I watched a video on this topic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxXrAogPIwI
The creator is business/finance orienting and here was her take.
K-pop was crucial to Korean economy. Its own value was not little and it contributed to other industries such as, food/beverage, tourism, cosmetics.
K-pop reached its all-time high in 2023 due to COVID. Its oversea sale was ~1 trillion won 34.3% increased from earlier year.
Now, the business had slow down. The stock price of HYBE, the biggest player with 7.3 trillion won market value, reached all time high in 2021 and now, the price had dropped 60% from that all time high. JYP, of 1.8 trillion market value, reached all time high in 2023 and had fallen 65% from the peak. S.M, at 1.5 trillion won, reached all time high in 2023 and the value had decreased 59%. YG, at 660 billion won, reached all time high in 2023 and had fallen down 62% since.
This critical fall resulted from
Cruel working condition. The industry was super exploitative and demanding to the trainee and the idol. Thus, they were very stressful and the contract renewal rate was low. The label’s income based heavily on the idol individual so, the income might plunge when the idol left as the new idol might not be able to maintain the level of income. This was critical business risk.
Undermined monopoly. Now, other countries had started fostering their own “Idol” industries. K-pop lost its uniqueness and its absolute power to set the price. K-pop related products had always been very pricey and, foreign fans now opted to cheaper alternative from elsewhere. The oversea sale had decreased 16% from the previous year. First decrease in 9 years.
Domestic business conflict. Last year, S.M acquisition fight made big news. This year, it’s HYBE vs. ADOR. Such business discord affected the industry.
Bigotry. Large number of Koreans were bigot and their actions turned foreign fans off.
Personally, I believe the value plunged because it had been much overpriced and economy of the whole world was regressing. Still, the business has been slowing down undeniably.
submitted by /u/Neatboot
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