Pop Music Critic Youngdae Kim Passes Away at 48

Youngdae Kim, pop music critic. Photo by Elle

Pop music critic Youngdae Kim passed away on December 24. He was 48 years old.

On December 25, representatives of the late Kim announced his passing through social media, stating, "We share the news of Youngdae Kim's passing." Despite remaining active until recently-communicating with the public via social media as recently as the 23rd and participating in radio broadcasts-his exact cause of death has not been disclosed.

Born in 1977, Kim graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in business administration and earned a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Washington in the United States. Beginning his career as a critic in earnest in 2006, he was especially known for his in-depth analysis of the success of BTS and the K-pop industry.

Kim provided commentary for the domestic broadcasts of major American pop music awards such as the Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, and Grammy Awards, delivering music information to the public. He also authored books including "BTS: The Review" and "Idol-Artist of the Here and Now," and published his latest work, "The Songwriters," last month.

The production team of CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show," which aired Kim's segment on the day of his passing, stated, "The broadcast was recorded last week, and we received news of his passing after it aired on the 25th," adding, "We are deeply shocked and saddened by this sudden news."

He is survived by his wife and two daughters. The funeral is being held in Room 6 of the funeral hall at Seoul Chung-Ang University Hospital. The procession will take place at 11 a.m. on the 27th, and the burial site is Seoul Memorial Park.

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