Meet The Deep, K-pop’s antihero

“Korea cannot contain me, so I ran to the US,” runs the opening line of “KPOP B!TCH”, the title track off The Deep’s rebellious debut album. “It’s true!” the South Korean singer tells Dazed over a video call through a translator, laughing. “I don’t have a lot of Korean fans here. My main fanbase is in LA and London. [That track] describes and represents who I am in real life.” Later arrives the punchline: “Gimme the fame, gimme the love, she’s just [a] K-pop Bitch.”

“KPOP B!TCH” arrives as the mission statement for the turbo-powered electronic-pop sound that The Deep has pioneered for herself – navigating big, club-ready beats with personal, half-English, half-Korean lyrics. Sonically, she sits somewhere between Blackpink, PinkPantheress and Frost Children (who co-produced much of the album), but, as its title might suggest, The Deep represents a new category of popstar. 

“Since I’m Korean and I sing in Korean, I think it’s fair to define my music as K-pop,” The Deep explains, pointing to how her songs often incorporate elements of multiple genres like K-pop. “[But] K-pop is very polished, it’s perfectionism in a way, and I’m very DIY. I design a lot of my stuff, come up with all of my creative directions, do a lot of mixing, and edit and shoot my videos. Honestly, the word ‘bitch’ fits my personality so well, so I decided to call it KPOP B!TCH to make it easier for people to understand my character.”

She’s more of an anti-popstar. Rather than representing a hyper-sanitised, idealised version of ourselves, The Deep’s X-factor comes from the embracing of her messy imperfections, and it resonates profoundly with today’s internet-native, post-Brat generation. She willingly owns the title ‘bitch’, jokingly named her finsta account @thedeep_0nly_fans, and overall behaves in a way that most old-school Korean talent agencies would gasp at. 

It speaks to a strong sense of identity, especially in a rigid society like South Korea, and it wasn’t until recently that The Deep realised where it came from. “When I was younger, especially in middle school, I went through a lot of personal hardship,” she says. “I was sometimes bullied and I also experienced dating violence at a very young age. Those past experiences made me want to feel free. By focusing sincerely on what I truly wanted to do, I think I eventually found the sound I have now.”

Much like her so-called ‘hyperpop’ – a title The Deep rejects – contemporary Effie, it was through scouring the internet for sounds that represented her that The Deep found a way to turn these past traumas into a superpower. Although she calls herself a ‘bitch’, in that, at least, she stands as a worthy idol for her fans. 

Below, in her first-ever English interview, the South Korean anti-popstar tells Dazed about her start in music, her resonance with American artists Frost Children, kimj and atlgrandma, and the Easter Eggs hidden within her debut album. 

So, how did you start making music?

The Deep: When I was a student, I actually majored in visual design, not music. Since high school, my dream was to be a singer, but I didn’t know how to achieve that. Later, I went to a vocal training academy for about four months. There, I realised there was a way to achieve my dream. So, I only completed my first semester at university, and moved to Seoul to start making music

I was listening to your old R&B songs earlier…

The Deep: [Laughs] Yeah. I don’t like my old R&B sounds anymore. At first, I just learned how to sing R&B vocals. When I was a student, I listened to a lot of R&B, ballads and indie music.

The Deep’s music is very different now, though, right?

The Deep: I always liked listening to alternative underground music, but I never found any collaborators to work with in Korea. I would just look at type beats on YouTube, like Kendrick Lamar type beats! 

Around four or five years ago, I found UK garage and released my first song, ‘Mwah’. It did pretty well and I thought, ‘music with vocals over electronic beats, this is the sound I want to go and pursue as The Deep’. Then, after [K-pop five-piece] NewJeans debuted, it really helped my career because the sounds are kind of similar.

Are there many people making music like you in Korea?

The Deep: These days, Korean people really like to listen to hyperpop music. To me, it was quite a sudden change. I don’t really see myself making hyperpop. This album is just electronic pop music.

Given that you found your sound through being an outcast, do you hope that your lyrics can help others in some way? 

The Deep: Yes. Overall, I always want my music to give off a positive energy, so even when I don’t intend to, I naturally end up making music that does that. Especially in my previous EP Electric Pink, the track ‘Sad Girls Club’ was something I created to express those feelings intentionally. 

There are a lot of American collaborators on the record. How did that come about?

The Deep: Around April, atlgrandma, one of the producers on the record, was also in Korea for a show, and so were Dorian Electra and Count Baldor. We were all in town, so we met up and made music in Seoul. Then, in August, I went to LA almost without an exact plan, just thinking, ‘If I just go, I’ll meet someone and gain some experience.’ Thanks to atlgrandma introducing me to so many artists, I was able to work with producers I’ve always loved. Me, kimj, Frost Children, and atlgrandma all had a big session in LA. They were already some of my favourite artists.

Finally, who is your dream collaboration?

The Deep: Kim Petras, PinkPantheress and Yves. 

KPOP B!TCH is out now