Gachon University Asia Culture Institute to Host International Conference on Trot and Enka Music

Poster for the International Academic Conference of the Asia Culture Research Institute at Gachon University

The Asia Culture Research Institute at Gachon University will hold an international academic conference on the 27th at Room 100, International Hall, Gachon University Global Center, under the theme "Trot and Enka, Beyond East Asia to the World."

This conference will focus on the trot boom in Korea after COVID-19 and the renewed attention to enka in Japan, examining the history and global significance of East Asian popular music.

In particular, it will deeply discuss not only the similarities between trot and enka but also the importance of these genres in the history of East Asian popular music. Researchers of popular music from countries such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore will attend to cover the formation and development of 20th-century East Asian popular music. This will serve as an opportunity to reexamine the anthropological value of trot and enka as unique genres born from the fusion of Western music and East Asian traditional music.

Starting with keynote lectures including "What is Changa: Modern Korea through Changa" by Min Kyung-chan, Professor Emeritus at Korea National University of Arts, and "The Establishment and Regional Development of East Asian Popular Music" by Takayuki Kobayashi, Professor at Okayama University, the conference will proceed in three parts: ▲ Trot and Community Memory ▲ Creation of Popular Music and Tradition ▲ Transcending Popular Music.

Park Jin-su, Director of the Asia Culture Research Institute at Gachon University, stated, "Trot and enka now have the potential to grow into global popular music genres beyond East Asia," adding, "Culture is not fixed but flows and changes, and this conference will be an important opportunity to explore the global expansion of East Asian popular music."

This academic conference is a continuation of the "Trot and Enka, Beyond East Asia to the World" conference held online by the Asia Culture Research Institute at Gachon University in May 2022.