K-Pop Videos Set New Record on YouTube

[es2pido.livejournal.com]

K-Pop has taken the world by storm last year, and the movement was clearly evident in the total number of views K-Pop videos have generated over the past year on YouTube. It was reported today by local media JoongAng Ilbo that K-Pop videos were viewed nearly 2.3 billion times worldwide in the past year, breaking the previous year’s record of 800 million views by nearly threefold.

According to the report JoongAng Ilbo acquired from YouTube, K-Pop music videos were seen 2.28 billion times from 235 countries during the period of January 1 to December 5. The most clicks came from Japan where K-Pop videos were seen more than 423 million times, followed by the U.S. with 240 million views. Thailand came in at third with 220 million view counts, with Taiwan and Vietnam at #4 and #5 with 180 million and 170 million views, respectively.

Some of the odd countries in the top list were the U.A.E, which brought in 4.8 million views, and Kuwait with 1.7 million view counts, showing K-Pop has made its way into the Middle Eastern market as well. North Korea also saw K-Pop 188 times through YouTube, the report said.

“The year 2011 was the first year when K-Pop really established itself as a global trend, instead of a temporary fad. In 2012, K-Pop will continue to grow its influence around the world,” Google Korea said.

In fact, YouTube has launched its own K-Pop page last month, making it one of the 23 music genres shown separately. With the help of YouTube and SNS channels, K-Pop has been able to target the mainstream U.S. market, which saw the highest growth rate in view counts last year. The 240 million views from the U.S. are more than double the total views from 2010 (94 million). Europeans markets also saw huge growths in YouTube as France, England, and Germany all generated more than 20 million clicks.

“The U.S. and European markets are just starting to open up. The three major labels have been listed on the KOSDAQ market last year, so their business projections are looking good as well,” music critic Lee Dae Hwa said.

Do you think K-Pop is a real global trend or just being overrated? Do you see it growing in 2012?

Source: Soompi

Comments

[lazmy.livejournal.com]

i think it's being accepted more now because it's reminiscent of the bubblegum boy and girl groups a lot of countries used to listen to but then later shunned for more exciting and explicit music. i like kpop and it's not like i'll get tired of music in a certain language if i hear it more often.

[amandaplan.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised at the difference in views b/w the Japan and the US but I'm glad kpop is gaining interest worldwide:)

[johnnyquest89.livejournal.com]

Kim Jong Un looked up the vids for the songs, that SK was blasting at them eh.

[ohprecioustime.livejournal.com]

I think it will slip and slide out of popularity in Japan safe SNSD,KARA they seem to be above the Hallyu
the rest will continue flopping.....as for the rest I can see Kpop getting bigger but becoming something serious and popular outside of certain areas of net, no.
though as a older Kpop fan it is really crazy to see how much views it got this year O__O,too bad idc for most of it now

[bumie.livejournal.com]

I thought Middle East viewers were more than that

[awashy.livejournal.com]

that's only 2 countries, i'm sure that KSA has the most viewers in the middle east

[peachie-ego.livejournal.com]

"North Korea also saw K-Pop 188 times through YouTube"

oic...

[twicefolds.livejournal.com]

XD

i c indeed. probs had gee on replay

[geniebsmart.livejournal.com]

Interesting

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

grats to all the viewcount padders all over the globe!!

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

http://i.imgur.com/NVYuA.jpg

full size version of the pic with the numbers

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

huh the way they divide numbers is... confusing

man = 10k? eok = 100 million? but then... what

ok that's right but still kinda confusing how they divide it unevenly (2000man = 20 million, 2000eok = 200 billion)

the blue circles are divided by continent, asia/north america/europe/south america/oceania/africa/umm... misang? mishang? idk what that is and cant find it in dictionaries

[tanekene.livejournal.com]

Link does not open : 403 - Forbidden

[thebluemonk.livejournal.com]

no but seriously cry some more.

[moronicus-kyla.livejournal.com]

IDK if it's an Asian thing but being incredibly nationalistic + concerned with international image is very familiar to me (I'm from the Philippines, btw). Every time someone from here makes it big abroad (ex. Charice on Ellen/Oprah/whatever, Manny Pacquiao winning in Vegas, unknown indie directors suddenly getting accolades in Cannes, the country being a "texting capital of the world" or the people with the most Friendster users or something dumb like that), the media hypes it up as the biggest thing in the universe, Pinoy power etc.

I guess it's because there's still something "special" about Western recognition that we "lesser" Asians have to celebrate excessively every time something that proves that we're world-class/equal to or better than the West happens. At least it feels that way, IDK. It's a very post-colonialist look at it -__- I hate that we have to do this to prove our worth.

It reeks a bit of inferiority complex but it's really a way to boost morale and national image. And hey, there are still a bajillion kpop fans and blossoming koreaboos so it's not entirely baseless arrogance/overconfidence.

[jaghatar.livejournal.com]

preach sister

[drfaith101.livejournal.com]

More or less but I get why they push it.

[uniqlos.livejournal.com]

they need to do something about their quantity over quality problem though. yes i know stanning kpop for talent is laughable but rn it's being satiated by a million groups riding the boom (there was a ridiculous a statistic like kpop had debuted a 100 girl groups by dec 2011 or smth) with only a handful of groups reaching relevance so sooner or later it's going to implode. it's like that time in the end of brit pop when we had randoms like point break or girl thing or that other group against girls aloud that no one ever remembers anymore lol.

the last great year in kpop was 2009 and it showed because the gayos have been getting worst each year.

[katzsong.livejournal.com]

Kinda agree with you. The music releases on 2009 was the peak. 2010 still good. But when it comes to 2011, I got bored :3

[zeldas.livejournal.com]

so i'm in an odd country. alright then.

[msdaccxx.livejournal.com]

Given the dominance of English-language pop worldwide, it is honestly a huge achievement for k-pop to have gathered so much interest and attention outside of its home territory. The reason the ROK government pushes it so hard is to do with national pride, yes - as someone who grew up in a country that had been colonised by a larger, more dominant neighbour (and now lives in said neighbour) I can say that there is definitely something in the national psyche that goes a bit overboard when it comes to trumpeting achievements, especially success in the territory that formerly ruled you. However, and quite sensibly, the main impetus for the Korean authorities in pushing k-pop hard is to get products sold; to get bums on seats on planes going to Korea, as tourists, as students and as investors; and to get the Korean language more widely spoken and recognised.

I take a Korean language class and, apart from the couple of people who have Korean partners and are learning the language for family reasons, the overwhelming majority of the students are there because they like k-pop, Korean cinema and dramas. In my class, all of us have either been to or are planning to visit Korea very soon and are spending up a storm buying Korean media products, supporting events like concerts, k-pop club nights and film festivals, going to Korean-owned restaurants and noraebang, buying food products - I do a lot of Korean cooking at home now - even buying things like cosmetics and textbooks or choosing a Korean brand name for electronics. K-pop is the route into that for a lot of people. So, it's not that the Korean government thinks that k-pop is a huge gift to world culture - it's that it's a fun and accessible way to get South Korea's name out there for positive reasons, not associated with the conflict with NK, and to get people from overseas spending on Korean products and potentially investing money in Korean business enterprises.

[uniqlos.livejournal.com]

ngl i thank kpop for introducing me to bb cream lol irl.

tho i did like korean food before i got into kpop.

[miki-831.livejournal.com]

I definitely think it will grow with the new year because of the power of the internet. It's spreading by word of mouth but I feel like the quality of music is going to go down.

[eishastan.livejournal.com]

"North Korea also saw K-Pop 188 times through YouTube"

LOL

[quietreveries.livejournal.com]

aren't there a lot more k-pop groups these days tho
also t-ara's 98234927586230 music videos