Kpop group BTS pose for pictures upon their arrival for ‘BTS The Comeback Dwell Arirang’ live performance in central Seoul, South Korea, on March 21, 2026.
Handout | By way of Reuters
On Friday, tens of hundreds of BTS followers will descend on Busan, South Korea, because the seven-member group levels its second cease within the nation as a part of their world-spanning Arirang tour.
They are going to arrive with mild sticks, banners and tickets — and cash to spend.
Popular culture making an financial influence just isn’t new. The time period “Swiftnomics” turned shorthand for the influence of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which stuffed resorts, eating places, and stadiums all over the world.
Now, South Korean brokerage NH Securities has a time period for BTS: Bangtan-nomics, a portmanteau of “Bangtan,” from the group’s identify in Korean, and “economics.”
NH described the fan spending pathway like this: on-line fandom first turns into streaming, albums and merchandise, earlier than widening into Korean magnificence, meals, trend and finally tourism.
In a Might 21 word, the brokerage mentioned 84% of worldwide ARMY — BTS’ fanbase — are of their teenagers and twenties. As they get older and purchase extra spending energy, these followers may then come to Korea and contribute to its economic system by way of tourism spending.
In truth, NH predicts that by 2040, BTS fan spending may contribute as much as 0.35 share factors per yr to South Korea’s GDP.
To place a quantity to that, 0.35% of South Korea’s 2024 nominal GDP is about $6.58 billion, in accordance with CNBC’s calculations.
Some early numbers for “Bangtan-nomics” are promising. South Korean media, citing authorities knowledge, mentioned followers who got here for the primary BTS live performance in April had been more likely to keep longer and spend greater than vacationers who didn’t come for a live performance.
That is supported by a 2019 paper by Pyun Ju Hyun, professor of worldwide enterprise and economics at Korea College. Pyun discovered that BTS live shows held in South Korea attracted many overseas vacationers, producing extra spending within the nation.
Pyun’s paper, despatched to CNBC, surveyed overseas live performance attendees in Seoul, and located that 98% mentioned they deliberate to revisit Seoul inside the subsequent 5 years. Two-thirds mentioned they deliberate to revisit Seoul 5 or extra occasions inside the subsequent 5 years.
For the live shows in Busan, demand for lodging spiked a lot that the town’s authorities needed to step in to curb worth gouging amongst retailers and open up extra venues to accommodate the huge inflow of followers.
Forecasting influence
Whereas it is affordable to count on BTS and the broader Hallyu wave to contribute to GDP, it’s “overly simplistic” to imagine this trajectory is assured, mentioned Natalia Grincheva, affiliate professor within the Faculty of Artistic Industries at Lasalle Singapore.
Geopolitics is one threat. In 2016, China imposed a so-called “delicate ban” on Korean cultural exports after Seoul deployed the U.S. THAAD anti-ballistic missile system, limiting performances from Ok-pop teams in nainland China.
Additionally, fan conduct is primarily pushed by emotional attachments, that are inherently unstable, Grincheva mentioned.
“[While NH’s] mannequin affords a believable trajectory, any credible forecast should account for these non-linear, disruptive elements relatively than assuming a clean financial pipeline from youth fandom to mature spending,” she mentioned.
Nonetheless, that does not imply Bangtan-nomics is imaginary.
Alongside South Korean movie, tv, magnificence and meals, it may contribute financial energy for a very long time, in accordance with Jonathan McClory, managing companion at Sanctuary Counsel and a soft-power specialist.
BTS is a “very profitable a part of a really profitable ecosystem,” he mentioned.
