BTS’s Comeback and Tour Drive 1.3287 Trillion Won in Hallyu Spending, Helping HYBE Achieve Record Profits

BTS’s return and world tour are generating the largest impact on the Hallyu economy to date. Global Hallyu spending by foreign tourists who visited South Korea in April this year totaled 1.3287 trillion won, a 21.7% increase from the previous month’s figure of 1.917 trillion won. This represents a 54.6% rise compared to the same period last year.

Global Hallyu spending is calculated based on credit card transactions by foreign visitors to South Korea, excluding industries unrelated to tourism. It includes expenses for attending performances, shopping, cultural experiences, fashion, and sports events. In April, shopping accounted for the largest share at 38.4%, followed by beauty and wellness at 22.0%, fashion at 14.0%, lifestyle and food at 12.2%, Korean cuisine at 10.2%, and night culture at 1.6%.

HYBE, BTS’s agency, achieved its highest quarterly profits on this momentum. The company’s operating profit in the second quarter of this year was 170.9 billion won, a 159.3% increase from the same period last year. Revenue reached 1.45 trillion won, up 105.5% from the prior year, while net profit surged to 198 billion won, marking a 613% increase.

This is the first time quarterly revenue has exceeded 1 trillion won, and quarterly operating profit has also surpassed 100 billion won for the first time. HYBE maintained solid financial health by achieving an operating profit margin of 11.8%.

Among different business segments, direct participation-based revenue—encompassing album/music sales and performances—reached 1.399 trillion won, a 132.2% increase. Of this amount, album and music sales accounted for 326.8 billion won (a 43.0% increase), while performance-related revenue totaled 647.7 billion won (a 243.3% increase). Advertising and appearance fees also rose to 65.4 billion won, up 113.6%.

Indirect participation-based revenue—such as merchandise and fan clubs—increased by 59.1% to 410.1 billion won. The MD and licensing segment reached a record high of 310.6 billion won due to strong performance-related demand, marking a 103.1% increase from the same period last year.

BTS’s “ARIRANG” world tour, the largest in K-pop history that began in April, is at the core of these impressive results. Their fifth studio album, “ARIRANG,” topped CD and LP sales charts in the United States. This album contributed to South Korea rising to third place among the world’s top music exporters, behind the United States and the United Kingdom.

Other artists under HYBE have also performed well. ENHYPEN, LE SSERAFIM, BOYNEXTDOOR, KATSEYE, and CORTIS all released albums in the first half of this year, each achieving million-seller status. Half of the top 10 best-selling CD albums in the United States during the first half of the year were by HYBE artists.

Total revenue for the first half of the year exceeded 2 trillion won, setting a new record high. BTS further solidified its status as a global icon by performing in the halftime show at the FIFA World Cup final on the 20th.