Right now, K-pop, Korean Pop Music, is having a moment globally and its undercurrent is exploding in the USA, but despite its fandom and its power on social media, a lot of us in the mainstream don’t understand it. K-pop is just good old-fashioned pop music with many influences, think Western music that has been remixed with the Asian ear. It has energetic melodies and electrifying beats that are highly addictive. It can be pop, rock, hip hop, R&B and electronic music and all at once with a focus on fun energy and inclusive positivity. But the medium is more than music, it is a subculture with its own rules, values, and unique terminology. Its beauty is that it is truly for all ages, races, and genders who love music. It is significant for its cultural inclusiveness, ability to break down racial barriers and creative opportunities. 

The K-Wave USA radio show captures that positivity.  The show not only features classic hits, debuts new music, announces upcoming events, and connects hardcore fans with each other, but it also highlights artists, including interviews with industry insiders, producers, and songwriters, and shares the key players who make up the K-pop industry. 

Melissa Emerson Unger Bio

As a five-year radio veteran, Emerson has been on-air with various radio morning shows (WSPK-FM and WCZX-FM) as well as covered afternoon drive time shifts (WDAQ-FM).  Her current obsession is K-pop, with her bias being BTS, her bias wrecker being Pentagon and her sleeping hours sacrificed to Kim Taehyung. Her past adventures, as a decade deep entertainment reporter, have included covering The Oscars, The Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, South By Southwest in Austin Texas, the San Diego International Comic-Con convention and the MTV Video Music Awards. 

Emerson Unger is an admitted K-pop fanatic, movie nerd, film critic, dog lover and soda junkie. She is currently working towards becoming fluent in Korean and is fully immersed in K-pop fandom here in America.