Swedish Drinking Song’s K-Pop Transformation

When Rose and Bruno Mars’ chart-topping hit “Apt.” soared globally last year, millions worldwide found themselves humming a phrase they didn’t quite grasp. Yet, for many Koreans, the song’s infectious central hook needed no explanation; it was a familiar chant from popular Korean drinking games, a staple at university orientations, company dinners, and lively late-night gatherings.

The immense success of “Apt.” unexpectedly sparked a creative inquiry in Sweden.

If a Korean drinking game chant could transform into a K-pop sensation, what might a Swedish equivalent sound like?

This intriguing question led Swedish songwriters Ludwig Lindell, Adrian Enegard, and Hugo Andersson to discover “Helan Gar,” an ancient Swedish drinking song. Traditionally sung before downing a shot of snaps—a potent Scandinavian spirit enjoyed during midsummer festivities, student events, and holiday meals—“Helan Gar” became their muse.

The trio masterfully reinterpreted the traditional tune, reimagining it as a vibrant K-pop track. This creative fusion culminated in “Hypeman,” a dynamic song released by JYP Entertainment’s rising boy group, Nexz.

“We created a very chaotic Korean version,” Andersson revealed to Swedish broadcaster SVT.

He added, “K-pop has truly become an immense global market, which is incredibly exciting. Songwriters now have the freedom to experiment with all kinds of diverse musical concepts.”

The fascinating journey from a Korean drinking game chant to a traditional Swedish drinking song, and then back into the vibrant world of K-pop, perfectly exemplifies one of the genre’s defining characteristics: its remarkable ability to seamlessly absorb and reinterpret ideas from diverse global cultures, repackaging them for a massive international audience.

While a Korean drinking game inspiring a Swedish drinking song might sound unconventional, music critic Lim Hee-yun asserts that this cultural interplay is a natural outcome of K-pop’s unique production process.

Many K-pop tracks originate from collaborative songwriting camps that unite producers and writers from various countries. In these dynamic environments, creators freely exchange melodies, innovative ideas, and rich cultural references from their respective backgrounds, Lim explained.

“People often create together almost as if they’re playing,” he observed. “Because K-pop is such an open and inclusive genre, a wide spectrum of creative ideas can be explored and implemented.”

Swedish songwriters, in particular, have consistently played a pivotal role in shaping K-pop’s sound, Lim added. He recounted meeting some of these talented individuals in Stockholm nearly a decade ago, including one who contributed to Red Velvet’s iconic “Red Flavor.” According to Lim, the songwriter shared that the song’s signature hook originated from an improvised “weh weh weh” sound he spontaneously made while enjoying cereal at the office one morning.

Lim suggested that what makes Swedish songwriters such a natural fit for K-pop is a shared emphasis on high energy, audience participation, and instantly memorable hooks.

K-pop frequently champions songs that are immediately engaging and easy for listeners to sing along to. Sweden, meanwhile, boasts a rich tradition of communal music cultures, such as “dansband”—a genre built around simple, cheerful songs performed in social settings where people eat, drink, and sing in unison.

“Sweden has a highly developed and cherished drinking-song culture,” Lim affirmed.

Viewed through this lens, the appearance of “Helan Gar” within a contemporary K-pop song, while distinctive, is not entirely surprising given the genre’s collaborative and culturally absorbent nature.

K-pop’s Long History with Cultural Exchange

K-pop itself was born from a vibrant tapestry of cultural exchange. In the early 1990s, Seo Taiji and Boys, widely celebrated as the trailblazers of modern K-pop, masterfully fused traditional Korean popular music with elements of American hip-hop, rap, and dance music. Over the subsequent decades, producers continually drew inspiration from genres and traditions across the globe, spanning from R&B and European electronic music to rock and classical compositions.

Notable historical examples include the incorporation of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in first-generation boy group H.O.T’s uplifting track “Hope,” and Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” in fellow first-generation group Shinhwa’s iconic “T.O.P.”

More recently, listeners have identified Johann Sebastian Bach’s classical influence in Meovv’s “Ddi Ro Ri,” while others have drawn intriguing comparisons between Le Sserafim’s energetic “Boompala” and the globally recognized dance phenomenon, “Macarena.”

In the specific instance of “Hypeman,” Andersson acknowledged that the majority of listeners would likely never realize they were enjoying a melody rooted in a traditional Swedish tune.

This observation underscores how cultural references can acquire fresh meanings and contexts as they traverse international borders. As K-pop’s unprecedented global reach continues to expand, traditions and melodies originating from one culture can be gracefully detached from their initial context and skillfully reintroduced to diverse audiences as something entirely novel and exciting.

Culture critic Hwang Jin-mee highlighted that sampling, homage, and cultural borrowing have long been integral and natural components of popular music. What might once have been perceived as the adaptation of a niche local tradition can now effortlessly circulate worldwide through K-pop, which she aptly described as an increasingly universal and boundary-breaking genre.

Neither Hwang nor music critic Lim Hee-yun viewed this global phenomenon as particularly groundbreaking. Borrowing, sampling, and reinterpretation have consistently been core elements of both K-pop and popular music on a broader scale for decades.

What distinguishes the present era, however, is the sheer scale and intensity at which these cultural exchanges occur. K-pop is no longer merely importing influences from abroad; it has evolved into a dynamic global creative ecosystem where immensely talented songwriters from myriad countries regularly infuse pieces of their own rich musical backgrounds into the songwriting process, all while simultaneously drawing fresh inspiration from K-pop itself.

“K-pop truly embraces and integrates a bit of everything,” Hwang concluded, perfectly encapsulating the genre’s eclectic and ever-evolving nature.

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