Trot (music)

Trot
Hangul	트로트 or 트롯트
Revised Romanization	Teuroteu or Teurotteu
McCune–Reischauer	T'ŭrot'ŭ or T'ŭrott'ŭ

Trot (Korean 트로트 teuroteu; sometimes called 뽕짝 ppongjjak due to its distinctive background rhythm) is a genre of Korean pop music, and is recognized as the oldest form of Korean pop music. Formulated during the Japanese rule in the early 1900s, the genre has been influenced by Japanese, Western and Korean musical elements. Also, the genre has adopted different names, such as yuhaengga, ppongjjak, and most recently teuroteu (the Korean pronunciation of the word trot). While the genre’s popularity declined during the 1990s, most recently, it has been subject to revivals by contemporary South Korean pop artists such as Jang Yoon Jeong, Super Junior-T, BIGBANG member Daesung and Red Velvet member Joy.

The name derives from a shortening of "foxtrot", a ballroom dance which influenced the simple two-beat of elements of the genre. Trot music is described as two-beat rhythm or duple rhythm, traditional seven-five syllabic stanzas, and unique vocal style called Gagok.

Trot music was formulated during Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945. The initial form of trot music were translations of Western or Japanese popular songs, called yuhaeng changga (유행창가 Hanja: 流行唱歌; lit., "popular songs"). Yun Sim-deok’s 1926 recording "In Praise of Death" is often regarded as the first yuhaeng changga. Later, in the 1930s, yuhaeng changga began to be produced by Korean songwriters and composers. These newly composed Korean popular songs were known yuhaengga (유행가; 流行歌; "fashionable music"). However, they soon acquired a new name, daejung gayo (대중가요; 大衆歌謠; "popular music"), referring to popular music in general. 's (김용환; 金龍渙) "Nakhwa Yusu" (낙화유수; 落花流水; "Falling Flowers and Flowing Water") would become emblematic of this rise in Korean songwriters and composers producing popular songs. Additionally, both songs represent the subject matter that arose in yuhaengga, in that they generally dealt with the expression of personal emotions of love and life.

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