‘It’s a perfect case study on how governments should be investing in enabling their people’s creativity, in addition to many other pressing needs.’
IT’S hard to miss BTS, the seven-member South Korean mega group who call themselves “Bangtan Sonyeondan” (literally translated into English as “Bulletproof Boy Scouts.”) BTS is everywhere: billboards, magazines, radio, TV, internet. Their bright faces appear on product endorsements ranging from cars, mobile phones, juice, even coffee. I found myself looking for BTS merchandise as pasalubong for my girlfriends last time I was in Seoul and thought that I had to go out of my way to find it. Turns out I was wrong; socks, shoes, stickers, calendars, keyboards, and all sorts of items that would make any ARMY’s heart flutter were readily available (ARMY is the name of the fans of BTS, an acronym for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth.)
Even if you are not a fan of their music, it’s easy to be fascinated by the phenomenon that is BTS. Beyond the fandom, most non-ARMY folks are surprised to find out that BTS is a big contributor to the South Korean economy, alongside electronics giant Samsung and Korean Air. As of 2019, BTS pulled in an estimated US$5 billion into the South Korean economy, accounting for .5% of the country’s gross domestic product. It’s not just concert sales or merchandise, mind you; around 800,000 tourists visited South Korea in 2017 alone because of BTS. This has not gone unnoticed by the South Korean government, and BTS has been the face of Seoul’s tourism program five years in a row.
Interesting side note: the last time I applied for a tourist visa to South Korea, there was a three-month waiting time for processing. I asked the travel agent why the sudden surge in visa applications (in 2013, the wait was around two weeks) and she smiled and told me: “BTS fans.”
It’s easy to dismiss the K-pop and K-drama wave as a one of the mere passing fancies in entertainment, if you didn’t know that South Korea has been investing in music and the arts for decades, integrating training in music for children as early as elementary school.
They bet on music and the arts as a pillar of economic recovery as far back as 1996 and invested tax money accordingly. In 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism received a budget of over US$4.9 billion for its programs, which included financial support for local filmmakers, cartoonists, and fashion designers to enable them to reach foreign markets. The support has been integral in creative development, allowing Koreans to embrace culture and the arts as a means of earning a livelihood, in a society which previously labored under a strict censorship regime.
That bet has been steadily paying off, not just with groups like BTS but with globally watched productions like Squid Games, Crash Landing on You, Kingdom, and Parasite.
Korean artists now have global followings, encouraging fans to learn Korean in order to get closer to their idols. Fan engagements apps such as Vlive and Weverse have millions of downloads on Google Play and the Apple App store, catering not just to Korean fans but to fans around the world.
The Korean wave is also paving the way for how artists can use technology to engage their fans, beyond the typical social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. In the case of BTS, their random and frequently unannounced live appearances on Weverse or Vlive rack up millions of viewers, providing an unparalleled brand of fan service unheard of in the West.
While there are certainly many techniques that can be adopted by individual artists and creators, the segment that should really be paying attention to these lessons are governments. It’s a perfect case study on how governments should be investing in enabling their people’s creativity, in addition to many other pressing needs. One outstanding lesson: when a government invests in its people, the return is inevitable.
