"There are no national groups"... K-pop has become a global mainstream, but why does the domestic perception remain low?

While K-pop is establishing itself as a mainstream of global culture and expanding its global market, an analysis has emerged that its point of contact with the domestic public has changed from the past. The current status and changing patterns of the K-pop industry were covered in Moneygraphy's talk content, featuring music critic Jo Hye-rim, Hwi-min of the producing team GroovyRoom, and K-pop fan Lee Han-ju.

"From Stadiums to Fan Meetings"... Performance scale as an indicator of success

'Performance scale' was mentioned as a key indicator to gauge the revenue structure of the K-pop industry and the status of artists. K-pop is an industry that generates major revenue through concert sales and album sales. Producer Hwi-min explained that the market is divided into 'stadium' level artists who fill stadiums, such as BTS or Stray Kids, the 'arena' level below them, and the mid-sized artists below that.

In particular, the scale of the venue was presented as a specific indicator symbolizing an artist's success. Filling the KSPO DOME is considered an indicator of great success, and it was mentioned that in cases where the fandom is very strong, even a fan meeting alone can fill the KSPO DOME. On the other hand, concerns were raised that if artists between the first and second tier stagnate at the arena-level scale, the flow of the industry could change depending on the emergence of next-generation stars.

K-pop becomes global mainstream, but faces barriers to entry domestically due to 'fragmentation of taste'

A major topic was that although K-pop has been incorporated into mainstream culture in the global market, the influence felt by the domestic public is different from the past. Critic Jo Hye-rim expressed regret over the disappearance of 'national groups' or 'national songs' that the entire nation sings along to, as in the first-generation idol era. In the past, songs at the top of charts on specific platforms like Melon led popular trends, but the analysis suggests that the market has become segmented due to changes in platforms and the strengthening of fandoms.

This change is coupled with the growth of platforms that reflect individual tastes, such as YouTube Music and Spotify. As users consume songs in a more segmented way that fits their own tastes, it has become difficult for the phenomenon of a specific song being consumed by the entire public at the same time. In this process, as fandom-centered consumption strengthens, an 'optical illusion' occurs where groups with powerful fandoms gain great popularity by holding large-scale performances abroad, but their influence is not reflected on domestic music charts.

K-pop becomes a system, the task of proving an artist's authenticity

The definition of K-pop is also changing. It was suggested that while it used to mean a specific music genre, it is currently understood as a 'systemic industry' encompassing the entire process from the trainee system to distribution and investment. In this process, 'authenticity' was cited as the task that artists must undertake. Within the idol-centered market structure, how artists will prove their own musical color remains an important task.

The way fans consume has also changed. K-pop fan Lee Han-ju defined the core of K-pop fandom as the process of developing affection for the artist themselves and learning about their relationships. Compared to the past, the economic activities of fandoms have become more concrete, such as larger album purchase units or following overseas tours, but it was emphasized that the relationship between artists and fans can only be sustained if visuals and musicality are supported.

Source: original video (YouTube)