K-Pop’s Global Realignment... South Korea Maintains Strength as the U.S. and Western Countries Surge

The K-Pop Radar, a comprehensive dashboard for K-Pop artists operated by music startup SpaceAudity, released its “2025 K-Pop World Map,” which analyzes global K-Pop consumption trends for 2025. Data compiled from view counts of related videos on YouTube’s Artist Chart from January 1 to December 31, 2025, revealed that K-Pop’s global diversification is accelerating.

In the 2025 analysis of K-Pop consumption by country, South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia retained positions 1 through 3, matching the previous year’s rankings. South Korea, the birthplace of K-Pop, demonstrated continued growth by seeing an even higher share compared to 2024. Japan stayed in second place but experienced a decline in its share from 8.44% to 7.41%, along with a drop in total view counts, indicating that its market has entered a mature phase.

The U.S. rose from fifth to fourth place, accounting for 6.25% of global K-Pop consumption. This nearly 1% increase in share suggests that localization strategies and global collaborations are yielding tangible results. Stray Kids maintained first place in the U.S. market with a 8.63% share, while KATSEYE led in growth rate, achieving an increase of approximately 260 million view counts.

The trend toward market diversification was evident globally. Taiwan entered the Top 10 by rising in rank for two consecutive years and reaching ninth place. The U.K. surged from outside the Top 20 to 17th place. In the U.K. market, Rosé secured first place in both share and growth rate, holding an overwhelming 11.63% share. The simultaneous entry of Western countries such as France, Germany, and Canada shows that K-Pop consumption is expanding beyond an Asia-centered focus into a true global diversification stage.

In the domestic market, the return of established powerhouses and legendary artists created dynamic trends. DAY6 moved up from second to first place, while aespa and IU ranked second and third, respectively. G-Dragon ranked fifth overall, thanks to an increase of approximately 200 million view counts, and BIGBANG also secured fourth place, rallying support from domestic fans. The strong performance of solo artists was noteworthy as well. Wooz ranked 11th overall and second in growth rate, with an increase of approximately 160 million view counts, while Jennie finished 12th overall and third in growth rate.