K-pop has reached unprecedented heights on the global stage, with sold-out stadium tours across the world, as well as historic Grammy nominations. However, in South Korea, many believe that the music they once cherished now feels targeted at a different audience.
For fans like 21-year-old university student Lee Ye-jin, this change is evident whenever she tunes into the radio or browses new releases on her phone.
Lee has been a member of “Light” – the official fan club of popular boy band Highlight – since 2016. Formerly known as Beast, the chart-topping group was part of K-pop’s so-called second generation, sharing the spotlight with icons such as Big Bang, Girls’ Generation and Wonder Girls: products of the 2000s golden era.
While countless new acts have debuted since, Lee said she has yet to discover any worthy of her adulation.
“It’s a bit tricky to still call these groups K-pop,” she said. “If you listen to their lyrics or look at their names, it’s all in English now.”
Like many long-time fans, Lee misses the “K-pop formula”: songs with a distinct bridge that build tension before launching into a catchy chorus.
Her nostalgia is shared by other domestic K-pop fans who feel increasingly sidelined as agencies chase bigger profits overseas. Industry watchers say that this global focus is altering not just K-pop’s sound, but also the way its idols are marketed.
Hybe, the entertainment conglomerate behind BTS, now carries a market value of about US$8.45 billion. Other labels watched BTS’s success and adopted Hybe’s system, Kim said.
The result is that K-pop has secured a permanent place in global pop culture. BTS has six No 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, Blackpink’s Rose is a Grammy nominee for “APT” and Stray Kids’ latest world tour grossed an estimated US$260 million.
But back home, global fame does not shine as bright. Despite international acclaim, Stray Kids have been criticised for lacking a domestic hit, while K-pop tracks appear less frequently at the top of local charts.
In the latest Circle Chart digital rankings, only four K-pop songs were in the top 10. Not long ago, groups under top agencies, such as NMIXX’s JYP Entertainment, were virtually guaranteed chart-toppers with every release; today, even highly anticipated singles may linger on the charts for just weeks or days – if they chart at all.
As global streaming platforms such as Spotify and YouTube grow in influence, domestic charts have lost some weight as measures of success. Kim argued that what he calls “national groups” – acts with truly widespread appeal across generations of Koreans – have largely disappeared.
