On July 26, 2024, BTS‘ Jin (Kim Seok-jin) was reported to have significantly boosted K-pop’s international sales, propelling them to a remarkable KRW 1.23 trillion ($889.12 million). His involvement in the 2024 Paris Olympics torch relay played a pivotal role in this surge, particularly influencing K-pop sales across Europe.
According to Newsian, there was a KRW 315.9 billion increase in foreign K-pop sales from 2023. While Asia remains the largest market for K-pop, accounting for 60.2% (KRW 156.6 billion) of the total overseas streaming revenue, Europe has now surpassed it with a 42.7% share. The US followed with 33.6% of the streaming sales, while Asia recorded a 14.7% share in 2023.
The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute’s report, released on July 24, 2024, titled “K-pop Overseas Sales Trends Seen Through Data,” highlighted that K-pop’s overseas album exports generated KRW 388.9 billion ($281 million) in 2023. This impressive figure was driven by strong album sales from BTS’ solo ventures, Stray Kids‘ ROCK-STAR and 5-STAR albums, LE SSERAFIM, among others. Overseas streaming sales reached over KRW 260.3 billion ($188.1 million), while concert revenues soared to KRW 599.5 billion ($433.4 million). Future projections indicate a 43% annual growth in the US and a 48% increase in Europe.
Despite a 7.6% decline in album sales in 2023, there is optimism for a rebound in 2024. HYBE, BTS’ agency, reported a 72.6% revenue decrease in Q1 2023 due to the group’s mandatory military service. The Korea Customs Service noted a 2% drop in album sales for Q1 2024.
Jin’s return from military service on June 12, 2024, is expected to further boost K-pop’s fortunes. JTBC News reported a rise in HYBE’s share price in anticipation of Jin’s solo album release later this year.
Kim Hye-young from Daol Investment & Securities remarked, “BTS has strengths in terms of performance stability. With BTS Jin discharged from military service in June and an album expected to be released in the fourth quarter, the stock price is likely to rise due to expectations of a full group release.”