Wealthier international fans reshape power dynamics in K-pop

SEOUL – With K-pop boy band

BTS’ full-group comeback

less than two weeks away, Chinese fan communities have recently announced large-scale promotional campaigns that will dominate some of Seoul’s most visible digital billboards.

Jungkook’s official Chinese fan club said it will broadcast a congratulatory video for the singer’s comeback on the 60m landmark megascreen at the Koreana Hotel in central Seoul from March 20 to 22.

Chinese fan club Baidu V Bar has planned an even larger campaign for V, securing the massive LUUX digital billboard on the exterior of the Dong-A Media Center in Gwanghwamun, where the video will run 70 times from early morning until midnight on March 21.

While the exact costs are undisclosed, industry estimates suggest Jungkook’s fan club spent between 30 million won (S$26,000) and 45 million won over three days. V’s fan club is believed to have purchased a high-frequency “one-day special package”, costing roughly 20 million to 35 million won for a single day.

As fan support campaigns increasingly reach tens of millions of won, the influence of fandoms from wealthier markets has grown. Their power extends beyond advertising projects to album purchases, merchandise sales and concert attendance.

In that sense, South Korean fans – despite being based in K-pop’s home country – often lag behind Chinese and Japanese fans in terms of direct spending power. Financial influence has, in many ways, placed fans in those countries on a more parallel footing with what was once the dominant fan base.

Data from Luminate shows South Korean music, including K-pop, ranked fourth in the global streaming market in 2025 – an indicator that influence over key industry metrics has increasingly shifted towards international audiences.

“South Korean fans are slowly losing power because the opportunities for K-pop to make money are outside South Korea, especially touring, which is far more lucrative than other activities,” said Dr Mathieu Berbiguier, a visiting assistant professor in Korean Studies at Carnegie Mellon University.

“In the end, it’s capitalism. Companies ultimately have to consider where the financial gains are.”

Data released earlier in 2026 by Korea Customs Service and Circle Chart show that Japan remained the largest export market for K-pop in 2025, accounting for US$80.6 million (S$102 million) in music exports.

China ranked second with US$69.7 million, followed by the combined US and European markets with about US$64 million.

Japan remains the industry’s most lucrative market due to premium streaming subscriptions and high-priced concert tours, though growth has slowed. China, meanwhile, recorded a 16.6 per cent year-on-year increase in sales, driven largely by organised fan communities known as “bars” that coordinate bulk purchases of albums and merchandise.

By reclaiming second place in export rankings ahead of the US, China has re-emerged as a major cash-generating market that K-pop companies cannot afford to ignore.

The ability to run promotional campaigns worth tens of millions of won in the heart of Seoul demonstrates both the scale of Chinese fans’ economic power and the growing influence they hold in the industry today.

Despite this shift, South Korean fans continue to wield significant influence in other ways. They dominate music show voting, streaming on domestic platforms and participation in broadcast events.

While international fandoms help expand the industry’s financial scale through streaming numbers and global tours, South Korean fans often exert influence through public pressure – including truck protests, wreath demonstrations and coordinated online campaigns that can directly affect a company’s reputation.

One example came in August 2024, when BTS member Suga was involved in a drink driving incident involving an electric scooter that sparked a clash of values between South Korean and international fans.

Many South Korean fans demanded his departure from the group, arguing that drink driving is widely regarded in South Korean society as a serious crime akin to a “potential act of murder”. Protest trucks and wreath displays were sent to Hybe’s headquarters in Seoul.

International fans, however, strongly opposed the idea, emphasising BTS’s longstanding message that the group is complete only with all seven members. Their support ultimately helped maintain the group’s line-up as BTS prepares to return as a full group.

“I think sometimes South Korean fans feel a bit hopeless when they believe companies will cater more to wherever the money is,” Dr Berbiguier said. “It happens a lot in Japan as well. K-pop companies create more merchandise and concerts there because they know fans will spend more.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK