BTS’s Billboard #1 “Dynamite” Expected To Bring $1.43 Billion USD To Korean Economy
It’s been a week since BTS became the first South Korean act to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Dynamite”, and ARMY is still celebrating their monumental win. But it’s not just a big deal for fans—it’s also a big deal for the country itself, which is expected to see huge economic benefits from the English-language single.
“Dynamite” made unprecedented leaps for K-Pop last month when it became the #1 song on the renowned U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, beating out North American artists like Cardi B and Drake. On top of that, the song broke the record for most streams on YouTube and Spotify in 24 hours, as well as the record for fastest song to top over 100 iTunes charts worldwide.
On Monday, September 7, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute published a report detailing just how impactful “Dynamite” is expected to be over the coming years. To draw their conclusion, the institutions analyzed statistics from the Bank of Korea and Korea Customs Service, Google trends data, and Big Hit Entertainment‘s revenue reports.
According to the study, “Dynamite”‘s Billboard Hot 100 win is projected to create ₩1.23 trillion KRW ($1.03 billion USD) in value for the country’s production center, alongside ₩480 billion KRW ($404 million US) in added value. In total, that equates to a staggering ₩1.71 trillion KRW ($1.43 billion USD).
The report went on to explain that Big Hit Entertainment is forecast to see around ₩245.7 billion KRW ($206 million USD) in global sales solely from the “Dynamite” single. On top of that, after topping Billboard, the song is also expected to increase global sales of non-music related Korean goods. K-Beauty sales, for example, are expected to increase by ₩276.3 billion KRW ($232 million USD), while Korean food sales will see a ₩74.1 billion KRW increase ($62.4 million USD).
And the benefits aren’t just monetary. Last year, it was reported that South Korea was generating too few jobs, leaving 25% of young people out of work. Now, “Dynamite”‘s #1 entry is also projected to create almost 8,000 new jobs in the country.
To top it all off, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism revealed that the report doesn’t even include the impact “Dynamite” could have on Korean tourism. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging on, both travel and concerts have been disrupted. However, as the public health situation improves, South Korea could well see an uptake in visitors thanks to BTS’s Billboard #1.
