Is KATSEYE K-pop? “Touch” Made Me Wonder
Every once in a while, I come across a group that makes me wonder where exactly they fit.
For me, that group is KATSEYE.
Ever since I discovered them, one question has been sitting in the back of my mind:
Is KATSEYE actually K-pop?
KATSEYE is a multinational girl group created through a partnership between HYBE and Geffen Records.
When I look at how the group was formed, a lot of it feels familiar from K-pop. There’s the training, the focus on both vocals and dance, and the way music, choreography, and visuals all come together as one performance.
The system feels very K-pop.
But then I started listening to their music, and the answer didn’t feel quite so simple anymore.
The System Feels Like K-pop, But the Music?
I’ve listened to several KATSEYE songs, and not all of them give me the same feeling I usually associate with K-pop.
Some actually feel closer to global pop to me.
That’s just my own impression, of course. K-pop pulls from so many different genres now that trying to decide what does or doesn’t “sound K-pop” gets messy pretty quickly.
Still, it got me thinking.
If a group is trained and developed through a K-pop-style system, does that automatically make them K-pop?
Do they need to sing mainly in Korean?
What if their music and activities are aimed at a global audience?
The more I thought about it, the less obvious the answer felt.
Then There Was “Touch”
Out of all the KATSEYE songs I’ve heard, “Touch” is the one that got me the most.
It’s also the song that feels the most K-pop to me personally.
The chorus caught me first. It’s easy to remember, instantly recognizable, and has the kind of hook that stays in your head long after the song is over.
But the song itself was only part of it.
Then I watched the performance.
That Finger Choreography
The thing I remember most from “Touch” is the finger choreography during the chorus.
It’s not an overly complicated move, but that’s kind of the point. It’s easy to recognize, closely connected to the hook, and hard to separate from the song once you’ve seen it.
I’ve always liked that about K-pop choreography.
Sometimes one small move becomes so connected to a song that just hearing the title makes you picture the dance.
Think about TWICE’s “TT.”
Say “TT,” and there’s a good chance that famous hand pose immediately comes to mind.
“Touch” started doing something similar for me.
I liked the song first, but after watching the performance, the finger movement became part of how I remembered it. Eventually, I could hear the chorus without watching anything and still picture the choreography.
That’s when I started wondering:
Maybe this is why “Touch” feels so K-pop to me.
And Then There Are the K-pop Girl Group Connections
Just when I start leaning toward calling KATSEYE a global pop group, there’s something else that pulls me back toward K-pop.
Their connection with other K-pop girl groups.
Seeing KATSEYE appear alongside groups like LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT, or watching content where their music and performances cross into the same space, doesn’t feel strange at all.
If anything, they fit in surprisingly naturally.
Content like “Iconic by Mistake” made that feeling even stronger for me.
There are moments when I watch KATSEYE interacting with the K-pop world and think:
“At this point, why wouldn’t I call them K-pop?”
Then I go back to their own music, and I’m not so sure again.
That’s what keeps this question interesting for me.
“Touch” Made My Answer Harder
Before “Touch,” my answer would’ve been pretty simple:
A global pop group with a lot of influence from the K-pop system.
That description still makes sense to me.
It just doesn’t feel complete anymore.
“Touch” has a memorable chorus, recognizable point choreography, and that feeling of the music and performance becoming one thing in your head.
Those are all things I’ve loved while getting into K-pop.
Of course, none of them belongs exclusively to K-pop. Global pop artists have catchy hooks and memorable choreography too.
So I can’t point at the finger dance and say:
“Yep. That’s K-pop.”
But something about the way I experience “Touch” feels very similar to the way I experience the K-pop songs I love.
Maybe it’s not only about what the music sounds like.
Maybe it’s also about how the song is meant to be experienced.
What Actually Makes Something K-pop?
At some point, I realized I wasn’t only questioning KATSEYE anymore.
I was questioning my own definition of K-pop.
Does a group have to be created in Korea?
Do they need Korean members?
Do they need to sing in Korean?
Is the training system what matters?
Or is K-pop a combination of music, choreography, visuals, performance, fandom, and the whole culture built around it?
I don’t have a perfect answer.
KATSEYE feels closely connected to the K-pop system and moves naturally alongside K-pop artists, but there are still moments when their music feels much more like global pop to me.
Maybe trying to force them into one box is the part I’m getting wrong.
If I Had to Pick One Song…
If someone asked me:
“What’s the most K-pop-feeling KATSEYE song?”
Right now, I’d choose:
“Touch.”
I’d tell them to listen to the song first, then watch the performance and pay attention to the finger choreography during the chorus.
Maybe they’ll understand why this one song made the whole KATSEYE question harder for me.
I’m still not ready to put them completely on one side.
So I’m curious what other K-pop fans think.
Is KATSEYE K-pop? Global pop? Or are they the kind of group that makes those labels feel a little outdated?
🎧 Today’s K-pop Recommendation
KATSEYE – “Touch”