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K-pop and the Transmedia Storyworld
of BTS
Kyung Sun Lee
January 24, 2019
CAU International Winter Program
Lecture on K-Pop
What about K-pop?
• The advent of K-pop
• How K-Pop works as an industry
• Transmedia Storytelling: An unprecedented strategy by BTS
The Jurassic Park Factor
The total annual revenue from the Hollywood movie Jurassic Park equals to the sales of 1.5 million Hyundai cars in Korea (Shim, 1994).
The emergence of Entertainment Agencies
• At the center are three major entertainmentagencies
• In charge of everything from recruiting, financing, training talent to managing all musical activities, including PR and marketing (i.e. “In-house system”)
• Each agency has a “style” of idols that they sign under their label
K-pop not ‘just entertainment’ but recognized as a profitable industry
Source: IFPI
Is music limited to auditory experience?
People don’t want to own media anymore
Premise of the CD as a collection of musical work
Transmedia Storytelling Conference, 2012
In the same period, Korea’s album sales of the top 400 albums increased by 57% (Gaon Chart, 2018)
What is the logic of the K-pop industry?
Provide official music videos for free
Merchandise
Album
Live performance
Expand fan base
Fan Merchandise
• Selling official goods
• SM Entertainment's store at COEX Mall
K-Pop Tourism Industry
• Concert Tour Packages for global fans
• SM Entertainment has started a travel agency devoted to fan tourism
• Flight & hotels, exclusive merchandise,
priority seats, and other related discounts
Beauty and Duty Free Industry
• K-Beauty: K-pop idols as models for beauty “road shops”
• Duty Free Shops: K-pop idols as models, targeting global fans
K-pop, Film, and Television
• Collaboration with the film industry
• SM Entertainment produced the documentary film I Am (2012) about their singers’ history
• Disney collaborated with boy band EXO in China and Korea to promote The Force Awakens (2015)
K-pop Idols and Musicals
• Musical industry building upon the idols’ popularity for high ticket sales
K-Pop industry reflects a franchise industry, without much connection among different content
Artist
Album MerchandiseFilm, drama
musicalLive
performance
Entertainment Agency
Current K-Pop industry strategy
Transmedia storytelling strategy
A coordinated story experience told across multiple media channels
“A whole is more than the sum of its parts”
By integrating transmedia storytelling to music, BTS has pushed the music industry to a whole new level of possibilities.
Music
Campaign
Video
Game
Live Event
Character
SNS
Self-Worth and Social Expectations
• “No More Dream”
• Took on the ways Korean youth feel stymied by societal expectations
• Frustration from lack of autonomy to control own future
Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJFn10XLQM
Music
Dream Narrative
• “No More Dream”“I wanna big house big cars b big rings but in reality, I dun have any big dream.”
• “N.O” “Does a nice hourse and a nice car lead to happiness” “Everybody say No. Don’t stay locked up in another’s dream”
• Invoke cultural terms such as “금수저” (Gold Spoon)
Music
The social Identity of Group Members invokes identification
“Whalien52”
- Not from a major label
- Not common idol – criticized for not being underground rapper but also not common idol.
“Ma City” Emphasize place of origin
“쩔어” (Trans. “Dope”)
Music
Video
Lyrics invoke empathy
• “We said what other people were feeling—like pain, anxieties and worries…That was our goal, to create this empathy that people can relate to,” (Suga, quoted in TIME, 2018)
Puzzle Solving in Music Videos Music
Video
Alas, I now know only too well that there is nothing in the world more hateful to a person than walking the path that leads to himself! (Hesse, p. 36)
Character-makingCharac
ter
Music
Video
Expand to animation and game
Intellectual property rights make it easier to create and circulate content for revenue
Music
Video
Game
SNS
Bypass traditional gatekeepers
Music
Video
GameCharacter
SNS
Diverse content uploaded on different platforms
Music
Video
GameCharacter
SNS
Music
Video
GameCharacter
SNS
•Multiple entry point for a relatively small entertainment agency with less resources
• Creates multiple levels of character identity
Music
Video
GameCharacter
SNS
https://medium.com/@serendimplety/why-does-going-to-bts-concert-mean-so-much-to-me-f1e60ed4b7ee
Live Performance
Going to BTS’ concert is almost like a spiritual ritual for me. They heal me with their magic. They complete my puzzle. All of their works are crafted carefully but not manufactured, their works are beautiful but sometimes flawed, they carry substance that matters to a lot of people.
Music
Video
GameCharacter
SNS
Live Event
Music
Video
GameCharacter
SNS
Live Event
Campaign
• Love Myself Campaign raises over $1.4 million
• Speak Yourself speech tied to Love Yourself album trilogy
Music
Video
GameCharacter
SNS
Live Event
Campaign
How was BTS so successful in its transmedia storytelling strategy?
Technological: Convergence of music and platform industry
System: In-house training system combined with autonomy of members
Structural: A more resilient position of Big Hit Entertainment
To Recap…
Music should be approached as not only an auditory experience but an all-around consumption and creation of stories
K-pop has effectively adapted to the multi-platform convergent system in the content industry
In addition to stringent and systematized in-house training, BTS members’ autonomy to speak their mind has brought about success in drawing empathy from audience
Thank You for Listening!
Q&AKarenlee48@gmail.com
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