Sayart.net

Jason Yim, yimjongho1969@gmail.com 

Thanks to the popularity of K-pop around the world, South Korea's exports of K-pop albums (real CDs) broke the record last year.

According to the Korea Customs Service's export and import trade statistics, exports of real CDs in Korea last year rose 5.6% year-on-year to $233.113 million (about KRW 300 billion).

Japan was the country where K-pop's real CDs were exported the most, reaching $85.74 million. After Japan, China (51.326 million dollars) and the U.S. (38.877 million dollars) followed.

▲TWICE

In addition to these three countries, many K-pop albums have been exported to the Netherlands, Thailand, Hong Kong, Germany, Indonesia, and France.

Despite the accelerating global economic recession, the increase in K-pop album exports is attributed to the stellar performance of K-pop idol stars and the spread of K-pop popularity around the world through social media such as YouTube and Instagram, diversifying export routes. In fact, only 60 countries exported K-pop albums in 2016, but last year, it more than doubled to 138 countries.

The power of K-pop is having a tremendous impact on the world's real music market. Thanks to the popularity of K-pop, the real music market, which had been shrinking every year, turned upward.

This situation can be easily seen by looking at the U.S. album sales rankings. Recently, the U.S. Billboard magazine announced that there are seven K-pop groups among the top 10 best-selling CD albums in the U.S. in 2022.

▲Black Pink

These included albums by BTS (2nd), TOMORROW X TOGETHER (3rd), Stray Kids (5th, 7th), TWICE (6th), ENHYPEN (8th), and NCT 127 (10th) along with world-class pop stars such as Taylor Swift (1st), Harry Styles (4th), and Beyonce (9th).

Exports of K-pop-related products are expected to continue to grow explosively in the future due to the surprising popularity of K-pop reviving the global music market, which in turn increases Korea's K-pop exports.

It is easy to understand that K-pop products are popular with overseas consumers by looking at keyword searches.

According to global e-commerce platform eBay, K-pop artists are ranked at the top of the list every month in a survey of keyword searches in the category of celebrities' collections.

▲BTS
In fact, K-pop-related keywords swept the top 10 keywords, including No. 1 BTS, No. 2 Espa, and No. 3 Stray Kids, in the eBay search volume rankings in July last year.

Keywords with high sales volume by Korean sellers were also listed at the top of the list, including BTS, NCT Group, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, Espa, and TWICE. In addition to albums, products sold are also diversified into photo cards and goods.

E-commerce experts say, "K-pop's global status has risen significantly, and if it is labeled "K-pop," the value of product sales has risen, making it a clear trend to sell better."