J-Mix

Published on May 21, 2025 on Pudding Pops and distributed via Substack

Currently, I’m working on a longer book project about K-pop and Korean design history. As I’ve been researching and writing, I’ve had to confront my relationship to Japanese culture in different, and sometimes uncomfortable ways. Admittedly, as a Korean American designer growing up in the late ‘90s and early 2000s I wasn’t all that proud of or into Korean pop culture from that era. Instead, I gravitated towards pop punk from America and the technically refined sounds of Shibuya-kei from Japan.

As I work through the cultural hybridity of Korean pop culture, I’m also juggling the dual colonialism of American and Japanese culture. So, I thought it’d be useful and fun to revisit some of the music that had an alternative attraction in my youth. I hope y’all can enjoy this mix, while considering your own cultural influences and the assorted baggage they may bring to your own lives.

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Listening back and looking around today, I’m seeing an amazing shift in the growth of Korean indie music. I’m so excited to see and hear the sophistication and craft of bands like Silica Gel, 단편선 순간들 Danpyunsun and the Movements, Parannoul, HYUKOH and 조월 Jowall to name a few. It’s just rad!