The news that made headlines yesterday was that BTS's Jin withdrew his request to postpone his military service and will enlist after finishing his solo promotions. The announcement also said that the remaining BTS members will "perform their military service based on their own individual schedules."
This decision has received a proud response from many ARMYs, who are striding with BTS and promising to support the group as BTS completes their military service. The announcement ended the never-ending debate on this issue, but put the Korean economy at risk of losing a large source of revenue from the group's activities.
Recently, a report from Fortune economic magazine of America pointed out the damage to the Korean economy when BTS enlisted in the army:
Korea seems to be flooded with news that Kpop superstars BTS will enlist and complete their military service in 2025. That means BTS' group activities and individual activities will be eliminated until they were discharged from the army.
Naturally, this is news that has a major impact not only on the K-pop industry but also on the economy, politics, and culture of Korea. BTS is known for making a great contribution and impact to these areas of Korea, especially the economy.
The American economic magazine Fortune reported in detail about BTS's military service after receiving news that BTS will enlist starting from Jin. They assessed that "Korea will miss the opportunity to earn billions of dollars a year due to BTS's enlistment".
Citing data from the Hyundai Economic Research Institute, Fortune showed: "In 2018, Hyundai Research Institute said BTS was contributing more than $3.6 billion to the South Korean economy every year—equivalent to the contribution of 26 midsize companies.
Hyundai researchers also said the boy band brought in one in every 13 tourists who visited South Korea in 2017, and generated an estimated $1.1 billion from consumer goods exports like merchandise and cosmetics in a single year.
Between 2014 and 2023, analysts projected BTS would have contributed $29.1 billion to the South Korean economy. The band’s commercial success has also lined the pockets of its members. Collectively, BTS had a net worth of $50 million by 2020".
In another Quartz analysis article titled, "The future of K-pop superstars BTS takes center stage in South Korea’s conscription debate", BTS is referred to as an "economy" with huge numbers: By the digits: The BTS economy
$3.6 billion: What BTS are worth to the South Korean economy each year, according to the Hyundai Research Institute.
800,000: Tourists who visited South Korea in 2018 because of BTS, or over 7% of foreign visitors that year.
$1.1 billion: Estimated value of South Korean consumer goods exports related to BTS, including clothes and cosmetics, in 2018.
$29.1 billion: BTS’s expected contribution to the South Korean economy from 2014-2023.
$50 million: estimated net worth of BTS members in 2020, according to Forbes.
In addition to their contributions to the Korean economy, BTS has also proven their influence on the financial markets of their home country. Take a small example like when the announcement of BTS's hiatus in June was misunderstood that BTS disband caused the stock of the management company HYBE to drop by a quarter of its value. HYBE lost more than 2.12 trillion won (about 1.644 billion USD) overnight, pushing its share price to its lowest level since listing on the stock exchange two years ago.
Even the news of BTS members' enlistment on Monday sent HYBE's stock down 2.5%. Although the CEO of HYBE has also previously made announcements to fans and investors about the company's stable and prepared business strategy before the scenario of BTS going to military service.
In general, when BTS enlists in the army, the economy of Korea will also fluctuate greatly! It shows the true power of a K-pop group that is hard to come by for a second time.
Netizens and ARMYs also give some opinion about this:
- Hybe's stock, SK tourism, economy all fell together
- That's why the Ministry of Defense keeps refusing to make military service decisions for BTS
- BTS's enlistment give HYBE's experience of how to cover their hole
- They are really rich LOL?
- And now we wait for the economy to drop
- And we laugh and smile but stop a second, BTS is also HYBE's investors too
-That doesn't make it any less crazier ?????
- lmao, I don't wanna see their faces when they realize what they lost xD
- Now South Korea will cry and I want to see them crying
- They cry when our boys smile proudly to do their duty
- If they had made their decision a long time ago this won't be happening so the guys decided to man up and do what the sk government couldn't by enlisting by themselves
- We all are keeping our eyes on SK economy from now on?
- Know the consequences
