By Kim Minji

The Washington Post of the U.S. has analyzed the reasons behind K-pop's global popularity.

In its article headlined "How K-pop conquered the universe" posted on July 14, the daily said, "The genre's catchy songs, savvy use of social media and dedicated fans are a formula for global success."

"K-pop labels have found innovative ways to promote their content globally. One of their marketing strategies is to give up copyrights and release songs and albums to stream on YouTube at the same time they become available for purchase."

The Post said a K-pop video with a "catchy hook song" and "a signature dance move" is "wrapped up in flashy video" optimized for social media, where "a devoted fan base gives the song a life of its own."

"Other Asian pop styles, such as Japanese pop, have tried to cross over into global markets," it added. "K-pop succeeded because of its timing with technology."

Roughly 90% of views of K-pop videos on YouTube are from outside of Korea, the report said.

The Post also mentioned K-pop fan groups as another marketing strategy for the genre. "The 2010s marked the beginning of mutual growth for K-pop and Twitter," it said. "Today, the #KpopTwitter fan community is the largest shared-interest group on the platform."

For many fans, the newspaper said, K-pop is not just about the music but a sense of inclusion in a community.

"(K-pop has a) dedicated, organized and smart fandom culture that is particularly difficult to find in other types of content," Kim Yeon-jeong, head of global K-pop and Korean content partnerships at Twitter, told The Post.

kimmj7725@korea.kr