K-Pop 'Jikgwan' Expected to Reach 11 Million... Surpassing Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, and Volleyball Attendance

Hyundai Motor Securities 2023 Second Half K-pop Industry Report
Trend of 11 Million, an 86% Increase from Last Year
'BLACKPINK' 'TWICE' 'aespa' and Other Female Power

Tens of thousands of ‘Candybong (TWICE light sticks)’ brightly illuminated the SoFi Stadium in California, USA. The 50,000 spectators filling the venue cheered for TWICE. Following BTS in 2021, TWICE became the second K-pop artist to perform at SoFi Stadium, known as the world’s most expensive stadium with a construction cost of 7 trillion won. The concert took place on the 10th (local time). SoFi Stadium hosted last year’s Super Bowl (NFL championship game) and serves as the home stadium for the NFL’s Rams and Chargers. This is the first time a girl group has sold out SoFi Stadium worldwide.

K-pop is also setting new records in the concert sector. On the 12th, Hyundai Motor Securities released a report titled ‘2023 Second Half K-pop Industry Outlook,’ stating, “This year’s K-pop concert attendance is expected to reach a record high of 11 million, an 86% increase (5.92 million) compared to 2022.” This figure surpasses the combined annual attendance of Korea’s four major professional sports (baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball) in 2022, which was 8,097,043. The report noted that attendance in the first half of the year has already reached 5.5 million. May’s attendance of 1.34 million exceeded the previous monthly record of 1.25 million set in December 2017. K-pop’s share of the global concert market is projected to rise from 3.5% last year to 5.3% this year.

‘Female Power’ Driving Concert Growth

Unlike the past when male idols dominated, girl groups with strong box office appeal are now driving growth in the K-pop concert market. This is due to the emergence of girl groups capable of filling stadiums (over 50,000 seats). The K-pop artist expected to attract the largest audience this year is the girl group BLACKPINK, with approximately 1.5 million attendees. Their ongoing world tour (40 shows) from last year through August this year has generated $164 million (about 209 billion won), setting the world record for a single girl group tour. Upcoming venues include France’s largest concert hall, Stade de France, with 80,000 seats, and the United States’ MetLife Stadium.

TWICE is also expected to draw 920,000 attendees through their world tour this year. TWICE has steadily increased their overseas popularity over their eight years since debut. The sold-out SoFi Stadium is a result of this. In Japan, they enjoyed top-tier popularity, attracting 220,000 attendees over four shows at Osaka’s Yanmar Stadium last month. The ‘4th generation idol’ girl group aespa, with less than three years since debut, is also expected to attract 350,000 attendees through their tour this year.

Combined Annual Revenue of Four Major Entertainment Companies Expected to Reach 4 Trillion Won

Many analyses suggest a ‘trickle-down effect’ following BTS’s emergence. Until 2019, BTS was the only artist to have ranked in the Billboard 200 ‘Top 5,’ but now there are nine groups. Thanks to this attention, the number of K-pop artists capable of arena-level tours (10,000 to 20,000 seats) in North America has surged from four in 2021 to twelve this year. Groups not affiliated with the four major entertainment companies (HYBE, SM, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment), such as MAMAMOO and ATEEZ, are also capable of arena-level tours.

By company, HYBE is expected to lead with 2.65 million concert attendees this year, followed by SM (2.2 million), JYP (2.15 million), and YG (2 million). The projected K-pop album sales for this year are a record-breaking 115 million copies. Through the combined momentum of concerts and album sales, the four major entertainment companies are expected to achieve a combined annual revenue of 4.03 trillion won and an operating profit of 641.8 billion won, both all-time highs. These figures represent increases of 19.8% and 36.2%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Concert revenue accounts for 603.5 billion won, representing 14.9% of the total.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.