- [Emcee] Give it up for the new K-Pop group,
these are the Try Guys from Buzzfeed!
Make some noise for Keith,
the "Diva." (audience screams)
- [Keith] I don't know what it is.
What is K-Pop?
- I got Ned, the "Bad Boy." (audience screams)
- I had never really heard of it
until "Gangnam Style" came out.
- Zach, the "Pretty Boy." (audience screams)
- It's like the '90 boy band craze never died,
but just turned Korean.
- [Emcee] And Eugene,
the "All-Rounder!" (audience screams)
- We are gonna be riding the Korean Wave,
which includes Korean dramas, Korean film,
all of Korean culture, and most especially,
K-Pop. (audience cheering)
- Whoo!
(upbeat Korean music)
- There are many ways to describe K-Pop,
but I would like to describe it
as a multi-media performance.
- It seems like all they wanna do is party.
- Bright turquoise hair,
ear piercings that go down to here,
bibimbap.
- And of course it's party world
'cause mean old dad upstairs doesn't want any part of it!
- I've learned a lot about K-Pop
just through Eugene just rambling at me.
- K-Pop started gaining popularity in the late 1990s
across Asia,
but then once it hit the mid 2000s,
with the proliferation of YouTube and online videos,
K-Pop became an international phenomenon.
- If all of Asia was like, a lunch room, right?
South Korea is the cool kids table.
Right? (Ned giggling)
- Eugene says that I'm okay to say that
and no one will ever get mad, so I'm sayin' it.
So, we're starting with Girls' Generation.
It's the generation for girls!
- I know the first thing all the guys are gonna say
is they don't know why there are so many members.
- There's so many people already!
- They've shown me at least 1,000 girls so far.
- It doesn't seem as sexualized as American music videos.
- They can't stop 'cause it's party time.
Good argument.
- Why are they singing in English?
And it literally just said "Hey" on the screen.
- K-Pop, by design,
is made to be successful abroad.
You know, to create that effective hook,
it's better be in English so that worldwide audience
can really sing along.
- They're all like, too cute for camera.
They're like, "Why?
"What, it's my close-up?
"No!"
- This to make me fall in love with them?
'Cause it's working.
- I wish I had this much fun doing anything.
- I guess you find the person that, like, speaks to you?
- Your "bias" is your favorite member in a group.
- The blonde one with long hair,
'cause it looks like my wife.
- [Keith] EXO, also produced by S and M Town.
- Zach is gonna say that this reminds him
of "Fast and Furious,"
'cause he will never stop talking about "Fast"--
- "Fast and Furious."
I was gonna say "Tokyo Drift," but we're not in Japan.
- Some wild men appeared, like in a video game.
- One Korean man just becomes 20!
- The fact that the men wear makeup,
is that something that's prized in Korea?
- These guys are tougher.
Like, if 'NSYNC saw them walkin' down an alley,
they'd be like, "Oh, shit.
"No, we gotta go the other way."
- They sort of remind me of, like, b-boys?
Similar to American style,
but wearing all the cool things at once.
- If you look at musical styles, performance genres,
it's really taking influence from a wide range of cultures,
such as Europop, hip hop, R&B.
- It's interesting that black culture
can spread even to Korea.
- How do you transport this many people to a show?
Just a cage?
You're like, "All right, everyone in EXO, get in the cage!
"And then put the cage on the truck."
- I thought that he was the main guy,
but now they've shifted positions
and now, he's the main guy.
I can see how everyone can have a favorite now.
- "Also, here's a thousand articles of clothing.
"Put 'em all on!"
- [Ned] What's 4Minute?
Is the song four minutes long?
- [Eugene] No, that's the group's name.
- That's the group's name?
- I know the other guys are gonna go crazy
when they hear this track.
- This is, like, this is hard as fuck.
This is great!
- [Ned] Ooh!
This song is fire!
- This is like, if Missy Elliot were Korean.
- They constantly are walking at me with their butt.
- [Ned] How does it feel, Korea?
- I think K-Pop videos tend to be one of three "Cs:"
You're either cool, cute, or crazy.
But the best K-Pop videos intend to be a mixture
of all three.
- All of these music videos have insane production value.
In America, we don't spend money on music videos anymore,
with very few exceptions.
In Korea, they are throwin' all the money at music videos,
and that is awesome!
- 4Minute is just tryin' to give me a boner.
And it's working.
There's a lot of butts, let's be serious, though.
Game of Thrones Seven.
- [Zach] How many members are in your band?
We GOT7.
Pretty good joke, right?
- This is in a little girl's bedroom.
It's a weird sentence to start anything with.
- I feel uncomfortable, and I don't know what's happening.
- I think it's all a metaphor for drugs.
- But they're very bright and cheerful.
Get out of her cereal!
She has to eat that!
- This definitely feels like One Direction.
- It's like "Toy Story" with hot Korean guys.
- When I was a little kid,
I was considered the ugliest person
that anyone has ever seen,
and now people are thirsting after Korean guys and girls.
- Ah, I just fall in love with him
'cause of the melody that he's singin'.
- I absolutely love that Hallyu is bringing Asian faces
into popular media worldwide.
- While this guy doesn't look like my wife,
he makes me feel the way my wife makes me feel.
- Stop trying to be sexy!
She is eight!
She is eight years old, sir!
I'm over this.
- [Keith] "Shake It" by Sistar.
I assume that you have to say it
in sort of a Russian accent.
- I would legitimately put up a poster of these girls
on my room.
- While we were focusing on dark and gritty,
they were like, "Fuck, that!
"We're just gonna be colors and fun!"
- Early 2000s, Trapper Keeper grunge vibe.
- There's a lot of shaking your butt slightly
in these music videos.
- You know, the one thing I really like about Sistar
is that they're challenging some standards of Korean beauty
by being tan.
- They're rolling their hips in the classroom.
They still wanna get the answer right.
'Cause education is important.
- Even the South Korean presidential office
set up national branding campaign
to really use K-Pop to improve nation's soft power.
- There's a hockey team on a football field.
Whatever!
- [Zach] I hope this is better than "The Big Bang Theory."
- You would hear this beat in a gay club at 3:00 AM,
and you would get turnt!
- This has 50 million views!
Man, there are some big bands
that I am completely unaware of!
- Oh, no one's wearing a shirt!
Now, they're cowboys and astronauts!
Huh?
- These things happen so quickly.
When I was talking about the astronaut,
I missed something else entirely.
- You have a very easily identifiable aesthetic.
There are so many different segments
that you have to watch at least 10 times
to figure out what's going on.
And that naturally increases the number of viewings.
- This feels like a episode of "Doctor Who" on acid.
- Now, it's like, a...
ugh.
- She's crazy and there's guns!
- It's basically eight music videos split up,
where each person gets his own half a million dollar set.
- There's a certain list of artists
that I would introduce non-Koreans to first,
and I think Big Bang's near the top of that
because they have international appeal.
- Oh!
Okay, I get what this song is about now.
- The chorus sounds nothing like the verses.
- Bang, bang, oh my God!
I am feelin' this music!
- His name is G-Dragon?
His name is G-Dragon.
- Is his name T.O.P. 'cause he just wears giant top hats?
- The one I like the best is the one that looks at me
with the sultry eyes.
- Mr. Dragon, your seat is right over here.
- So, you don't have to be Korean to enjoy Korean culture.
Korean culture is dynamic, exciting,
and there's something for everyone.
- I'm really impressed.
I'm speechless, really.
- It's better than our pop is.
- I fuckin' dug it.
I'm gonna listen to this stuff all the time.
- [Keith] All our pop music is too sentimental.
We need more fun in it.
- I have never been more excited for a Try Guys series
because as a Korean, I get to introduce the other guys
to my culture.
- K-Pop stuff is like the The Capitol in "The Hunger Games."
Like, ruffles, and they're like Super Junior!
"Mi amor!"
But they say that in Korean.
(humming enthusiastically) K-Pop!