BTS military service slowing global growth of K-pop, band’s label Hybe says

Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk said making the singers serve in the South Korean military has led to decline in global ratings and album sales

He added the ‘market narrows significantly when BTS is taken out’

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BTS stars perform at the Times Square in New York. File photo: Invision/AP

Published: 7:00am, 16 Mar 2023

Making megastars BTS do their South Korean military service is slowing the global growth of K-pop, the chairman of the septet’s agency Hybe said on Wednesday.

The boy band are widely considered South Korea’s biggest-ever cultural phenomenon, selling out stadiums around the world and dominating the charts while raking in billions for the country’s economy and building a global legion of fans known as ARMYs.

But all able-bodied men in South Korea must serve at least 18 months in the military and, after a years-long debate about whether BTS deserved an exemption, Jin, the oldest member of the group, enlisted in December.

Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of Hybe and the mastermind behind BTS, said figures – including global ratings and album sales – now showed declining demand for K-pop.

“The absence of BTS is the first reason,” Bang said.

“I think it’s very clear that the fact BTS is not active as a team is playing the biggest role in bringing about this change in numbers,” he told a forum in Seoul.