Who are the most popular Korean artists and idol groups around the world? Based on the 2022 Overseas Hallyu Survey, these five artists are the most preferred singers by fans from 18 countries!
On February 14, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, headed by Minister Hwang Hee, announced the "2022 Overseas Hallyu (Korean Wave) Survey".
The survey was held in collaboration with Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) established in 2017 under the aforementioned ministry.
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Results revealed that global group BTS was selected as the No. 1 favorite singer of foreigners who enjoy Hallyu content.
According to the data, BTS earned 26.7% of votes and maintained their first-place position in the survey category for the fourth consecutive year since 2018.
Compared to its result last year, BTS's vote percentage increased from 22%, showing its presence as a vanguard of the Korean Wave.
As the septet continues to target the international market, the focus on whether BTS can maintain their status or not attracted attention, amidst reports of BTS Jin's possible military enlistment this year.
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Following "biggest boy group in the world" BTS, their female counterpart for this title BLACKPINK ranked second.
This is the fourth time BLACKPINK appeared on the list, and the third consecutive time they ranked No. 2 since 2019.
The quartet's vote percentage decreased from 13.5 % to 10.4%, apparently due to lack of content in 2021.
Among four members, BLACKPINK Lisa appeared for the first time since 2018 in No. 4 (2.8%), proving the impact of her solo debut last year with "LALISA" and "MONEY."
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Korea's representative singers IU and Psy then completed the rankings at No. 3 (2.8%) and No. 5 (2.2%), respectively. It is also IU's first appearance in the rankings since 2018, while the "Gangnam Style" singer maintained its position in the top 5 despite hiatus.
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What is the 2022 Overseas Hallyu Survey?
The survey's category was launched by private foundation KOFICE in 2017 on top of other categories that determine how consumption of Hallyu Content emerges through the year.
The survey was conducted on 8,500 Korean cultural content experiences from 18 countries, including China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Australia, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, France, Britain, Russia, Turkey, and South Africa. The survey was conducted online from November 5 to December 8 last year.
In history, there are only a few groups who entered the top 5 for this survey, like BIGBANG, TWICE, EXO and the aforementioned names in the rankings.
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Written by Eunice Dawson
