Growing influence of Thailand in K-pop industry

As K-pop continues to impact the global music scene, it's clear that success isn't driven solely by the bands and their music. Fans around the world play a crucial role in propelling K-pop artists forward, with their unwavering support and engagement.

Traditionally, the US, Japan and the UK have been seen as the most important markets due to their size and impact on the global music industry. However, the rise of digital platforms like TikTok and Instagram is shifting this dynamic, allowing Southeast Asian countries -- particularly Thailand -- to exert significant influence on the K-pop industry.

Thailand, with its passionate fanbase and influential social media, is emerging as a key player in K-pop's global expansion.

In July last year, a single TikTok video by Thai influencer Alice Ratchadawan brought a relatively obscure South Korean indie band, Wave to Earth, into the international spotlight. Her use of the band's track "Bad" for her marriage proposal video resonated far beyond Thailand, quickly going viral around the world. The song surged to the top of Spotify's "Viral 50" chart in Thailand, illustrating social media's power to expand the reach of K-pop.

As a result of this viral moment, Wave to Earth saw its Spotify monthly listeners skyrocket, surpassing some of South Korea's most established artists, including IU. As of Tuesday, Wave to Earth boasts over 6.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, compared to IU's 5 million.

Hong Jong-hee, head of communications at TikTok Korea, emphasized the crucial role of the Southeast Asian market in K-pop’s global spread.

"Southeast Asian creators have a significant global influence because they frequently and explosively reproduce Korean content in their own unique style. On TikTok, Southeast Asia is the leading region for the production and consumption of K-content, with Indonesia ranking first and Thailand also standing out," Hong said on Tuesday. “The power of TikTok in Southeast Asia is incomparable to that in South Korea.”

Despite Indonesia's larger music market due to its vast young population, Thailand wields greater influence on K-pop, thanks to its prominent K-pop artists like Ten of NCT, BamBam of Got7 and Lisa of Blackpink.

"Korean music labels have been recruiting Thai members to attract fans not only in Thailand but also in neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV). For instance, YG Entertainment's recent moves with the K-pop girl group Baby Monster are a strategic effort to dominate the Thai market and, by extension, the CLMV region," said Suwat Wuthichairattanaporn, a 20-year veteran of the Thai entertainment industry, on Tuesday. "It is a smart strategy to appeal to Southeast Asia, a dynamic and rapidly growing region within the global music industry."

Thailand’s centralized population and well-developed infrastructure, particularly in Bangkok, give it an edge over neighboring countries like Vietnam and Myanmar. These factors enable the rapid production of secondary content and make Thailand especially effective in generating viral short-form videos on social media.

"Recently, Lisa of Blackpink has been filming music videos in Thailand, likely driven not just by patriotism but also by data-driven decisions," music critic Lim Hee-yun said on Tuesday.

"This underscores Thailand's potential as a cultural hub in Asia and highlights its well-developed infrastructure and capabilities, which will likely continue to amplify the Thai music market's impact on K-pop," Lim added.