Korean Ballad

Korean ballad, or balladeu, is the dominant sentimental song form of South Korean popular music: slow, piano-led songs of love and loss sung with maximal emotional intensity. Rooted in the trot and folk-pop era, it was codified in the 1980s by singers such as *Lee Moon-sae* and *Shin Seung-hun*, whose million-selling albums made the soaring, tearful ballad the industry's commercial backbone. Ballads anchor K-drama soundtracks, karaoke rooms and idol repertoires alike, and virtuoso balladeers remain among Korea's most revered singers.