how South Korean boy band BTS became one of the most influential (and highest-grossing) bands in the world

Lost in a mass of teenagers in front of the Accor Arena, Sylvie October prepared her earplugs and planned to check her emails. She accompanies her daughter and a friend to the Parisian BTS concert in October 2018, but knows nothing about this K-pop group, a musical style from South Korea. that appeals to younger generations. “BTS, for me, was a diploma. Yet ten minutes after the start of the concert, I was up dancing”assures the researcher in the Department of Foresight Studies and Statistics of the Ministry of Culture, co-author with Vincenzo Cicchelli of the book K-pop, soft power and global culture (Puff, 2022).

Like Sylvie October, Western audiences were able to be wary of the arrival of this boy band bringing together seven young Koreans: Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook. Ten years after its creation, BTS has nevertheless established itself as one of the most popular groups on the planet. Some 400,000 people celebrated their birthdays in Seoul in mid-June, reports Billboard. For the occasion, the septuor unveiled a new unreleased: take twoOr “second take” in French. A nod to the second chapter of their career, which opens with the release, on Sunday July 9, of memoirs telling the backstage of their rise, Beyond the Story: 10 years of BTS memories (Threshold).

However, BTS’s “Chapter 1” got off to a modest start. When the record company Big Hit Entertainment (now renamed Hybe) launched the castings to create its group, in 2013, K-pop was already flooding the charts of South Korea and part of Asia. three large majors compete for the market: SM, JYP and YG. “BTS is born into a record company that is a dwarf in the business”, recounts Sylvie October. The competition recruits young teenagers, and trains them years before forming groups. big-hit focuses on older artists, born between 1992 and 1997, from the middle or working classes.

The “sounding board” of young people’s aspirations

In an industry where artists need to be able to display themselves on glossy paper, or on the walls of their fans’ bedrooms, BTS makes sure to cultivate a sharp style of clothing. Nor is there any question of fueling controversy or attracting criticism from the Korean press. If its members follow many K-pop codes (dance and singing training, precise choreography, cohabitation in the same apartment to strengthen cohesion…), Big Hit looking for another formula for the group, more authentic.

“They are the first to upload behind-the-scenes videos of their daily lives or their performances, and to communicate directly with their fans on social networks, reveals Michelle Hyun Kim, American journalist and music critic. That creates a personal connection with the public and a new mode of marketing: now, this form of promotion has become the norm in K-pop.”

The seven Koreans can also rely on “a higher level of skills other groups, says Sylvie October. “J-Hope was in an urban dance troupe, RM and Suga were already writing songs…BTS came up with their own musical identity, inspired by 1990s hip-hop”details Michelle Huyn Kim. When other K-pop groups content to perform songs created for them by international composers, BTS enjoys unprecedented freedom in the creative process. And this is reflected in the topics covered: social and academic pressure, economic difficulties, differences with past generations…

“They hold a discourse in line with the difficulties encountered by young people, their fears about the contraction of the labor market, the environment, the future. And they encourage them to regain hope.”

Sylvie October, sociologist

at franceinfo

BTS advocates this message all the way to the UN podium, where it is twice invited to speak on the subject of youth. “I want to hear your voices and your convictions, declares RM, the leader of the group. No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin color or your gender, express yourself. Find your name and find your voice by expressing yourself.” Then it is to the White House that Joe Biden invites them, in 2022, to talk about the fight against anti-Asian racism in the United States. “Members, like rappers RM and Suga, have said they don’t necessarily feel qualified to be cultural ambassadors. But they take that role very seriously.”decrypts Michelle Huyn Kim.

This desire is reflected in the very name of the group. BTS is “the acronym of Bangtan Sonyeondan, which can be translated as ‘protect young people from social prejudice and oppression’“, specifies Hee-Kuyng Lee, sociologist and creator of the Sociopoétik publishing house, specializing in popular arts in South Korea. words touch a young generation in search of landmarks. The Seven Koreans, “compared by the magazine Times to the Beatles”know how to be “soundboard” aspirations of young people, notes Vincenzo Cicchelli, teacher-researcher in sociology at the University of Paris-Cité. “But there is also a talent that remains inexplicable”judges the expert.

“A forerunner for the K-pop industry”

This talent is exported well beyond the expectations of Big Hit and BTS. According to New Yorkerthe group now has fans (a community nicknamed “Army”, mostly young and female) in a hundred countries. “From the start, Big Hit aims to expand BTS’s success abroad: South Korea represents only a tiny part of the audience, and therefore of the potential income”, says Michelle Hyun Kim. The Covid-19 pandemic gives them a new dimension. “They are the first to make a song to boost the morale of young peoplewith a clip “staging living spaces (restaurant, bedroom, record store, etc.) at a time when everyone is confined to their homes”recalls Sylvie October. Dynamite is also one of the band’s only three songs entirely in English.

If his discography is mainly in Korean, BTS is “one of the first K-pop groups to have handled English without difficulty” during interviews, continues Sylvie October. From 2018, he toured the most famous American and British talk shows, with his leader RM as spokesperson. “BTS is one of the most popular groups in Korea, but also the one whose success is the most symbolic, because it has opened all the doors internationally. On a global scale, it is a precursor for the ‘K-pop industry’rejoices an official of the Korean Cultural Center, a branch of the South Korean Embassy in Paris.

The group is the first to take the lead in the rankings of the prestigious specialist magazine Billboard, with a song in Korean. He broke YouTube view records with Butter And permission to dance, fills stadiums during its world tours, and brings together 50 million spectators during the broadcast of its concert for the city of Busan’s candidacy for the 2030 World Expo. BTS is also invited to perform on the stage Grammy Awards, where the group was nominated five times. And his last album, proofis the second best-selling in the world in 2022. This anthology of 48 titles however has only five unpublished, notes Forbes.

In short, BTS has become “mainstream“, and K-pop with him, analyzes Michelle Hyun Kim. The fallout does not only benefit their record company. According to a study by the Hyundai Research Institute cited by Fortunethe group attracted “one in thirteen tourists who visited South Korea in 2017”. And it brings about 5 billion dollars (4.59 billion euros) to the Korean economy each year, supports the American radio NPR.

Military service, a “break” that promotes competition

Their influential Army is not there for nothing. “When the singer Jungkook consumes a brand of drink or noodles during one of his live videos, the product is immediately out of stock”, notes an official of the Korean Cultural Center. This ability to sell allows members of BTS to land juicy advertising contracts, especially with the electronics giant Samsung or the luxury houses Dior and Louis Vuitton.

But the success of the group is not only commercial. It is “the victory of an alternative to American and Western pop”greets Vincenzo Cicchelli. “They set a cultural precedent”which now gives them a more political role, abounds Michelle Hyun Kim. Is this momentum likely to run out of steam one day? Some wonder, while the members announced to pause their group activities to carry out their military service, compulsory for men in South Korea.

The challenge is not to be forgotten by their return, scheduled for the end of 2025. “But the competition is fierce, and other groups are emerging”points out Vincenzo Cicchelli. “It is difficult to regain the same popularity” after such a cut, confirms Michelle Hyun Kim.

Big Hit anticipated this hiatus. The departures of the seven artists are staggered, to avoid too great a void, and each leads a solo career during this period. Four of them have already released an album and their latest group single, take twois at the top of the charts, underlines Forbes. “The Army is a very tight-knit fan base, ready to fill stadiums when they return. assures Michelle Huyn Kim. BTS has already exceeded many expectations, and just as many stereotypes. We’ll see if they succeed again.”