K-pop continues to conquer the world. South Korean pop music is now a major force on the global music scene and is also a major force on YouTube. Groups and artists affiliated with this musical genre such as BTS or Blackpink generate hundreds of millions of views on Google's video platform, as soon as they release a new song. 

YouTube has decided to revisit the K-pop phenomenon through a new documentary series, entitled "K-pop Evolution." Its seven episodes look back at the birth of this musical genre "made in Korea," from its birth in the 1990s with the group Seo Taiji and Boys all the way through to becoming today an industry valued at over 10 billion dollars. This documentary series, produced by Bang Films, also has its share of surprises with appearances by K-pop icons such as SuperM, H.O.T., BoA, Super Junior, Ha:tfelt from Wonder Girls and Sandara Park from 2NE1.

"I feel that there have been no documentaries that deal with K-pop as a whole professionally. I was happy that I got a chance to deal with the start of K-pop up to the present day for the first time," said producer Park Se-jin, who participated in the production of "K-Pop Evolution." "If it is well received, I want to work on the next season because there are still many stories that haven't been covered."

Why watch "K-Pop Evolution"?

While YouTube Originals has already created many original series around this South Korean phenomenon, "K-pop Evolution" is the first to tackle the history of this musical genre through the testimonies of artists and groups belonging to different generations. In the first episode of the series, Kim Hong Tak goes back to the origins of the boy band Key Boys, the "first rock band in Korea."  

Another particularity: the seven episodes of the series tackle head-on the underbelly of this industry in perpetual search of renewal. Hard work, iron discipline, competitiveness pushed to the limit... Enough to dent the image, often smooth, of a musical phenomenon in full boom.