BTS’s ARIRANG World Tour Proceeds Successfully, Securing First Place in Brand Reputation Rankings

BTS is reconfirming its unparalleled status in the global music industry as it resumes activities following the completion of its military service.

The group released its fifth studio album, “ARIRANG,” on March 20. The album sold 3.98 million copies on its first day, while the music video for its Title Track, “SWIM,” accumulated over 40 million views within 24 hours of release. These figures clearly demonstrate the group’s overwhelming popularity in the global music market.

The “ARIRANG World Tour” is currently underway across 34 cities, featuring a total of 85 performances. At Stanford Stadium in California, USA, three-night concerts with 50,000 seats each were sold out. Fan enthusiasm was evident as they formed long queues around the stadium tracks even two days before the shows to purchase merchandise. Some fans were willing to spend $1,200 (approximately 1.68 million won) to show their devotion to the group.

BTS has surpassed 40 billion streams on Spotify, and it holds the highest follower counts on Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) among all music groups. Its impact on the South Korean economy is also significant, with an estimated annual GDP contribution of $4.5 billion (approximately 6.3 trillion won).

In a brand reputation survey of idol groups released in May by the Korea Corporate Reputation Institute, BTS ranked first. Although its brand reputation index dropped by 43.87% compared to April, it still retained the top position, surpassing IVE in second place and BLACKPINK in third. A total of 86,673,948 pieces of big data related to idol group brands were analyzed from April 14 to May 14.

In particular, BTS member Jimin proved his status as a “world star” by holding the first place in the male idol ranking for 237 consecutive weeks. In the voting that took place from the 7th to the 14th, Jimin received 49,081 votes, securing the top spot by a huge margin. Other members from the same group—Jung Kook (9,893 votes), Jungguk (6,810 votes), and V (3,717 votes)—also made it into the top five, further illustrating BTS’s absolute popularity.

Members of the group began their military service in 2022 and 2023, and during that time, some of them built individual fanbases through solo activities. This resumption of group activities is seen as an opportunity to demonstrate once again the cross-generational unity of BTS’s fandom in the global K-POP market, as well as the worldwide influence of Korean culture.