Beyond that, if you ask a K-pop idol whom they idolize, the answer is usually either another Korean artist or, very frequently, an American artist or group. They’re aware that the cultural roots of K-pop are American. They’re aware that the market here is vast and monolithic. They might not know who The Beatles were, but they’d appreciate the apocryphal (and not true) story of the Fab Four refusing to come to the US til they had a Number One Hit here.

Almost all K-pop groups take aim at Japan. Usually quite successfully. And I have to think that’s got a measure of cultural pride, there, since Korea’s only been out from under Japan’s thumb for 70 years. Korea definitely has something to prove to its one-time occupier. Same for China, where K-pop groups frequently toured until the THADD missile crisis turned cultural relations decidedly frosty.

American are, let’s not sugar-coat it, global snobs. We all too frequently DO think the rest of the world should want to be us. But in this particular case, it’s simple business logic for Korean agencies to aim their protégées at the US market. We’re one country with an insatiable appetite for music and millions upon millions of potential consumers. Is there a market for the slick, pure pop coming out of Korea? That’s a whole other matter. But with K-pop running the gamut from Hard-edged FT Island to Gothic VIXX to sunshine-pop Astro, there’s something for everyone.

So if K-pop can establish its niche– which, I’ll admit, is going to be difficult in a country that moved on from mass appreciation of pure pop music years ago– then the sky’s the limit, here. Americans are xenocentric about countless things, but for once, I think this time we might be right.