kpop1-2, Exercise 1: Trot

Model answer:

Name: a shortened form of "foxtrot", the ballroom dance that influenced trot's simple two-beat rhythm. Apart from the rhythm, the article says the two share no other notable characteristics.
Rhythm: two-beat (duple); early trot often used the pentatonic scale and minor keys, with the ornament kkeokk-ki ("flexing") between notes.
Lyrics: mostly love and parting, and longing for a sweet home; the article suggests the sadness may come from the "colonial tragedy" or from the older Korean tradition of deep sorrow (han), and it names the "new stream" (sinpa) theatre from Japan as an influence.
The Yun Sim-deok article calls her 1926 recording "Hymn of Death" the first "popular" (yuhaeng changga) Korean song.

Caution: trot's Japanese connection is sensitive, and the article only says the genre was "influenced by" Korean, Japanese, American and European music. It does not settle which came first, so a careful writer reports it in the same cautious way.

Sources: Wikipedia, Trot (music); Yun Sim-deok.