Kacie on K-pop: Me, myself and INI


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The night before my freshman move-in day three years ago, instead of eating dinner with my family or reminiscing about my life back home before beginning my college career, I spent my evening at the (now) Crypto.com Arena at the annual KCON Los Angeles concert seeing my favorite K-pop group, Stray Kids, for the very first time. 

Three years later, it’s only fitting that the weekend before the first day of my senior year, I was back at the Crypto.com Arena for the same annual KCON LA concert. Again, I was here to see Stray Kids (except this concert would be my fourth time watching them perform), but I left with more than just them on my mind. 

Organized by Korean entertainment company CJ ENM, KCON LA is one of the many extensions of KCON — “the world’s largest fan celebration of Korean culture and music,” according to their website. Since its inception in L.A. in 2012, KCON has expanded to cities and countries worldwide, including New York, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Traditionally, the event brings various K-pop artists to the event’s city for a multiple-day convention and concert, including seasoned artists like NCT DREAM, WJSN and Stray Kids and rookie artists like ATBO, STAYC and TO1. 

Because of the wide range of K-pop artists KCON brings to each of its events, I wasn’t surprised to see a few unfamiliar names on the KCON 2022 LA concert lineup. So, as I do before every music festival I go to, I looked up each of the artists I didn’t know to familiarize myself with them and their music. Most of the artists I researched were the typical K-pop group, with Korean group members singing Korean lyrics. 

So, I was surprised to learn about INI and their inclusion on KCON’s lineup. I had never heard of the 11-member boy group before, even as an avid K-pop fan. Maybe it’s because the group debuted less than a year ago, or maybe it’s because none of the group’s members are ethnically Korean and all of their songs and content are delivered in Japanese. 

Formed on the Japanese version of popular Korean survival show “Produce 101,” INI follows the typical K-pop formula: sharp and synchronized dance moves, catchy songs with heavy beats and idols too handsome to be real — except all in Japanese. They’re also clearly intended for a Japanese audience, with all of their variety show appearances taking place on Japanese TV shows and all of their contents being delivered in Japanese. 

K-pop has always been massively popular in Japan, and the industry has taken advantage of this, with artists like BoA and TVXQ being marketed specifically for Japanese audiences during their prime. Even today, artists release albums with new Japanese language tracks and re-recordings of their popular Korean language songs in Japanese. Idols that are Japanese by nationality also aren’t uncommon in K-pop groups — TWICE, NCT and Kep1er all have multiple Japanese members. 

Personally, I’ve always found the relationship between K-pop and Japan really interesting. I’ve always identified with my Japanese background. I took Japanese language classes from the sixth grade until my freshman year of college, speak regularly with my family and friends who live in Japan and do my best to remain actively involved with the Japanese American community in L.A. 

Japanese songs such as BTS’s “Crystal Snow” and Stray Kids’ “Your Eyes” somehow feel familiar to me — with lyrics I can more easily sing along to. When I started to become a fan of TREASURE, it was easy to feel connected to my favorite member — who hails from Kobe, just an hour-long train ride from my ancestors’ roots in Hiroshima. When I watch videos of my favorite idols speaking in Japanese, I’m always pleasantly surprised to discover that I don’t need subtitles to understand the majority of what they’re saying. The presence of Japan in K-pop has always allowed me the unique opportunity to bridge a gap between my music taste and my ethnic background. 

But INI takes this to another extreme. Their music doesn’t consist of a singular re-recorded Japanese track thrown into a Korean language discography, or a singular Japanese national member in a group of Korean members. With only their artistry and marketing strategies showing touches of Koreanness, they occupy a strange place in the K-pop industry. It begs questions of whether or not groups like INI — that have no Korean members and don’t perform in Korean — should be considered K-pop at all. 

One can say that INI’s invitation to KCON, an event specifically created to highlight Korean culture and music, solidifies their place as a K-pop group. Yet, it could also be argued that a lack of Korean members and music renders the “K” in K-pop completely irrelevant. 

But I’m not here to start arguments about what should be included within the boundaries of the K-pop genre. 

Perhaps all I can do is thank KCON for bringing INI to their L.A. concert and showing me a new extension of my Japanese identity in the K-pop world. Seeing idols that share such a large piece of my personal identity on a stage as large as the Crypto.com Arena’s was a feat I never thought I’d witness — but one I’ll forever find value in. 

Kacie Yamamoto is a senior writing about Korean pop music. She is also the editor-in-chief of the Daily Trojan. Her column “Kacie on K-pop” runs every other Friday.