Highlights
- A prominent market analyst suggests that BTS fans could raise South Korea’s GDP by up to 0.35% by 2040.
- BTS-driven tourism could bring in 4.3 million extra visitors and up to $13.4 billion in yearly revenue.
- The analyst also says that BTS and K-pop could shape long-term consumer trends in the same manner Japan’s pop culture boom once did in South Korea.
As anticipation builds over how the upcoming BTS concert in Busan might trigger the regional economy, a wider macroeconomic thesis views youth fandom as a permanent structural asset, not a temporary fad. A report from NH Investment & Securities, cited by the Korea JoongAng Daily, expects that the global BTS fanbase, ARMY, could lift South Korea’s annual GDP by 0.1 to 0.35 percentage by the year 2040 as the demographic matures.
BTS Fans’ Spending Power Could Reshape South Korea’s Economy?
The economic lifecycle of a fandom usually reaches the top when members enter their 30s and 40s. Historically, the Beatles and Michael Jackson shaped Generation X spending, while Beyoncé and Taylor Swift influenced the millennials and Gen Z. As for BTS, they are doing the same for the current generation.
According to statements by NH researcher Jung Yeo-kyung,, 84% of ARMYs worldwide are mostly in their teens or 20s, who possess limited capital to spend immediately. However, as they gain income, their consumption scales through three distinct stages: they move from streaming services, albums, and merchandise to consumer goods like cosmetics, food, and fashion; after that, they finally direct tourism outlays on hotels, restaurants, shopping, and transportation.
BTS Concert Crowd (Image credit: BTS/HYBE/BigHit)
To model the above stated framework, the report uses a 2018 baseline from a Hyundai Research Institute study. The research recorded 800,000 BTS fans visiting South Korea, which represented about 5% of the 20 million global ARMY at the time. Implementing that same 5% conversion rate to the current set of 86.5M fans aged 10 to 29 across emerging Asian and American markets, NH projects an additional influx of 4.3M tourists to the country, on an annual basis. This arrival surge is estimated to generate annual tourism revenue of $3.3 billion USD to $13.4B.
Japan’s Pop Culture Boom Offers a Blueprint for BTS and K-pop’s Impact
This current BTS, or rather K-pop-oriented behavioral trend, has a regional precedent. Since the mid-1980s, Korean consumers have heavily consumed popular Japanese content like Slam Dunk (1990), Pokémon (1996), and One Piece (1997). This cultural attachment remains so strong that even modern K-pop acts actively lean into it. This is exemplified by ENHYPEN’s collaboration with the Pokémon IP for their song One and Only.
This long-term behavioral outcome of South Korea's “J-imprinted generation,” now leads the numbers in regard to outbound travel to Japan. Notably, this cross-country influence had propelled Korean visitors to Japan to 9.46M last year, accounting for 22% of all foreign tourists in the country.
All in all, the cultural preferences formed during adolescent years result in a strong consumption wave that potentially showcases even better results years later. For South Korea, which often deals with fluctuating domestic markets, this K-pop ecosystem acts as an essential long-term cushion.
