‘IU-take my hand’ and ‘EXID-Up and Down’ are songs that you have listened to at least once. What do these songs have in common? They are both examples of “reverse” craze. Unlike ordinary cars, cars that run in the opposite direction are called “reverse driving.” In this connection, when songs that have not been noticed for a long time after their release or songs that have been quiet for a while since their first hit are re-examined for some reason, we call it “reverse.”
  Let’s examine how ‘reverse’, which almost always causes a big commotion, comes about. The reason for the reverse is usually when a good song, spreads as part of an SNS issue, or becomes the topic for discussion on air, or suddenly becomes hip as a remake by someone else who is not the original singer.

What is the common feature of the above cases? 

  These all use mass media. Let’s take the example of ‘Brave girls-Rollin’ which someone introduced earlier, the reverse was started from a YouTube video. Rollin achieved the No.1 ranking on various music charts just four days after the “Brave Girls Rollin Comment Collection” video was posted. They became the group that broadcasters paid the most attention to in a few days, right before dismantling.
  Because of a YouTube algorithm, people took notice of Brave Girls’ videos. This is a convenient technology that places similar kinds of videos on the main screen of individuals based on their preference and viewing records. However, it is sometimes recommended to many users in the case of high views or sudden popularity, even though it is not an area of interest to the particular user. As such, YouTube and other mass media have already become essential factors in the “reverse” phenomenon.

Then, what do students think about ‘the reverse craze’ in the music industry?

  In an interview with our school students to hear about this, Park Chae-yeon, a sophomore in the department of Korean language education, offered her thoughts on the reverse craze and her opinion about the cause of the reverse, “There are a series of songs that have not been much noticed in the music industry, and I think that the hidden masterpieces seem to shine. I hope that the good songs of other celebrities who continue to work, even though they are not known to the public, will succeed in reversing.”
  Also, Jeong Ji-woo, a second-year design student, said in a positive response to the reverse driving, “The word reverse driving was unfamiliar at first, but I am gradually getting used to it. Thanks to reverse, I’m glad to get to know some great songs that I didn’t know before. I feel happy about this reverse craze because I thought the public had a narrow musical range,” she said.

Now let’s find out how this reverse craze is affecting the cultural sector.

  First of all, it has a huge impact on various popular cultures. I think the biggest influence was on the music charts. Before the reverse, only popular singers’ songs had competed for the top spot in the music charts, but now it is based solely on musicality. Many music industry workers believe that it is desirable to slowly gain attention on the charts based on the interest of various music consumers rather than the song topping the real-time charts in just an hour after its release based on fandom popularity.
  In an interview about the music market with Hankook Ilbo, Kim Sang-hwa, a music critic, said, “The more frequent reverse happens on the music site chart, the more music site consumers welcome it.” This is because there is an opportunity to listen to more music loved by unspecified people, not by specific fandom. “This is also because reversing the charts is an opportunity for them to know what songs are universally loved by shaking up the music sites ranking which used to be based on fandom,” he said, pointing out the problems of the previous music charts.

Then, how will this reverse impact our society?

  One of the social influences of the reverse craze is that it has become a source of hope for the public. This can be explained by the concept of empathy in psychological terms. Empathy is the unconscious projection of one’s feelings to the natural world or others, and understanding that they have the same feelings. Just as the less-noticed group is now suddenly seeing the light, people get hope that their dreams will come true as well. It would be nice if every happening in the world become what we wished, not just in the entertainment industry, but most of the time it doesn’t. Most people evaluate their lives at some point. They wonder, “Is this the right way for me?” and “Am I doing well?” This is when we can glimpse the positive side of reverse driving in that it gives great hope to our reality, which we agonize over by reversing such songs that have not been successful, and have now gained potential through mass media such as YouTube and SNS. Of course, musicality should be supported, but if you look at most examples of reverse music the singer’s continuous efforts can’t be ignored. The words “Will, effort, and waiting are the cornerstones of success” (Edison) show that effort is an essential part of success. I hope this article will serve as an opportunity for you to think that ‘Am I striving for success impossible to know when it will come?’ and become a motive of striving to success which will come someday.

By Kim Ji-min l jimin41@cbnu.ac.kr