If there is a defining quality to the genre of K-pop, for me, it has to be the importance placed on the choreography. K-pop places such an emphasis on the dance that songs can be better defined by its moves rather than by the musical properties. Just look at PSY's "Gangnam Style". Most of America can't understand more than a handful of words in the song but I'll bet that many can identify and probably even perform the horse dance that has taken the world by storm.

The early days of K-pop were no different as the dance was very important to the identity of the song and the artist. To this day, old heads like me can can regurgitate the moves that we practiced while rewinding VHS tapes and watching the grainy images of music shows that had aired a month earlier. For this week's Way Back Wednesday I was going to write an article covering all of the best dances from back in the day but when I started to sort through the different groups, I realized that it would be impossible. So in order to cover as many as possibly, I'll break down the best dances by era.

First up are the all important years of 1993-1996; the beginning of K-pop. In covering those four years I'm sure there will be a lot of songs left out in this article so be sure to add in your own and go dance a little, it's good for you.

Hyun Jin Young - Among the Faded Memories

This song technically was released in 1992 but it was still a huge hit and reached #1 on the charts in 1993 so I had to let this one slide. Hyun Jin Young has been mentioned in this column before as one of the first artists signed to SM Entertainment back in the day and also for this dance crew Wawa which included members Lee Hyun Do and Kim Sung Jae of Deux. This song might sound familiar for those who are fans of entertainer and quasi-reggae artist Haha as he used the dance and the sound on his song "Jump". The fun starts at :50 below and don't mind the blurry video; it's twenty years old and videos were recorded by something called VHS.

Seo Taiji and Boys - Ha Yeo Ga

Everyone knows that these guys are the OG's, the genesis of everything K-pop. Seo Taiji was a musical master and a real-life rock star (he was the bassist for legendary band Sinawe) and among the first to fuse American and Korean music to create a brand new sound. But people often forget that members Lee Juno and Yang Hyun Suk were very well-known dancers in the club scene in Korea and when the group initially debuted, they were a dance team. While their debut song "I Know" gets a lot of love, this is actually my favorite of all their songs and the dance is legendary. It's actually pretty funny now to see how out of place Seo Taiji is with all the dancing and how good YG and Lee Juno are.

Two Two - One and One Half

I know this song has been discussed before and the dance was mentioned as one of the big reasons I love this song but it was just so fun. Very simple, kind of obvious given the lyrics but such impact. I found this random video on YouTube that kind of outlines the moves. Yes, I will be recreating my glory days.

J.Y. Park - Don't Leave Me

In my humble opinion, J.Y. Park is the best at creating original dances for his music. I said in the article for him that the opening five notes still gets me fired up and ready to cut a rug (although the video below has a little intro dance that he's been adding in there recently). The dance for the song is so simple but meshes with the sounds so well that how can you not want to copy it? This still stands up to the test of time as one of the best K-pop dances ever and was recently performed by Ailee on the J.Y. Park episode of 'Immortal Song 2'.

Kim Gun Mo - Wrongful Meeting

I've also covered the song before but I don't think I really discussed the dance. The opening sequence is one of the more well-known routines and has been copied many times over. Kim Gun Mo was never known as a dancer but this song stands out as one of this best.

Park Mi Kyung - Eve's Warning

One of my top 5 Korean female singers, this song was Park Mi Kyung's second major hit. I think I wrote before that I was in Korea when the song was released and that simple hand motion was so catchy and fun that people all over Korea were copying it. This video is of a performance from a recent 'Old School Night' on the popular music show 'Yoo Hee Yeol's Sketchbook' and features Clon member DJ Koo who is a pretty good dancer in his own right.

Roo'Ra - The Angel Who Lost Their Wings

The legendary butt slap dance. It was massively popular, it's simple and fun, and people still remember it today. And that's all I have to say about that.

Noise - From My Imagination

Noise was a popular group in the early to mid 90's and while their pop sounds were well liked, they kind of got lost in the shuffle with the other groups that were hitting their strides at the time. This song had been mentioned before in this column but I'll always remember it for it's really cool dance. There's a part at around 1:13 when they do this wolf-man dance thing and that's still one of the best known moves from the day. Great group but often don't get the recognition they deserve.

Seo Taiji and Boys - Come Back Home

Surprise, Surprise, Seo Taiji and Boys shows up for a second time on this list. If "Ha Yeo Ga" was their rock anthem, then "Come Back Home" was their ode to gangster rap. This might be their best known song and certainly was the big smash hit toward the tail end of 1995. The dance sequence that begins at :33 is maybe the single best known dance move of that era.

Turbo - Twist King

I mention this group all the time but it's because they were freaking awesome. This dance was so much fun because it was Turbo's high energy music but with a classic dance that everyone knows. The best part of this video though has to be Kim Jong Gook's shirt. That looks very Ed Hardy-ish before Ed Hardy.



What were some of your favorite dances from this era?