K-pop sensationd BTS made headlines once again this week,... by bagging 2 trophies at the Billboard Music Awards.
And as the popularity of K-pop continues,... so does its economic impact.
Our Won Jung-hwan has the details.
The Korean Wave or Hallyu, refers to the global popularity of South Korea's culture overseas.
And the economic impact of Korean pop-music, TV shows, video games, and movies continues to grow every year.
According to the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange on Thursday,… exports of cultural contents surged more than 20-percent last year, contributing to overall growth.
While the figure has been gradually increasing every year since 2014,… last year's total Hallyu exports marked 9-point-4-billion U.S. dollars,… up 9-point-1 percent from the previous year.
Among the export categories, the gaming industry accounted for the largest portion of cultural contents exports at 3 billion U.S. dollar,... followed by music... and film and television.
Meanwhile,... exports of consumer goods and tourism were down 0-point-5 percent.
The report also has its own "Hallyu Index" to measure such cultural exports and the impact they have on the domestic economy.
It conducted a survey on 7-thousand-500 people in 16 countries, and used Korean cultural contents export reports from 16 domestic industries.
The report also used the BTS fan club platform to analyze indirect contribution toward the economic growth.
The annual report once again proves the ever-growing popularity of the Korean wave.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.