which shares the trot's distinctive two-beat rhythm. It was popular for decades and produced the country's first musical superstars, but has more recently struggled to compete with newer, trendier sounds, particularly with the global rise of K-pop. But trot is making headlines again - this time thanks to social media. Korean content creators have started using generative AI to transform popular K-pop songs into buttery, catchy trot-style tunes, paired with AI-generated images of idols in glittering suits and teased hair - the iconic look of classic trot singers. These videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on social media platforms like Instagram, Line and YouTube. But critics have raised copyright concerns and questioned the trend's novelty, arguing that it is too far a departure from the true essence of trot.

Trot first emerged in the 1930s, when Korea was still colonised by Japan. It developed from Korean folk traditions, while drawing influence from Japanese enka and Western styles such as jazz, according to music critic Jung Minjae. Trot songs often express "han" - a deep-seated feeling of sorrow, resentment and longing shaped by Korea's history of foreign subjugation and one of the most enduring themes in Korean culture. The lyrics of trot songs typically revolve around love and separation, or the yearning for a warm, familiar home. In Baek Nyeonseol's 1940 classic The Sorrow of a Traveler, for example, the lyrics translate to: "It has been half a lifetime, over 10 years, walking barefoot in a foreign land; sorrow settles deep in this man's heart; when twilight falls, I miss my hometown; calling for dreams with tears, I look for it." Musically, trot is defined by its frequent use of minor scales and a distinctive vocal style marked by heavy vibrato and kkeokgi - a technique that bends notes to heighten emotional expression. The genre also produced some of the country's earliest music superstars. Nam Jin and Na Hoon-A, widely considered South Korea's first pop "idols", pushed trot to new heights during their fierce rivalry from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. They shared similar fan bases, whose members carried their favorite artists' on-stage rivalry into real life, often trading attacks and insults. (BBC/ Getty Images)