After Blackpink, a new crop of Korean artists takes on Coachella

The Rose's sound leans more toward the richly detailed, expansive rock of groups like U2 and the 1975 — singles like "Back to Me" and "You're Beautiful" howl and soar on their own terms, and brought the group to the Forum in Inglewood last year. Woosung recently teamed up with BTS' Suga and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto on the song "Snooze." A magic-hour Sunday set on the Outdoor stage will be a showpiece for non-K-pop Korean music to resonate with new rocker crowds from Woosung's old hometown.

"We are proud to represent Korea in listeners' personal journeys in music," said the band's bassist Lee Jaehyeong. "We have so many artists from different lands and styles that we want to watch this year as fans again."

The range of Korean music at Coachella spans even wider — the longtime Goldenvoice affiliates in 88 Rising have a Mojave Tent set, "Futures," devoted to emerging pan-Asian talent that has often included Korean acts. South Korean DJ and producer Peggy Gou found her own success in underground club music, fully outside any Korean pop apparatus (she's more of a late-night Berlin type). Her own set Friday in the Sahara was packed out after her single "(It Goes Like) Nanana" became a smash on TikTok. Gou's become an in-demand fashion model, and with her debut LP, "I Hear You," is en route to becoming one of house music's big crossover success stories.

On Saturday night, Le Sserafim made a strong claim to its own long future at Coachella. Dressed in custom Nicolas Ghesquière leather, the group played heated Afro-Latin tracks like "Antifragile" and brought out Chic legend Nile Rodgers for their collaboration "Unforgiven" — a strong endorsement from a guy that previous Sahara Tent legends Daft Punk and Avicii have looked up to.

"We only met him in person for the first time yesterday," Yunjin said (she grew up partly in New York and long admired his productions). "It was absolutely crazy to work with him. He taught us that when you collaborate, you never want to take away from that person. You always want to add. There are so many acts that came before us that we have so much gratitude for."

The group's music is unusually candid and bristling about the pressures for perfection young women face in K-pop — a sentiment many young fans relate to. The group formed in 2022, but to judge by the slammed Sahara Tent for the set, SoCal will be seeing much more of Le Sserafim soon.

"After this, we really want to go the beach in Santa Monica," Yunjin said. "And we hear L.A. has a pretty great K-town."

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