• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.13-25
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• 2019

Since reaching the top in the Billboard Main Album Chart 'Billboard 200' with Love Yourself: Tear in May of 2018, BTS once again took first place after just three months in the 'Billboard 200'(September 3, 2018) with the repackaged album Love Yourself: Answer. It opened the doors to the 'Hallyu 4.0' by conquering the main Billboard Chart with a song sung in Korean. BTS rose to the top on the 'Billboard 200' twice, thus being recognized globally for their musical talent(song, dance, promotion, etc.), and took their place in the mainstream music market of the world. BTS moved away from intuitive interaction such as mysticism, abnormality, irregularity, etc. but instead created their own world(BTS Universe) with fans around the world through two-directional communication such as consensus, sharing and co-existence. They are recognized as artists that went beyond being an idol group that simply released a few hit songs that had now elevated popular music to a new form of art. In result, they retained a highly loyal global fan base(A.R.M.Y.) and they are continuously creating good influence with them. This study analyzed the success factors of BTS using the S-M-C-R-E model as follows. ① Sender: BTS'7-person 7-colors fantasy and 'All-in-one storytelling' strategy of producer Bang Shi-hyuk ② Message: Create global consensus of 'you' rather than 'me' ③ Channel: Created real-time common grounds with global fans through social network platforms such as Youtube, Facebook and Instagram ④ Receiver: Formed highly loyal global fandom(A.R.M.Y.) that extends outside of Korea and Asia ⑤ Effect: Created additional economic value and spread good influence

• 한국생활과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.184-185
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• 2010

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.291-302
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• 2020

Korean popular music industry, which is lead by "Idol group", has forsaken their fandom all over the world. Therefore, idol groups has become not only an artist but also the most influential people in the Korean economy. A global idol group with a strong fandom can earn more than a trillion-dollar by attracting their global fan's interest in Korea. In other words, it is considerably important to carry the idol to a successful conclusion. This study tries to expect whether the idols can be survived or not at a certain point after their debut by ANN, Decision Tree, Random Forest. We decide that certain point as the three-year and eight-year after their debut, because it is their break-even point year and the year after their average renewal of the contract. In addition, this study also explains which feature is the most important to their survival by feature importance and Logistic regression. In conclusion, features like the number of idol competitors, the number of debut members and the number of the genre are significant. These results shed light on the efficient management of K-Pop idol to improve industrial competitiveness.

• Journal of Public Diplomacy
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aims to discover how the spread of K-POP and the diversification of the Korean Wave affects Korea's national reputation. K-POP stars are diversifying their interactions with fandom by creating an online space to consume various products and services related to their stars and engage in fan activities. Because of this, this study aims to examine the relevance of K-POP to national reputation through a parasocial relationship with K-POP stars by fandom forming a community and utilizing media. Methods: An online survey was conducted in English using the Amazon survey company Mechanical Turk for BTS fans living in the United States. A total of 195 people's data, excluding incomplete responses, were used for the analysis. Results: It was found that BTS fans' social media participation activities themselves did not directly affect Korea's national reputation. But the mediating effect of BTS fans' parasocial relationship was found. That is, BTS fans' social media participation activities had a positive effect on their parasocial relationships with BTS which in turn had a positive effect on their national reputation. Conlusions: The use and participation of BTS fans in social media in Korea's national reputation has no significant effect on itself, but it has been found that it affects the national reputation through forming parasocial relationships. From the study results, the parasocial relationship of K-POP fans can be used as a strategic mechanism to enhance the national image and Korea's national reputation.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.327-328
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• 2012

본 연구의 목적은 TV드라마 출연 여성 아이돌스타의 스타 마케팅 기법과 이에 따른 수용자의 선호유형을 분석해 보는 것이다. 아이돌 스타의 TV방송 드라마 출연은 최근 유행처럼 빠르게 번지고 있다. 철저한 스타마케팅 차원에서 고려된 것이기는 하지만 남성아이돌 스타와 다르게 여성 아이돌 스타가 방송 드라마에서 차지하는 비중은 상대적으로 아직까지 매우 미약한 수준에 그치고 있다. 이는 드라마 소비계층의 차별적 요인도 있겠지만 전반적 여성 아이돌 스타에 대한 수용자들의 인식이 남성 아이돌과는 다른 방식으로 작용한다는 것을 의미하기도 하다. 따라서 본 연구는 남성 아이돌 스타와 차별화된 여성 스타에 대한 수용자 인식유형과 이에 따른 팬덤현상을 주관성 연구방법인 Q방법론을 중심으로 분석해 볼 것이다.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.79-101
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• 2021

With the steady rise in global popularity of the Korean music group BTS, the South Korean government and surrounding industries have swiftly begun utilizing their image and international recognition for specific nation branding purposes. While K-pop soft power strategies are not novel to the South Korean state, what is new is the rapid speed at which BTS have become a beacon for South Korean culture, language, and symbolism in the international arena. However, few scholarly works have sought to investigate the role fans have played in this heightened position for the group as state representatives, with minimal research conducted into the work fans do within the framework of ARMY fan culture. This paper will thus aim to fill the gap in scholarship on ARMY as an organized labour network, focusing on the role fans play as labourers in online spaces that work to promote, disseminate, and cultivate wider recognition for BTS as artists. Through the conjunct engagement of a political economy framework and theories of participatory culture, this paper will explore the manner through which the free labour of ARMY, premised on affect, has constructed the fandom as active agents of soft power alongside BTS themselves.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.103-116
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• 2021

This research outlines the motivations behind the fan-lead marketing and promotional endeavours undertaken by musical group BTS's fan community, also known as ARMY. In highlighting the reciprocity in intimacy between the group and their fans, I argue that ARMY's desire to elevate BTS is embedded within structures of affect, despite the financial nature of the benefits the group and their company may reap. These fan-lead initiatives represent efforts towards a common goal, where success, whether it comes in the form of money or not, is a gift of gratitude and a show of mutual understanding from fans to BTS. Based on data from 22 interviews with fans, this research explores the motivations behind fan-lead marketing by looking at the affective properties of music consumption, the parasocial relationship, fan community dynamics, and the purchase of intimacy. Within these contexts, the promotion surrounding BTS's music, as organized by the fans, mimics profit-oriented behaviours but is ultimately a gesture towards the exchange of intimacy between fans and artist.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.117-149
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• 2021

Over seven years, BTS have organically embedded consistent mental health messaging and modelling of various mental health modalities, representing innovation within mental health discourse, within and outside the pop and K-pop culture and fandom. Their personal and artistic journeys have resulted in songs, imagery, and relationship dynamics within the group and within and between their fans ARMY, that organically model behaviours associated with mental health therapeutic modalities and normalize the discussion of mental health and well-being. This practice is vitally important in the effort to end stigma and encourage mental health well-being and recovery. BTS's authenticity establishes empathy with their audience ARMY and increases their ability to deliver these messages effectively. This includes fostering the creation of a peer support community within the group that extends to their fanbase ARMY, and from which fan-created mental health programs have emerged. BTS's innovation will be explored by examining content creation throughout their career, illustrating their consistent and organic messaging, culminating in overt and conscious mental health content in their latest album BE, which was released three weeks after the initial paper was presented, and provides proof of concept.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.119-126
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• 2023

This study explores the convergence of metaverse and short-form content, proposing a new approach for viewing short-form content with a vertical aspect ratio on a metaverse platform and within a virtual museum. Short-form content has gained popularity due to the snack culture and is proving to be advantageous in e-commerce. By studying the relationship between vertical ratio screens and gaze, we confirm the effectiveness of vertical ratio short-form content in providing immersive experiences and fostering sharing and communication. The proposed virtual museum offers opportunities for innovative businesses to market through fandom. This research highlights the value of vertical proportion short-form content and its significance in the convergence of metaverse and short-form content. It aims to contribute to industry development, provide new creative directions, enhance personal visual experiences, and expand applicability in related fields.

• Trans-
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• v.12
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• pp.173-222
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• 2022

This thesis examines the 'universe' acceptance phenomenon, currently used as a content strategy in the K-pop field, from the perspective of K-pop audiences, and then attempts to identify their experience of acceptance and the meaning of the universe. For this, tweets related to the universe acceptance experience of Aespa, the group utilizing the universe as a content strategy the most actively, were collected, and this data was analyzed according to a phenomenological approach, an approach to explore the structure of personal experience and the essence of a phenomenon. As a result of analyzing using Moustakas' method, the semantic structure of the universe acceptance phenomenon of K-pop audiences was derived based on 21 thematic units. It was found that current K-pop audiences are experiencing active cultural consumption rather than unilateral or passive through acceptance of the universe. This means that K-pop audiences have the characteristics of active audiences that produce meaning, interact with other fans, and exert influence on outside of community. At the same time, these characteristics affect acceptance of the universe. Simultaneously, through active acceptance experience, it is found that K-pop audiences give a new meaning in the K-pop universe, as "marketing assets", "fandom community assets", and "K-pop industry expansion assets." Among them, the recognition of 'marketing assets' was reaffirmed as a basis for supporting related previous studies. In addition, it derived the new values of the universe in the K-pop field by discovering the meaning of "fandom's specific assets" and "assets of the K-pop industry for expansion". These meanings had not been found that previous studies from the producers' point of view. And then, for the purpose of expanding the value of the universe in the future, it was discussed the direction of the new meaning of the universe. Finally, this study is meaningful in that it revealed the semantic structure of the universe acceptance phenomenon and discovered a new meaning of the universe in the K-pop field. Additionally, it was intended to contribute to expanding the field of research by suggesting various follow-up studies from various perspectives.