On Thursday, Dec. 17, Instagram released their "YEAR IN REVIEW 2020" infographic. There, it was revealed just how huge K-pop is on the platform. Keep on reading to learn more.
On Dec. 17, Instagram's "YEAR IN REVIEW 2020" was released. The infographic looks back on the trends that took the year by storm. It is no exaggeration that K-pop and K-culture, in general, had taken 2020 by storm. From the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" to the Billboard Hot 100 top-charting K-pop group BTS, Korean entertainment culture spread around the world and is heavily prevalent on Instagram.
This year, #K-pop established itself as the most mentioned music genre this year, 2020. Along with that, BTS's first-ever online performance #Bangcon ("Bang Bang Con: The Live"), which drew in more than 756,000 viewers from 107 countries, was extremely popular on the platform. Over 260,000 posts made concerning the online concert was made on Instagram.
"Bang Bang Con: The Live" was a pay-per-view online concert that was streamed back on June 14, 2020. The concert had a 12 song setlist, which also included some breaks in between where the seven band members took the time to chat with fans and catch up amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The concert was held to celebrate the group's 7th debut anniversary and before the release of their fourth Japanese album, "Map of the Soul: 7 - The Journey".
The concert was so successful, it bagged BTS the Guinness World Record for the title "Most Viewers for a Music Concert Live Stream". The concert was accessible via WeVerse, a South Korea app and website. Tickets for the concert went on sale for $25 USD.
Director Bong Joon Ho's film, #Parasite ("Parasite"), which won four Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) and helped elevate South Korean films to an international stage, also received much love from fans both in Korea and overseas. People appeared to be interested in the depiction of South Korean social classes and culture.
Overseas fans of Korean culture searched for numerous things concerning "Parasite", such as #Jjapaguri, which is also known as Ramdon and is a mixture of the instant noodles Jjapaghetti and Neoguri with wagyu beef, as well as #JessicaSong (Jessica Song), Park So Dam's character in the film. On top of that, numerous K-zombie films were popular on the app, as well as K-movies in general.
In South Korea, #K-Newtro saw a rise in fame due to the popularity of #Trot. The popularity of trot, which used to be popular among adults, has been revived this year and is now drawing keen attention from people of all generations.
Additionally, #SSAK3, a group comprised of Rain, Lee Hyori, and Yoo Jae Suk that was formed on the show "Hang Out With Yoo," made waves with their nostalgic beats and their sentimental music that is reminiscent of the early 90s and the early 2000s. Because of this, retro-themed posts about music, fashion, and make-up became popular as the youth start to reinterpret 90s fashion.
The year 2020 showed a new perspective on how people enjoy life. In 2020, face-to-face contact has become difficult due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Instagram has become one of the main ways people can see each other and communicate. Many live-events switched to live-streaming, such as museums, art galleries, and concerts.
What was your favorite Instagram trend?
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Written by Alexa L.
