The Queen Of K-Pop's Infinite Allure

In an industry where the life span of one’s career, along with fame and recognition, can be as ephemeral as seasonal fashion trends, boa, one of korea’s pioneering popstars, is seemingly eternal

- Andrea Sim

At just 32 years old, it is hard to wrap one’s head around the fact that South Korean singersongwriter BoA’s 19-year career is older than many of the Generation Z youths, the ones who fill the concert stadiums of other newly minted K-Pop stars. Most 20- and 30-somethings would recall her omnipresence during the early aughts; from picking out her albums at HMV and bobbing to its dance-pop tracks on a silver Discman, to her stage name (a stylised abbreviation of her first name, of which both are enunciated in the same manner) often being uttered in the same breath as fellow turn-of-the millennium rising stars Ayumi Hamasaki and Jay Chou when asked about one’s favourite musician.

Today, going by the metre that is the power and prevalence of K-Pop (and K-Beauty, and K-Drama) in global culture, the monumental depth of her imprint might be unintentionally dwarfed. Idol groups such as GIRLS’ GENERATION and SUPER JUNIOR that collectively dismantled geographical borders for K-Pop in the last decade — paving the way for current bands like BTS and Blackpink to reach even the furthest-flung corners of the world — tend to overshadow BoA’s feat as a solo Korean pop act. One that commanded Asia’s attention, without the reach of social media, nearly two decades ago.

Like the letting up of a downpour the moment you’re due out the door, or the train arriving just as you set foot onto the platform, her beginnings in the music industry can be considered a happy coincidence. BoA had followed her older brother to a talent competition organised by SM Entertainment in 1998 and in the process, ended up getting signed on herself. Two years later, at just 13 years old, she released her first full-length album ID; Peace B. Although it wasn’t until the singer set her sights on Japan, that the “BoA effect” would realise its full potential.