Ballad

South Korean ballad (K-ballad) is a slow-tempo pop genre renowned for its deeply emotional vocals, heartfelt lyrics exploring love, loss, and longing, and lush orchestral arrangements that evoke profound sentiment.

Origin: South Korea, emerging from 1980s trot influences and evolving within the K-pop framework.

Era: Late 1990s to present, peaking in 2000s-2010s with artists like Lee Sun-hee, Shin Seung-hun, and modern K-pop balladeers.