Seo Taiji and Boys

History

After the breakup of the heavy metal band Sinawe in 1991, Seo Taiji switched gears and formed the group Seo Taiji and Boys with dancers and backing vocalists Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno. Yang said he first met Seo when the musician came to him to learn how to dance. "Blown away" by his music, Yang offered to join the group and they later recruited Lee who was one of the top dancers in Korea. Similarly, Lee joined the group as a background dancer, despite being highly regarded in his own right, because the music "moved [his] heart." Seo Taiji came across MIDI technology for the first time in South Korea in the early 1990s and started experimenting with different MIDI sounds to create a new type of music that had not been heard by the public. He initially had no plans to debut as a dance/pop boy group and Seo Taiji and Boys' mainstream success was a surprise.

1992: "Nan Arayo"

The trio debuted on MBC's talent show on April 11, 1992 with their song "Nan Arayo" (난 알아요, "I Know") and got the lowest rating from the jury. However, the song and their self-titled debut album became so successful that, according to MTV Iggy, "K-pop music would never be the same" again. "Nan Arayo" was a hugely successful hit; its new jack swing-inspired beats, upbeat rap lyrics and catchy choruses took Korean audiences by storm. It charted at the No. 1 spot for a record 17 weeks. Although, this has since been broken by Big Bang's "Lies", which topped the chart for 18 weeks. Spin named "Nan Arayo" number 4 on their 2012 list of the 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time. In 2015, Rolling Stone named it number 36 on its list of the 50 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time.

1993: "Hayeoga"

The second album took a different turn. Although remaining a mostly dance album, a few songs such as "Hayeoga" (何如歌, "Anyway") had elements of heavier rock music added to them. While promoting the album, the group were banned from appearing on certain television shows because they wore earrings, ripped jeans and had dreadlocks. This was the first of the numerous controversies regarding Seo Taiji and Boys. And their second album became the first 'double million sellers' album in the Korean history.

1994: "Kyoshil Idaeyo"

The third album switched gears to being much more heavy metal and rock driven. The danceable tunes are nearly non-existent except "Balhaereul Ggumggumyeo" (발해를 꿈꾸며, "Dreaming of Balhae"), an alternative rock song which indicates a hope of reuniting North and South Korea. Instead, songs such as the controversial "Kyoshil Idaeyo" (교실 이데아, "Classroom Ideology") with death growl vocals by Ahn Heung-chan of Crash take center stage. "Kyoshil Idaeyo" was extremely critical of the Korean education system and the pressure placed on youth to succeed academically. They were accused of backmasking Satanic messages in their songs. Although the mainstream news media later proved these accusations to be based on extremely tenuous evidence, the moral panic proved difficult to eliminate entirely.

1995: "Sidae Yugam"

Not backing down, Seo Taiji and Boys' fourth album exploded with more controversial songs. "Come Back Home" was a foray into gangster rap. "Pilseung" (필승, "Must Triumph") was also a great hit with alternative rock sound and shouting voice. "Sidae Yugam" (시대유감, "Shame of the Times") was banned by the Public Performance Ethics Committee for having lyrics that criticized the government. The version of the song included on the album is instrumental only. The backlash from the fans was immense, and the system of 'pre-censorship' (사전심의제) was abolished in June 1996, partially as a result of this. An EP titled Sidae Yugam and including the original version of the song was released a month after the system was abolished.

1996: Retirement

Seo Taiji and Boys retired from South Korea's popular music scene in January 1996 during its heyday. Lee later stated that Seo made the decision to disband himself while recording their fourth album, much to the surprise of Yang and himself. Their announcement of retirement was a huge disappointment for millions of fans in Korea. The compilation album Goodbye Best Album was released later that year.

Seo Taiji headed over to the United States soon after, while Lee Juno and Yang Hyun-suk established record labels right after their retirement. Yang Hyun-suk was successful in making YG Entertainment one of the three biggest record companies in the country. Seo Taiji returned to music two years later with a very successful solo career; he is now referred to as "the President of culture" in South Korea. In 2007, all four of Seo Taiji and Boys' albums were included in Kyunghyang Shinmun's Top 100 Pop Albums, with their first ranking the highest at number 24.

In 2014, when asked about a possible Seo Taiji and Boys reunion, Seo revealed that the three members had talked about it often. However, he said "The biggest obstacle is that in the past, we put on really beautiful performances, which fans remember, but if we get back together now, I worry we might disappoint, so I am not confident. I lack more and more confidence as I get older. I don't think I'd be able to dance as fiercely as I had in the past."

Members

Discography