What is Trot Music?

Trot (Korean: 트로트) – short for the foxtrot rhythm that initially inspired this genre but has since become entirely its own – is Korean music that uses a repetitive two beat rhythm and vocal inflections. Nearly 100 years old, it originated when the Japanese occupied Korea and is a blend of Korean, Japanese, American, and European music. An old-fashioned style of music that had its first peak in the 1950s and 1960s, it made a strong return in South Korea in the 2000s when artists like Super Junior-T, MJ, and Lizzy drew on old influences to make something new. Now, it’s something entirely its own.