Song Ga-in and Yoon San-seul's Unfading Popularity... 'Trot' Search Volume 10 Times Higher Than Last Year

The Non-Mainstream 'Trot' Once Consumed Only by Middle-Aged and Older Generations
Now Attracting New Consumers Aged 10 to 30
Thanks to Its Entertainment, Enjoyment, and Diversity

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] Trot, once perceived as a music genre favored by middle-aged and older generations and unable to secure a place on TV and mainstream media, is recently gaining attention as a mainstream content. This is because the popularity of trot, which created stars like Song Ga-in and Hong Ja through 'Miss Trot' and is currently recording the highest ratings on general programming with 'Mr. Trot,' as well as reinventing national MC Yoo Jae-suk as the rookie singer 'Yoo San-seul,' continues this year.

Innocean Worldwide released a big data analysis report titled 'Beyond Songs, Reborn as Content: 2020 New Trot Year~' on the 27th, analyzing the domestic trot craze. The report contains an analysis by the Data Command Center (DCC), Innocean's dedicated big data analysis team, of approximately 240,000 related data points produced from major blogs, cafes, and social networking services (SNS) from January to December last year.

According to the DCC, online mentions of trot showed little change in 2017?2018 but surged 1.8 times compared to the previous year last year, increasing from 136,250 to 244,150 mentions. The total online search volume reached an astonishing 379,583, nearly a tenfold increase from 37,230 the previous year. Especially during March?May and November?December last year, when 'Miss Trot' and the 'Hangout with Yoo: Bboong for You' episodes aired, online mentions and searches for trot skyrocketed. The search proportions for people in their 20s and 30s were 34% and 28%, respectively, indicating significantly increased interest among younger generations.

The DCC report identified three key reasons for the heightened public interest: entertainment, enjoyment, and diversity. From an entertainment perspective, 'Miss Trot,' which sparked the trot craze, broke away from the traditional adult music broadcast format by incorporating auditions. 'Hangout with Yoo: Bboong for You' produced hits like rookie trot singer Yoo San-seul’s 'Love Redevelopment' and 'Exit 5 of Hapjeong Station,' attracting interest even from teenagers and those in their 20s, who previously had relatively low interest in trot. This represents an expansion of the consumer base.

The second reason is enjoyment. Beyond the excitement and charm shown by traditional trot singers, the genre now appeals with diverse performances crossing dance, traditional trot, semi-trot, ballads, and more, showcasing vocal skills and stage manners. This variety offers 'shared enjoyment,' expanding trot’s appeal as content.

Diversity is also present. Trot stages, once mainly seen at festivals and events, are increasingly featured on broadcasts where ratings matter, leading to more program slots. Additionally, trot is dominating online platforms such as YouTube and music streaming services, diversifying the platforms (touchpoints) where trot can be enjoyed.

Lee Su-jin, head of Innocean’s Data Command Team, said, "Trot, once considered the exclusive domain of middle-aged and older generations, is becoming a cultural content that all generations can empathize with and enjoy together, based on entertainment, enjoyment, and diverse platforms. After enduring ups and downs over many years, trot has recently rapidly grown into a central content and will continue to maintain public interest and establish itself as an expandable content."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.