BTS’ worldwide popularity is indeed showing how huge the Korean Wave’s cultural impact can be. The group’s economic impact on the Korean economy was announced to be over 5 trillion won (4.2 billion dollars) by the research.
A Korean supermarket located in downtown London is crowded with foreign customers who are looking for Korean products.
This market first opened in 2011, but they recently opened seven more branches after BTS’ popularity in the country resulted as the growth of their sales as well.
There are also a lot of fans who want to visit Korea. Like a pilgrimage, the fans who actually have a trip to Korea take their time to visit various places related to BTS. The restaurant that BTS members often visited during their trainee days became a great tourist attraction.
Last April, about 10,000 international fans visited Gwangju to attend ‘SBS Inkigayo Super Concert’.
The annual number of foreign tourists that BTS attracted is estimated to be more than 800,000. According to recent research, when consumer goods such as clothes and cosmetics are all added, BTS’ economic impact is expected to be over 5.5 trillion won (4.6 billion dollars).
The cultural effect on the global fans to learn Korean language and culture cannot be calculated in monetary term.
Source: SBS Star
