Could there be a Pinoy BTS?

One of my daughters has always been fond of boy bands. In my past visits to her home in California, it was the Backstreet Boys for so many years way after they were all grown up. This time it is BTS, a Korean boy band that is electrifying the world.

My daughter has never been as obsessed with a boy band as she is now with BTS. Last week, she watched all four days the band was performing in Los Angeles.

The four concerts last week were titled ‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE’ that was held at the SoFi stadium, which has a capacity of 70k to 100k!

I am told the tickets for the concert are not cheap and are also hard to get. Premium tickets cost as much as $10,000 in the secondary market and there are takers.

My daughter was telling me that some of her friends from Manila flew in for the concert and the folks behind her seat were from Peru. Some of her friends from the Bay Area and from Florida also flew in just for it.

BTS fans call themselves the ARMY (a.k.a. “Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth”) and there are variations like ARMY of Moms and ARMY Over 40. My daughter said the crowd in the four evenings she was there were mostly female.

Apparently, BTS is a Korean national treasure. NPR.com quotes the Hyundai Research Institute, which said BTS is bringing an estimated $5 billion to the South Korean economy each year. According to a businessinsider.com article in 2019, BTS was projected to bring in an economic value of $37 billion over the next 10 years.

BTS increased South Korea’s popularity, contributing to a surge in tourism. An estimated 800,000 tourists reportedly chose South Korea as their travel destination because of BTS.

See more at: https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/12/06/2145924/could-there-be-pinoy-bts