BLACKPINK's Lisa to India's Sriya: The Rise of K-Pop Global Star

In the high-stakes world of pop music, K-pop has unleashed its new secret weapon: a global army of stars who are anything but Korean. This isn't just about diversity; it's a multi-billion-dollar strategy that's changing the face of music forever.

The latest proof? A new girl group named Katseye, backed by BTS’s agency HYBE. Based in Los Angeles, its six members come from the Philippines, Switzerland, South Korea, and the US. They are the face of a new reality where the "K" in K-pop signifies a global system, not a nationality.

What started as a distinctly South Korean cultural phenomenon has morphed into a global hit-making formula, a replicable, exportable system for manufacturing pop superstars, regardless of their passport. This is the story of how K-pop broke down its own borders.

From Seoul To The World: A Strategic Evolution

It wasn’t always this way. Early K-pop was fiercely domestic. But as the "Hallyu Wave" began to swell, agencies had a brilliant idea: to conquer a market, why not recruit from it?

The strategy began with trailblazers. In 2005, Han Geng from China debuted with Super Junior, acting as a crucial bridge to the massive Chinese market. A few years later, 2 PM introduced Nichkhun, a Thai-American member whose immense popularity in Southeast Asia opened the floodgates to an entire region. 

He wasn’t just a bandmate; he was a cultural ambassador who secured endorsements and media deals that made his group a household name across Thailand.

The formula was a runaway success. Soon, it became standard practice. EXO launched with Chinese members like Lay Zhang, GOT7 debuted with talent from Hong Kong, Thailand (BamBam), and the US, and NCT brought in talent like Mark Lee from Canada. 

And then came the juggernauts. BLACKPINK exploded onto the global scene with Thailand's Lisa and New Zealand's Rosé, while TWICE captured the hearts of Japan with its "J-Line"—Momo, Sana, and Mina—and Taiwan with Tzuyu. For any group with global ambitions, an all-Korean lineup suddenly seemed like a relic of the past. 

The Indian Connection: A New Frontier

Today, we're in a borderless era where the groundbreaking group BLACKSWAN features no Korean members at all. Its lineup includes Sriya from India, Fatou from Senegal-Belgium, Gabi from Brazil, and NVee from the U.S. This proves that "K-Pop" now stands for the brutally effective Korean training system above all else.

India, once a distant market, is now part of the creative process. When Sriya Lenka from Odisha became the first Indian K-pop star with BLACKSWAN in 2022, it sparked a surge in fan participation and prompted major agencies to actively scout the region for the next global star.

The Billion-Dollar Bet That Paid Off

This global strategy is about cold, hard cash. The global K-pop events market was valued at $13.28 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit nearly $23.69 billion by 2032. This explosive growth has turned South Korea into the world's 6th largest music market, with K-pop being hailed as the nation’s "greatest export".

While the rest of the world moved to streaming, K-pop fans kept buying physical albums, mostly from overseas. Album exports surged from $40 million in 2017 to over $233.1 million in 2022. The biggest buyers? Japan, followed by a rapidly growing United States. In fact, in 2024, seven of the top 10 best-selling CDs in the U.S. were by K-pop acts like Stray Kids.

While these album sales are impressive, it's on the road where the industry generates its most staggering profits. BLACKPINK's "Born Pink World Tour" became the highest-grossing tour by an Asian act in history, raking in an incredible $330 million from 1.8 million fans across 66 shows. TWICE isn’t far behind, with their "Ready to Be World Tour" earning over $170 million. For both groups, their biggest, most profitable shows weren't in Seoul but in places like Kuala Lumpur and Yokohama.

The success is so profound that HYBE generated a record $507.5 million in revenue in 2025, even while its flagship group, BTS, was on military hiatus. The new model, built on a diverse portfolio of globally popular groups, is working.

Faces of the New K-Pop Nation

Behind the data are the superstars who make it all possible. They aren't just band members; they're multinational brands.

Lisa (BLACKPINK)

Arguably the most famous Thai person on the planet, Lalisa Manobal is a cultural phenomenon with over 100 million Instagram followers. Her solo debut shattered sales records, and she became the first K-pop solo artist to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify. As a global ambassador for luxury giants like Celine and Bulgari, her brand is pure global power.

Jackson Wang (GOT7)

The Hong Kong-born star used his K-pop fame to launch TEAM WANG, a business empire in China that includes a record label and a luxury streetwear brand, generating an estimated $115 million in 2023.

TWICE's J-Line: The inclusion of Momo, Sana, and Mina was a stroke of genius. Their fluency in Japanese created an instant bond with fans, helping TWICE sell over 20 million albums globally and become the highest-grossing female touring act. 

The Dark Side Of A Global Dream

While the rewards are immense, the path for a non-Korean idol is uniquely challenging. Foreign trainees must master the notoriously difficult Korean language while enduring gruelling training schedules. 

The disparity can also be financial; Sorn, a Thai member of the former group CLC, revealed she was paid significantly less than her Korean bandmates. Worse still is the xenophobia. 

Even a global superstar like Lisa has faced vicious online attacks from some Korean netizens targeting her Thai heritage—a cruel paradox where idols are celebrated internationally for the diversity that makes them a target at home.

A Tale of Two Fandoms

This global push has created a fascinating split in the K-pop world. A new wave of "export-orientated" groups like Stray Kids and ATEEZ have become global sensations, selling out stadiums in Los Angeles and Paris while remaining relatively lesser-known in South Korea.

The Korean music market is small and hyper-competitive. According to Luminate, a staggering 60% of Stray Kids’ streams come from outside Asia, with the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil being their top markets. 

For many groups, it’s a smarter strategy to target overseas fans from day one. A group no longer needs to conquer Korea to build a wildly successful career.

What Does the 'K' in K-Pop Mean Now?

The journey of the non-Korean idol is the story of K-pop's stunning transformation from a national product to a global system. The industry has perfected a blueprint for creating pop stars, and it's now exporting that blueprint worldwide.

As fully localised groups like Japan's NiziU and America's Katseye become the norm, the lines will only continue to blur. Can a group be "K-pop" if it has no Korean members? The answer is becoming clearer every day. The "K" no longer just stands for a country; it stands for a method. And it may be that K-pop's most enduring export won't be the music but the very formula for making it.