Kim Young-dae, one of South Korea’s foremost K-pop experts and music critics, has passed away at the age of 48. On the morning of December 25, his X (formerly Twitter) account posted a message stating, “We regret to inform you of the passing of Kim Young-dae. We apologize for not being able to contact you directly.”
The cause of death has not been disclosed. His funeral is being held at Chung-Ang University Hospital’s funeral hall, with the ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. on December 27. He will be laid to rest at Seoul Memorial Park’s Peace Shelter.
Kim’s sudden passing shocked many, especially since he had appeared just the day before on CBS Radio’s “Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show” Christmas special alongside Sun Kim.
Born in 1977, Kim Young-dae graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Business Administration. He began his career as a music critic in 2006, co-authoring “50 Iconic Albums of the 1990s”, and earned his Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Washington in 2007.
He gained wider attention in 2012 when Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became a global sensation, explaining the K-pop phenomenon to domestic media. As BTS rose to international fame, including their first Billboard Music Award in 2017, Kim provided critical analysis and insights that drew attention from both domestic and global K-pop fans.
From 2020, Kim served as a commentator for the Billboard Music Awards and the American Music Awards (AMA), and from 2023, he participated as a Korean broadcast panelist for the Grammy Awards. He was also a member of the Korean Music Awards selection committee and a judge for the MAMA Awards.
Throughout his career, he appeared as a guest on shows such as JTBC’s Chainaneun Class and tvN’s Naked World History, and he continued to run his own YouTube channel, Kim Young-dae’s School of Music, until recently. His sudden death leaves a deep void in the K-pop community and music criticism in Korea.
Sources: Daum
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