Recently, I had stumbled upon an interview of two Korean women who had revealed why they tend leave fandoms of K-pop groups whenever these groups decide to promote globally and attract an audience outside of Korea. For this example, the women had cited the popularity of BTS and their status from a K-pop group to a global act due to international audiences liking them. The women had also cited the group releasing English songs and how they had felt unreachable as a music act making them feel overlooked as domestic fans that have been supporting them regarding their journey as a group in K-pop. When, I had seen this interview, I was a little shocked as BTS seems to be very popular in Korea with their single Swim (2026) doing amazing on the domestic music charts and the group doing a 360-stadium concert at the Goyang Stadium inside of the country. Now, I am not saying that these women represent the thought of every domestic fan in Korea or in Asia in general, but it did get me thinking on whether or not K-pop groups can cater and satisfy audiences both domestically and internationally.
I had begun to do some research on K-pop groups that tend to be popular on both sides and aside from BTS, I did see that Blackpink had multiple songs dominate the domestic music charts and becoming the first and only K-pop girl group to sell out a stadium (Goyang) in Korea. Another group that seems to be doing well on the international scene while maintaining their domestic status is Bigbang as while they lack the casual appeal that BTS and Blackpink has, they tend to still do well internationally and are currently selling out stadiums outside of Asia. I tend to see a lot of criticism towards SM Entertainment for prioritizing the interests of domestic fans over international fans and not trying to do more to expand their acts internationally as SM is the only domestic record label to not have any of their acts appear on the US Billboard Hot 100. I think SM is the type of company that takes “one step forward and two steps back” as the company still wants to expand their acts internationally, but the fear of losing a grip on domestic fans in Asia can worry a company a lot due how passionate domestic fans are in supporting a music act that they love. This is not to say that international fans aren’t as supportive as they are, but domestic fans tend to have a huge dedication when it comes to supporting a music act that is popular in their country.
What do you guys think? Is it possible for a K-pop group to cater to both domestic and international audiences with their music?
submitted by /u/Professional_Set2863
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