Hip-hop has gone beyond popular music and become a culture and a style permeating society at large in South Korea as well. Previously an underground culture ardently supported by specific audiences, the genre has become known to a wider class of people through diverse television programs. In addition, the influence of hip-hop over teenagers including children is even stronger.
To South Korean youths, rappers are more th』an simply entertainers. Going beyond icons of popular culture, they serve as attractive role models, too. In such a reality, an increasing number of children consume and admire hip-hop culture, even choosing it as their career path (already, it is possible to several schools based on one’s capacity as a hip-hop singer). What, then, do grownups think of youngsters’ interest in and passion for the genre? Still perceiving hip-hop as a “lowbrow” culture plagued by roughness, drugs, and profanities, most South Korean adults regard with concern children who are avid fans of the genre. Under such circumstances, The Troublemakers is a book that will prompt readers to overcome prejudices against hip-hop, to affirm youngsters’ interest in and yearning for the genre, and to experience the exhilaration of self-expression through hip-hop.