BTS, South Korea, and affiliated brands that will be impacted by their military service
BTS, a South Korean K-pop boy group, will be completing their mandatory military service until 2025. They are ambassadors for brands such as Hyundai, Louis Vuitton, and Samsung, who may see a fall in purchases after the group departs, as well as the South Korea who appointed BTS as presidential envoys.
“After the phenomenal concert to support Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030, and as each individual embarks on solo endeavors, it’s the perfect time and the members of BTS are honored to serve,” states BIGHIT MUSIC in their latest press release. “BIGHIT MUSIC has focused to the milestone moment when it would be possible to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men to serve with their countrymen, and that’s now.”
BTS, also known as Bangtan Sonyeondan, debuted on June 13, 2013 with their first album “2 Cool 4 Skool” with the title track of “No More Dream.” The group consists of seven men born between the years of 1992 and 1997. Since their debut, they have received two Grammy Award nominations, become the most-awarded group in Billboard Music Awards history, and aquired 25 Guinness World Record titles. Their fanbase, called ARMY, are known world-wide for being the most devoted fans of any artist.
Though world recognized for their efforts in spreading self-love and acceptance, they will be beginning their two year break starting with their eldest member, Kim Seok Jin. He will be leaving for the military at the end of 2022 after the release of his single “The Astronaut.” The status of when the other members will be completing their service has not yet been released.
The South Korean government requires all able bodied men to serve in the military for 18 months from the age of 18 to 28. The devotion from fans and the understanding of how much money and tourism BTS brought to South Korea, resulted in the country’s parliament revising the Military Service Act three days before the eldest member turned 28 back in 2020. In the revision, K-pop idols who have been acknowledged by the government for elevating the country’s influence can apply to postpone their military service.
BTS has raised $3.2 million or 4.5 billion Korean Won during their “Love Myself” campaign as ambassadors of UNICEF which started in 2017. In 2018, the leader of BTS, Kim Nam Jun, spoke on their UNICEF campaign at the United Nations, resulting in them receiving the award which made them eligible to defer their military service. More recently, in 2021, they were appointed by the South Korean President as presidential envoys prior to their second time visiting the United Nations.
It has been estimated by Harvard Business Review that BTS “accounts for a staggering $4.9 billion of South Korea’s GDP.” With their GDP, gross domestic product, being $1.4 trillion in 2020, that results in BTS being responsible for 0.30% of the country’s product output.
The Hyundai Research Institute has found that BTS accounted for 1 in 13 tourists that came to South Korea in 2017 and estimated them to have generated $29 billion from the rise of their debut in 2014 to the beginning of their military departures in early 2023.
As for all of their ongoing collaborations and endorsements, while the group is on a break, they will stand inactive unless the government decides otherwise. In that case, the South Korean government will then be asking BTS to not only serve in the military, but continue to create a revenue for their entertainment and tourism market.
Apart from the impact they have had politically on their country, they also became brand ambassadors and had many companies hoping to collaborate with them after they became Seoul Tourism Ambassadors on September 14, 2017. Out of the ten most famous brands in the world, BTS have collaborated with or have been endorsed by five: McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Louis Vuitton, Samsung and Disney.
In 2018, they became global models for Hyundai to promote more sustainable cars and smarter driving. They filmed a documentary with the company titled “For Tomorrow” about the environmental crisis.
With Samsung trying to become the largest mobile provider, they recruited BTS to be the face of their brand and put their logo on their products.
As for Louis Vuitton, they have been titled “House Ambassadors” for the brand after they wore the designer to their first Grammy Awards ceremony. It is very traditional for K-pop idols, a term coined by fans for Korean pop performers, to represent a designer brand throughout their career. BTS have been chosen by the biggest designer brand in the world.
Photo courtesy of Billboard.
Idols birthdays and comebacks are often celebrated throughout cities and are big profits days for businesses who decide to offer giveaways of K-pop products and merchandise. Fans collect these giveaway items as well as attempt to buy every item that idols endorse. This creates a lot of revenue for businesses that are not only located in Seoul or worldwide, but instead are neighborhood, family owned stores and restaurants.
“The reason they buy things is because they want to feel a kind of bond. They want to be close to them, and it is quite natural to organize and decorate the things you like,” says Lee DoHyeon, a citizen of South Korea. “Idols will like the fact that their product is sold out so therefore buyers buy in the hope that their idols are happy. Those who buy it, or collectors, have a variety of products because they feel happy just by collecting, organizing, and owning the things they love.”
Now that the bond that ARMY shares with their idols has been paused, there is no brand sponsorship fans will be looking forward to and purchasing. Samsung is losing their largest entertainment weapon, Louis Vuitton will be missing a big profit in their buyers, Hyundai will not have the recognizable faces that they use to connect with younger audiences, and South Korea will lose a margin of their tourists and product output.
Sources:
https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/every-bts-guinness-world-record-1235010255/
https://www.usbtsarmy.com/bts-endorsements/category/Brand+Ambassadors
https://wegotthiscovered.com/celebrities/bts-biggest-brand-endorsements-and-ambassadors/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/world/asia/korea-bts-law-military-deferment.html
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/17/1129429178/bts-announces-upcoming-korean-military-service
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