$3.5 mil. in sales of BTS' album 'Proof' shows V's Chinese fans undeterred by Beijing's K-culture crackdown

K-pop fans write notes on stickers to post on a wall as they visit a BTS pop-up store to promote the album 'Proof' in Los Angeles, California, June 15. AFP-Yonhap

A Chinese fan page for one of the members of South Korean sensation BTS spent an eye-popping 4.5 billion won ($3.49 million) in a single day to purchase the boy band's newest album, suggesting K-pop supporters in China are undeterred by Beijing's crackdown on Korean entertainment and fandom culture.

The group purchase of more than 170,000 copies was made on the first day of the release of BTS' new album, "Proof," June 10.

"V Bar," the Weibo fan page that consolidated and carried out the transaction, posted a series of cash receipts of the purchase, which was double the previous record set in 2019 for a cross-border order by the Chinese fan page.

The bulk purchase also amounted to nearly 1.5 per cent of the total of South Korea's exports of K-pop albums to China in 2021. Last year, the total export amount stood at $41.5 million, 2.6 times higher than the previous year, according to the Korea Customs Service.

"Fans of Korean entertainment in China have not lost their enthusiasm because of the government's suppression. In fact, I feel like Korean entertainment is attracting more and more people recently," said Stella Li, a 21-year-old university student in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun.

A woman cycles past a mural depicting RM, a member of K-pop group BTS, in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, June 15. AFP-Yonhap

"Although the government prohibits K-pop groups from being broadcast on TV, everyone can still talk about everything and exchange K-pop star-related affairs on social media," added Li, who has participated in four group orders of BTS albums directly from South Korea via Weibo since 2015.

Avid Chinese K-pop fans place orders directly from South Korea on the first day the album is released because they want to bolster the initial sales figures, as the number is often considered an indication of the popularity of the artist.

"The beginning and intensification of Chinese fans' ordering albums in huge bulk started around 2015, along with BTS' rising popularity," said Yoon Ho-jin, the head of the Korea Creative Content Agency's Beijing office.

The Korea Creative Content Agency is an entity under the South Korean government that promotes the country's content industry.

The "V Bar" fan page has 1.786 million followers on Weibo, who are fans of V, the 26-year-old member of BTS, whose real name is Kim Tae-hyung.

"V Bar" held the previous record for the biggest group order in 2019 when it placed a $1.75 million order for more than 150,000 copies of the boy band's album.

According to South Korean media reports, the fan page's latest bulk order accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the total orders made from China directly to South Korea for the new album.

"Proof" sold 2.75 million copies on the first day after its release, according to Hanteo Chart, a South Korean company that compiles music sales figures.

This already exceeds the total number for the top-selling K-pop album in 2021 ― "Butter," also by BTS ― by nearly 500,000.

The record purchase by "V Bar," along with South Korea's increasing K-pop album exports to China, seem counterintuitive since the Chinese government has been tightening its grip over the domestic consumption of South Korean content and fandom culture in recent years.

K-pop supergroup BTS member V speaks during a daily briefing at the White House in Washington, May 31. BTS members are from left, Jungkook, Jimin, V, RM, Jin, J-Hope and Suga. AP-Yonhap

The ban on South Korean content began in 2016 when Beijing sought retaliation for the South Korean government allowing the deployment of a U.S. THAAD missile-defense system.

As a result, South Korean content that used to enjoy wide popularity in China was mostly halted from being officially aired.

More recently, the Chinese government put the brakes on the country's widespread fandom culture for South Korean idol groups.

Twenty-two K-pop fan accounts on Weibo were closed down in September for varying lengths of time after a fan page for BTS member Jimin was accused of illegal crowdfunding.

"I think [the government's clamp down] has had little impact [on K-pop fans in China]," said Lilly Lee, a 24-year-old BTS fan in Beijing who ordered seven copies of the latest album via "V Bar."

Lee uses online platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Bilibili and social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu, known as China's answer to Instagram, to stay connected. YouTube and Instagram are normally inaccessible in China due to the ban on the American platforms, but Lee uses a VPN to bypass the so-called Great Firewall.

Riko Li, a 26-year-old who lives in Shenzhen and works in asset management, has participated in group purchases of albums for many K-pop idol groups since 2019, including (G)I-dle, Mamamoo, Iz*One and Super Junior.

Members of the South Korean band BTS exit the South Korean Consulate before the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York, U.S., Sept. 21, 2021. Reuters-Yonhap

"The government's suppression [of Korean entertainment] is mainly reflected in the prohibition of Korean artists from appearing on TV shows, but the internet is a good medium of communication for fans," she said.

"Therefore, things like group purchasing of albums from Korea have not been affected."

South Korean industry watchers said it is innately difficult for any government to tightly contain cultural developments, especially in the digital age.

"Just because a government tries to suppress culture, doesn't mean it will be suppressed," said Hong Seok-kyeong, the director of Seoul National University's Centre for Hallyu Studies.

The Korean word hallyu, which translates to Korean wave, refers to the popularity of South Korean culture abroad.

"K-pop is fundamentally a digital culture in which content such as music videos, performance videos and numerous fan-made contents are shared through the internet. I know that K-pop content including Korean dramas are widely available to Chinese audiences even though the Chinese government is trying to sanction them," Hong said.

"It is impossible for a government to control the flow of culture from the top-down. In this digital culture era, even people in North Korea are watching K-pop and hallyu dramas. It is natural for a huge population in mainland China to consume hallyu," he added. (SCMP)