anger. Traders in Tehran's Aladdin and Chaharsouq electronics markets, often likened to Seoul's Yongsan electronics district, shut their shops on Dec. 28 and staged protests, saying even the cheapest smartphones were now unsellable. Merchants in Tehran's Grand Bazaar soon joined. Alarmed, the government adopted a conciliatory tone, acknowledged policy failures, replaced the central bank governor and promised dialogue. It pledged to unify exchange rates at the market level and to pay all citizens 10 million rials per month for four months.

Iran introduced a multi-tier exchange rate system in 2018 to cushion sanctions. Essential imports were priced at 42,000 rials per dollar, secondary goods at 80,000 to 90,000 rials, with the rest left to the market. Over time, the secondary rate was abolished. At the time of the protests, the essential goods rate stood at 285,000 rials. Even this became unsustainable after European countries restored sanctions in September, further weakening the rial.

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has seen many protests, but never one led by merchants. Traders typically avoid confrontation, preferring stability that allows commerce. Their mobilization shocked authorities, especially because merchants had been pillars of the 1979 revolution. The government offered currency and subsidy fixes but avoided pledges to punish corrupt elites. The promised subsidy rang hollow. In October, a 30-egg carton cost 1.98 million rials, already up from 1.3 million. Last month, it rose to 5 million.

Dates, known as "the food of the Prophet and the imams," cost 3.76 million rials for 700 grams last October. With a monthly minimum wage of 104 million rials, a worker could buy 27 boxes. The subsidy barely covers three.

As economic protests simmered, political anger resurfaced. Though initially smaller than the 2022 hijab protests, demons...

The authos is a professor at KAIST.

Geoffrey Hinton's 2012 research made "perceptual AI" possible. AI began to recognize the world. With the arrival of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, society has entered the era of "generative AI," capable of understanding human language and producing information on demand. Yet perceptual and generative AI are only the beginning. Moving beyond simply generating what users want to see, so-called "agentic AI" can semi-autonomously carry out the actions and tasks users wish to perform.

Humans, however, live in an analog reality. Beyond actions in the digital realm, AI must also operate in the physical world, one with bodies, objects and tangible constraints. This is why technologies such as autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots, often grouped under "physical AI," are seen as major blue oceans for future industries. Humanoid robots in particular are technologies Korea cannot afford to miss, given the continued importance of manufacturing.

Since humans settled into agriculture in the Middle East some 10,000 years ago, they have built houses, cities, factories and machines. All share one trait. They were designed for the human body. Homo sapiens grasp objects with two hands and move on two legs. As a result, most environments are built for the human form or require a humanlike body to operate and control them. In a world already designed around humans, a humanoid form is the most optimized way for machines to act on humanity's behalf.

The human body is precise and complex. A single hand is said to have 27 degrees of freedom. For decades, engineers attempted to manage such intricate motion through inverse kinematics. Yet the equations required to compute joint values for humanoid movement are extraordinarily complex, and perfect solutions are often impossible. This is why, until only a few years ago, humanoid robots struggled even to walk or perform simple actions.

The challenges facing physical AI are similar to those encountered in other AI fields. For decades, scientists tried to solve object recognition with formulas. No matter how carefully they modeled and quantified the world, machines failed to truly recognize it. Only after the AI paradigm shifted from explanation to learning in 2012 did object recognition advance rapidly. Natural language processing followed a similar path. Even after being taught grammar and linguistic rules, machines could not understand human language. Once they began learning from hundreds of billions of sentences posted online, progress accelerated, culminating around 2022.

ChatGPT can generate text, images and videos because it has learned from content uploaded to the internet over the past 30 years. For humanoid learning, however, data on human actions and joint movements barely exist. Developing physical AI, therefore, faces a high barrier to entry, requiring the creation of learning data itself.

There are two main ways to obtain behavioral data for humanoids. One is to generate it through computer simulation. Yet the analog world is astonishingly complex and unpredictable. Perfect motion in the physical world is unlikely to emerge solely from digital simulation. The alternative is to have humans demonstrate and teach actions directly. While this can precisely convey desired behaviors, it demands enormous time and effort. It also carries a critical limitation. A humanoid's abilities will reflect the range and skill of the human teacher. Just as ChatGPT, trained only on English, would not understand Korean, a humanoid trained on the actions of a part-time worker or student is unlikely to assemble ships at a shipyard.

Korea is unusual in that manufacturing still accounts for a large share of its economy. More than that, the spectrum is broad. During the pandemic, Europe was shocked to discover it had no mask factories, while Korea continued to produce everything from semiconductors and aircraft to paper straws and masks. This breadth may become a decisive strengt...

Financial markets suffered a bout of what traders dubbed "Black Monday." On Monday, the Kospi fell 5.26 percent from the previous session, slipping below the 5,000 mark just four trading days after first closing above that level on Friday. The tech-heavy Kosdaq dropped 4.44 percent. The won weakened sharply, losing 24.8 won against the dollar in a single day. Regional markets also retreated, with Japan's Nikkei down 1.25 percent and China's Shanghai Composite falling 2.48 percent.

The shock that rippled through Asian markets was quickly labeled "Warsh risk." On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump named Kevin Warsh as his pick for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, triggering what investors saw as a tightening shock. The prices of gold and silver plunged 11.38 percent and 31.31 percent, respectively, on the same day, moves rarely seen in those markets. Bitcoin also fell below $80,000 for the first time in nine months.

Warsh, a former member of the Fed's Board of Governors who opposed quantitative easing, has long been viewed as a policy hawk. Markets now expect that, rather than aggressive rate cuts, he could favor shrinking the central bank's balance sheet to absorb excess liquidity. The contradictory label often attached to him, a "hawkish dove," reflects growing anxiety that uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy will intensify.

The concern is that Korea is particularly vulnerable to such external shocks. With key industries outside semiconductors losing momentum and domestic demand remaining sluggish, the economy's fundamentals have been weakening. Anxiety has also been fueled by the speed at which funds have poured into equities. Under the current administration's push toward a "Kospi 5,000 era," cash waiting to enter the stock market surpassed 100 trillion won ($68.7 billion) for the first time on Friday. Margin trading has also surged, with outstanding credit balances exceeding 30 trillion won, another record. The heavier the reliance on borrowed money, the greater the risk of a sharp correction when an external shock hits.

Market analysts warn that shifts in U.S. monetary policy could spill over into global financial markets and the real economy. To prevent such uncertainty from spreading into a broader risk for Korea's economy, the government must act with a heightened sense of urgency and take pre-emptive steps. Above all, excessive efforts to prop up the stock market should not be allowed to amplify risks for households and the broader economy.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

This article is by Park Eun-jee and read by an artificial voice.

"Black Monday" gripped Korea as the main Kospi index crashed below the recently breached 5,000 mark and the won weakened sharply on Monday.

The plunge, which gave up much of this year's world-beating gains, is attributed to bearish investor sentiment fearful of U.S. Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh's anticipated hawkish stance and skepticism surrounding the growth of big AI players like Microsoft in cloud computing.

The Kospi tumbled by 5.26 percent to close at 4,949.67, the biggest daily drop since Aug. 5, 2024, which triggered a cap to stem the sell-off. It dovetails with other major Asian indexes including Japan's Nikkei 225, which lost 1.3 percent on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite indexes both dropped 2.5 percent.

At the heart of the high volatility is U.S. President Donald Trump's pick for Fed chief.

"The nomination became a factor fueling market volatility largely because of perceptions that he is a hawkish figure," said Jung Da-woon, an analyst at LS Securities.

"While details remain limited, a review of Warsh's policy stance points to clear opposition to quantitative easing, support for quantitative tightening and a strong focus on guarding against inflation," the analyst said.

Foreign and institutional investors offloaded a net 2.5 trillion won ($1.7 billion) and 2.2 trillion won, respectively. Retail investors, however, went bargain hunting and snapped up a net 4.6 trillion won, a now-familiar pattern of moving in the opposite direction of foreign and institutional investors.

Another catalyst, analysts say, involves concerns over the potential growth of AI cloud computing, sparked by the disappointing performance of Microsoft's cloud business revealed during the latest earnings announcement last month. The segment is considered a benchmark for the prospects of the overall AI market and thus the profitability of Korean chipmakers, as it is heavily tied to OpenAI.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics sank 6.29 percent and SK hynix was down 8.69 percent at close compared to the previous trading day.

"Semiconductors led the decline, with mounting concerns over AI profitability at Microsoft weighing heavily on the sector. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slid 3.87 percent," said Lim Jung-eun, an analyst at KB Securities, adding that the latest steep gains in the Kospi also led to the short-term correction on Monday.

The analyst noted that a mixture of factors also contributed to the decline of the won, with Lim noting, "The Korean won also tumbled amid macroeconomic uncertainty."

The local currency weakened by 24.8 won to close at 1,464.3 won per dollar. The direction runs counter to what Korean policymakers wanted, with President Lee Jae Myung raising an alarm that the won's movements did not align with the country's economic fundamentals, a sentiment conveyed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month.

The chronically weak won received a rare breather after the United States and Japan hinted at a joint currency intervention to limit the fall of the yen, whose movement the Korean currency has mirrored.

The dollar-won exchange rate is expected to settle in the 1,430 to 1,470 won range, according to Lee Young-won, an analyst at Heungkuk Securities.

"While both the yen and the won strengthened last month amid speculation of potential intervention by the Federal Reserve, the broader trend in foreign exchange markets has not fundamentally changed," the analyst said, adding that "Concerns over Japan's fiscal health and ongoing geopolitical risks remain intact, and some of the won's sharp appreciation last month could be partially reversed in the coming weeks."

This article is by Park Young-woo and read by an artificial voice.

Samsung Electronics rolled out a large-scale outdoor advertising campaign in downtown Milan ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Samsung Electronics, an official partner of the International Olympic Committee, said Monday that it is running outdoor Olympic advertisement campaigns in 10 locations across Milan — including major landmarks such as the Duomo di Milano, San Babila, Cadorna and Porta Venezia — through Feb. 28. Some of the ads will continue until the end of March, after the Paralympics conclude.

The campaign features athletes from Team Samsung Galaxy, delivering Samsung Electronics' Olympic campaign message, "Open always wins."

Appearing in the advertisements are Italian freestyle skiing siblings Flora and Miro Tabanelli, snowboarder Ian Matteoli and para snowboarder Jacopo Luchini. The athletes captured selfies using Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Flip7, documenting moments with family members, friends and coaches who have supported them throughout their Olympic journeys.

"For nearly 30 years, athletes and fans have trusted Samsung's transformative mobile technology to share the Olympic spirit globally and continue to shape the digital future of the Olympic Games for [Milan] Cortina 2026 and beyond," Samsung said in a statement.

The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will take place primarily in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. In Korea, JTBC will serve as The Games' official broadcaster.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

This article is by Jin Eun-soo and read by an artificial voice.

Rosé's performed "APT." with Bruno Mars to open up the event on Sunday night, a first for a K-pop act. Katseye also performed at the Grammys with a remixed version of its latest hit song "Gnarly" (2025).

This article is by Shin Ha-nee and read by an artificial voice.

K-pop secured its first-ever Grammy win with "Golden" (2025), a song seen as part of the broader K-pop ecosystem. The milestone didn't come overnight, following more than a decade of persistent attempts and gradual shifts within the music industry.

The standout anthem from Netflix's smash hit animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" (2025) was named the Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.

This marked the first time any song under the broader "K" banner has ever won a Grammy. "Golden" also featured K-pop producers The Black Label as part of its production team.

This year, Blackpink's Rosé was nominated for the Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her 2024 collaboration with Bruno Mars, "APT.," and Katseye competed for the Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. However, neither took home a trophy this year.

Notching a Grammy win has long been viewed as a kind of holy grail and mark of recognition for Korea's pop music industry, one that the nation has watched with keen interest for years.

K-pop's first real opportunity for a possible Grammy nod came with singer Psy's viral hit "Gangnam Style" (2012). While the song became an online phenomenon as its music video was the first in history to surpass the 1 billion view milestone on YouTube, it was ultimately snubbed for the award.

At that time, a Grammy win felt more like an anomaly than a realistic benchmark. The tide, however, began to turn later in the decade, following BTS's rapid popularity in the U.S. music market.

While Korean soprano Sumi Jo and sound engineer Hwang Byung-joon had previously taken home awards in opera and classical music, BTS had been the first and only K-pop act nominated for a Grammy until now.

The septet earned its first Grammy nomination with "Dynamite" (2020) in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, followed by "Butter" (2021) in the same category a year later.

In 2022, the group earned nominations in the Best Music Video category for "Yet To Come" (2022), for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their Coldplay collaboration "My Universe" (2021) and for Album of the Year as a featured artist in Coldplay's "Music of the Spheres" (2021).

Each time BTS appeared on the nominee list, Korean media watched closely to see whether the megaband could finally break through the Grammy's seemingly impenetrable wall, after winning honors at the Billboard Music Awards and the American Music Awards. The group, however, has not able to bag a win so far.

Following BTS's unprecedented global rise, K-pop acts have continued to submit their work for Grammy consideration, with major releases such as Blackpink's "Pink Venom" (2022) fueling anticipation for a potential nod every year. But this year marked the first time such efforts resulted in multiple nominations beyond BTS.

Still, K-pop acts and songs in the conventional sense have yet to secure Grammy recognition.

"K-pop has been significantly influenced by the U.S. pop music scene, meaning that earning recognition from the Grammys with our own music carries unique significance," said pop culture critic Kim Hern-sik.

"The Grammys are highly exclusive, and the barriers have historically been particularly high for nonwhite artists, but the atmosphere has certainly changed," he noted. "I believe K-pop is on its way to being embraced as part of that culture."