According to a 2024 survey conducted across 28 countries, over 51 percent of respondents stated that the genre K-pop was “very popular” in their country. The popularity was at the point where K-pop was known to the general public and related products were being sold. The survey found that the popularity of K-pop reaches far beyond South Korean borders. K-pop industryK-pop is a genre of South Korean popular music. Although the term includes music of a variety of stylistic origins, it is often associated with so-called K-pop idols. Idols are usually young individuals, who are known for being good-looking, fashionable, highly trained in singing and dancing, as well as having an almost perfect image. They often make their debut in boy or girl groups, who promote their songs with music videos that feature intense choreographies. The most successful groups are often signed under South Koreas biggest agencies, were they undertake strict training before they make their debut. The K-pop entertainment company with the highest sales revenue in 2024 was HYBE, who manage multiple successful idols and labels, including global stars BTS. K-pop is constantly growingWhile the majority in Western countries have not heard about K-pop before PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ in 2012, Korean pop idols started to become famous in Asian countries in 2003. Singer BoA and boy group TVXQ became the first K-pop idols to successfully break into the Japanese market. With the support of the South Korean government, who saw the industries economic potential, the so-called Korean wave (hallyu) started to spread even further, and K-pop gained a global audience. Girl group BLACKPINK was the first K-pop band to headline the famous U.S. music festival Coachella in 2019. With BTS currently on hiatus due to military obligations, and album sales exploding, SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids have pulled ahead to become the biggest active boy groups in South Korea currently.

In 2024, the best-selling physical music album in South Korea was the EP "SPILL THE FEELS" by K-pop boy group SEVENTEEN, having sold around 3.2 million copies. With many parts of the global music industry moving away from physical sales to digital downloads and streaming, K-pop is a prominent exception. Through a combination of buying incentives, fandom culture, and the increasing popularity of K-pop, the genre has retained its larger focus on physical sales compared to many other genres. Music consumption in South Korea The most common purpose for purchasing physical albums is for collection purposes, and to directly support an artist, rather than utilizing the physical CD to listen to the music. The vast majority of South Koreans listened to music on their smartphones according to a 2024 survey, with CD players only being used by a small share of the population. Music streaming and downloading services are popular and enjoy frequent use. Incentives to buy physical albums One famous example of incentivizing the buying of physical albums that commonly occurs in the U.S. music industry is the bundling of merchandising or concert tickets with physical albums. This is not a common practice in the K-pop industry. Instead, each album offers unique merchandising and photobook concepts. Oftentimes, multiple versions of the same album will be released alongside several randomized collectible photo cards. Additionally, gaining entrance to fan signs is usually based on a lottery system which is entered by purchasing physical albums, with one album equaling one ticket. This phenomenon is mainly confined to the K-pop industry specifically, rather than being a feature of the larger South Korean music industry. As such, successful releases tend to differ between physical and digital rankings, with physical sales reflecting fandom buying power, and digital sales reflecting the taste of the general public. Physical rankings are generally dominated by K-pop artists, while digital rankings tend to be more diverse, with favored genres being ballads, OSTs, and trot music.

The tourism sector GDP share in South Korea was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total 0.6 percentage points. The share is estimated to amount to 2.71 percent in 2028. While the share was forecast to increase significant in the next years, the increase will slow down in the future.Depited is the economic contribution of the tourism sector in relation to the gross domestic product of the country or region at hand.The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the tourism sector GDP share in countries like Japan and China.

The absolute economic contribution of tourism in South Korea was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 16.7 billion U.S. dollars (+35.19 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the economic contribution is estimated to reach 64.3 billion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029. Depited is the economic contribution of the tourism sector in the country or region at hand.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the absolute economic contribution of tourism in countries like China and Japan.