On May 20, Korean media outlet Naver acknowledged BTS Jimin's status in the K-pop industry, following the title "King of K-pop" given to the idol by British-American site, Urban Dictionary, proving his massive influence and global popularity.
On Twitter, a netizen asked Urban Dictionary's account "who the "King of K-pop" is, and responded it's Park Jimin, saying, "King of K-pop: Park Jimin member of the extraordinary boyband BTS."
Urban Dictionary reaffirmed its own unshakable definition of "King of Kpop" since 2019, and sides by this belief to date.
King of Kpop: Park Jimin member of the extraordinary boyband BTS https://t.co/9NN68AChod pic.twitter.com/yAttUd8QkU — Urban Dictionary (@urbandictionary) May 18, 2020
Similar to Korea's "Wikitree," a popular site linked to Naver's English dictionary, introduced several results as well, linking Park Jimin as the "King of K-pop."
While it wouldn't be too surprising given Park Jimin's reputation, ARMYs were surprised that even Urban Dictionary hails the idol as the "King."
The fandom is confident nevertheless, that it is not impossible due to the inevitable "Jimin effect." The word is created as a way to express one's feelings during the first encounter with Jimin, which is also defined as the electrifying feel that occurs to someone when he or she meets the visual idol for the first time.
In addition to this, if you type "who's the king of K-pop" on Google search bar, the main search result will show BTS's Jimin, proclaiming him as the "King of K-pop" voted by fans in a poll (Kingchoice).
The title "King of K-pop" that was given to the idol then drew attention from K-pop fans worldwide and created quite a discussion on social media platforms.
On the other hand, this is not only the first time that international platforms recognized and acknowledged the idol's skills and talents as a valuable personality in the music industry.
In particular, in 2018, the British daily newspaper The Guardian also chose Jimin as one of the "Top 30 Best Boy Band Members," alongside BIGBANG's G-Dragon, who also holds the title "King of K-pop" for a very long time.
Jimin then continues to prove his influence and fame, along with his talent as the main dancer of BTS, and in 2019, he topped and was crowned as the "King of Performance, The Best K-pop idol Who Shines on the Stage," held by MNET's M-Wave.
Kingchoice hailed BTS Jimin as the "Face of K-pop 2019," as well, who is an all-rounder that is definitely good at everything.
Further, Jimin has constantly been reigning as No.1 for Boy Band Member Brand Reputation, setting a milestone with 17 consecutive months at the top, unrivaled. He became the first male idol to rank No. 1 in Korea's 2018 idol preference, and has recorded an unprecedented record of topping the list for two consecutive years in 2019, earning his reputation and status as the representative of K-pop.
