Seo Taiji and Boys

The trio debuted on MBC's talent show on April 11, 1992 with their song "Nan Arayo" (난 알아요, "I Know") and got the lowest rating from the jury.[7] However, the song and their self-titled debut album became so successful that, according to MTV Iggy, "K-pop music would never be the same" again.[8] One of the first Korean rap songs,[9] "Nan Arayo" was a hugely successful hit;[10] its new jack swing-inspired beats, upbeat rap verses and pop-style choruses combined with a focus on new dance moves took Korean audiences by storm.[8][9] Influenced by the videos for Technotronic's "Pump Up the Jam" and Snap!'s "The Power",[11] the music video for "Nan Arayo" features varying color saturation and chroma key editing, varying the angles of the dancers' bodies constantly. The group sold over 1.5 million copies of the album within a month of its release,[11] and Seo Taiji and Boys won a Golden Disc Award for "Nan Arayo" in 1992.[12] Spin named "Nan Arayo" number 4 on their 2012 list of the 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time.[13] In 2015, Rolling Stone named it number 36 on its list of the 50 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time.[14] "Nan Arayo" is also recognized for establishing the popularity of rap in K-pop and hybridizing the Korean ballad style with rap, rock, and techno.[9]

Their 1993 second album took a different turn. Although remaining a mostly dance album, a few songs such as "Hayeoga" (하여가, 何如歌, "Anyway") combined elements of heavy metal and traditional Korean folk music through the use of the taepyeongso, a double-reed wind instrument, and melodic structure.[3] While there was controversy that the guitar solo in the middle of the song plagiarized Testament's "First Strike is Deadly," the guitarist for the solo, Lee Tae-Seop, mentioned in an interview[15][16] that the solo's arpeggios reinterpreted Scandinavian folk songs, which had no copyright. "Hayeoga" earned them their second Golden Disc Award.[12] Moreover, while promoting the album, the group was banned from appearing on the national television channel KBS-TV because they wore earrings, ripped jeans and had dreadlocks, which ethics committees associated with reggae, resistance movements, and rejection of social norms (although their brightly dyed long hair in 1995 did not attract a similar ban).[3][17][18] This was the first of the numerous controversies regarding Seo Taiji and Boys. The band's second album became the first 'double million sellers' album in Korean history.

The third album shifted to a more heavy metal and rock style. Danceable tunes were nearly non-existent except "Balhaereul Kkumkkumyeo" (발해를 꿈꾸며, "Dreaming of Balhae"), an alternative rock song indicating a hope of reuniting North and South Korea, which earned the group its third Golden Disc Award.[12] Instead, songs such as the controversial "Kyoshil Idea" (교실 이데아, "Classroom Ideology") with death growl vocals, influenced by bands such as the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine, by Ahn Heung-Chan of Crash took center stage.[19] "Kyoshil Idea" was extremely critical of the Korean education system and the pressure placed on youth to succeed academically, such as doing well on university entrance exams.[17] The song was banned from being played on TV and radio (but passed by ethics committees) for the censuring of the education system in its lyrics:

Every morning you lead us into a tiny classroom by 7:30, forcing the same things into the 7 million heads of children around the country. These dark, closed classrooms are swallowing us up. My life is too precious to be wasted here.[3]

Additionally, the band was accused of backmasking Satanic messages in "Kyoshil Idea." Although the mainstream news media later proved these accusations to be groundless, the moral panic proved difficult to eliminate entirely.[20]

Not backing down, Seo Taiji and Boys' fourth album exploded with more controversial songs. "Come Back Home" was a foray into gangsta rap, featuring a high-pitched nasal voice influenced by B-Real of Cypress Hill in "Insane in the Brain" and by House of Pain.[3] "Pilseung" (필승, 必勝, "Certain Victory") was also a hit with alternative rock sound and shouting voice reminiscent of House of Pain's "Jump Around." However, "Sidae Yugam" (시대유감, 時代遺憾, "Shame of the Times") was banned by the Public Performance Ethics Committee for having lyrics that criticized the government.[21] The version of the song included on the album is instrumental only, as a refusal by Seo to rewrite or remove the original three lines that the Ethics Committee demanded be changed (in bold):[3][17]

Educated elders are walking down the street holding pretty dolls. It seems that the day everyone has been secretly hoping for is coming today. Lips stained black. Gone is the era of honest people. [...] I wish for a new world that'll overturn everything. [...] I hope I can avenge the grudge in my heart. Tonight![3]

The backlash from the fans was immense, and the system of "pre-censorship" (사전심의제) was abolished in June 1996, partially as a result of this reaction. An EP titled Sidae Yugam including the original version of the song was released a month after the system was abolished.

Seo Taiji in 2014

Seo Taiji and Boys retired from South Korea's popular music scene in January 1996 during its heyday. Lee later stated that Seo made the decision to disband while recording their fourth album, much to the surprise of Yang and himself.[20] The band's announcement of retirement was a huge disappointment for millions of fans in Korea. The compilation album Goodbye Best Album was released later that year.

Seo Taiji headed over to the United States soon after, while Lee Juno and Yang Hyun-suk established record labels right after their retirement. Yang Hyun-suk was successful in founding YG Entertainment, one of the three biggest record companies in the country.[6] Seo Taiji returned to music two years later with a very successful solo career; he is now referred to as "the President of culture" in South Korea.[6] In 2007, all four of Seo Taiji and Boys' albums were included in Kyunghyang Shinmun's Top 100 Pop Albums, with their first ranking the highest at number 24.[22][23][24][25]

In 2014, when asked about a possible Seo Taiji and Boys reunion, Seo revealed that the three members had talked about it often. However, he said:

The biggest obstacle is that in the past, we put on really beautiful performances, which fans remember, but if we get back together now, I worry we might disappoint, so I am not confident. I lack more and more confidence as I get older. I don't think I'd be able to dance as fiercely as I had in the past.[26]