K-pop icon BTS has $3.5 bn impact on Korean economy a year

[Photo by CJ ENM]

K-pop icon BTS contributes more than 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) to the Korean economy a year, given the impact on the value chain over tourism, products, and services riding on the boy group’s global popularity, according to a local institute.

Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) in its report released on Tuesday estimated annual direct and indirect products and services generated by the seven-member boy group at 4.14 trillion won.

The group also can create an annual average of 1.42 trillion won in added value, which is 8.9 times more than that generated by the country’s mid-size companies in 2016. The economic impact value from BTS is also 26 times more than the average of mid-size companies that generated an average of 159.1 billion won in sales.

The institute projected 796,000 foreigners on average visited Korea a year for BTS-related reason since the group’s debut in 2013.

The K-pop sensation also had a significant impact on exports - $1.12 billion since 2013 - with $233.98 million worth in BTS-related clothing and accessories, $426.6 million in cosmetics, and $456.5 million in foodstuffs.

BTS-motivated foreign visitors made up 7.6 percent of tourists to Korea last year and exports bearing the boy band’s name 1.7 percent of consumer exports last year.

The research institute said it analyzed BTS’s contribution to the economy since its debut in July, 2013, by quantifying its popularity in tourism and consumer exports context.

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