The billion dollar return of the K-pop kings - Asia Specific podcast, BBC World Service

BTS is as much of a cultural phenomenon as they are a K-pop band, but after four years off, can they rekindle the magic that made them a music and economic juggernaut? Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM In the years before they went on hiatus for military service, BTS helped propel K-pop to the forefront of international music charts, and they became global cultural ambassadors. Their comeback concert in central Seoul was described by some in South Korea’s media as the ‘return of the kings’. An upcoming world tour is forecast to make more than a billion US dollars in revenue. But the lower-than-anticipated crowd numbers at their free performance in Seoul raised questions about whether a band of mostly 30-somethings can still dominate the fast-changing K-pop market. Asia Specific Host Mariko Oi speaks to the BBC’s Music correspondent Mark Savage and Seoul correspondent Jake Kwon about whether South Korea’s greatest boy band can stay on top. 00:00 Coming Up and introduction 01:20 How BTS became so successful 02:15 Why they went on hiatus 03:30 What it was like to be at their Seoul concert 04:37 Why the crowd figure was lower than expectations 07:07 Is BTS both too big to fail and too big to succeed? 08:08 How much money could BTS make from their world tour 09:13 Can BTS replicate their pre-hiatus success 11:20 How K-pop's business model works 13:40 The role South Korea's government plays 16:10 Is BTS pursuing a Western sound on their new album? 18:23 Fans growing with the band Watch more episodes of Asia Specific here 👉🏽 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4c3njIxB0KHuO8SS2mBMtUc Instagram: @bbcworldservice Email: [email protected] Presenter: Mariko Oi Producers: Derek Cai, Rachel Lee Camera: Muhammad Firdaus Bin Mohd Ansary, Rosalehin Bin Rosli, Khairul Danish Bin Mohd Roslee Editor: Bill Birtles ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #asiaspecific #asiaspecificpodcast #bts #btsarmy #btscomeback #kpop #korea #seoul