How Does K-Pop Influence Gen Z vs. Gen Alpha? The Difference Is Huge!
- Jon Lui
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
K-pop is now one of the biggest trending music genres in the world. With recent successes such as Kpop Demon Hunters, BTS, BLACKPINK, and Katseye taking over the Grammys in 2026, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are experiencing K-pop in a much different light than 10 to 20 years ago. We break down how K-pop has not only influenced a new generation, but also how this new generation is living it!
How They Discover K-pop
From the beginning, Gen Z (born from about 1997 - 2012) discovered K-pop through YouTube recommendations, Tumblr, and Twitter. It was something new and different. They were often recommended YouTube videos as they "fell down the rabbit hole" and found groups like BTS and BLACKPINK, groups that were formed when they were toddlers. Far from being a global genre at that time, K-pop was a niche that catered to a specific audience.
Gen Alpha (born around 2010 - 2025), on the other hand, have been immersed in K-pop since they were born. Following TikTok trends before they really knew it was a K-pop song, Gen Alpha learned to discover 4th generation idols like NewJeans, Stray Kids, and IVE. To Gen Alpha, K-pop isn't "foreign", it's just part of their everyday media.
Relationship to Music
How both of these generations react to purchasing music is also very interesting. Gen Z consumes K-pop by eras rather than moments. They're able to sit down and listen to a full album and care about lore and album concepts. They purchase a K-pop album to collect their favorite bias's photocards.
Gen Alpha cares more about the 10-15 second hook. If they can dance to it (preferably while being filmed), the album is a "go". Not only are they interested in the sound, but the visuals have to match its energy.
Cultural Global Perspective
Gen Z may take pride that they helped make K-pop "popular" or "normal" to Western audiences. They experienced it as groundbreaking and global and took pride in supporting non-Western artists.
Gen Alpha doesn't see language as a barrier, although many K-pop songs now contain English lyrics. Having grown up in a post-"Dynamite" world, Gen Alpha feels that global pop has always been multilingual.
The Core Difference
While Gen Z made K-pop mainstream, Gen Alpha was born into K-pop being mainstream. Gen Z remembers when Western award shows were a big deal if a K-pop artist was mentioned, let alone winning an award. Charting on Billboard's Top 100 was another groundbreaking moment that Gen Z thought was shocking. Gen Alpha assumes that K-pop charts globally and that many K-pop idols often/normally collaborate with Western artists. And, of course, it is very normal that a K-pop song trends on TikTok.
Final Thoughts
So what are your thoughts about how K-pop influenced your generation? Are you team Gen Z or team Gen Alpha? Let us know in the comments below on how K-pop has changed your perspective on global pop culture!