Korean Pop or k-pop isn’t any longer only a South Korean subculture, thanks to the recent global success of Korean music acts including BTS and BlackPink. Korean artists nowadays, including Beyoncé’s Bey Hive or Lady Gaga’s Little Monsters, are backed by devoted fans like the ARMY (Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth – a fan club made up of ardent supporters of South Korean boy band BTS). The ARMY is committed to their idol and it has grown into a far more powerful force than Western artist fan clubs. BTS has cemented their status as the world’s biggest boy band owing to its record-breaking social media rule, chart-topping songs, as well as sold-out performances, all thanks to the worldwide support of its ARMY. When so much is on the line, these pop music groups need to have a well-known name. We as Labbrand believe that name is indeed an important part of the branding process: The name of a company serves as a portal as well as a carrier for all of its brand equity. We previously discussed how Korean culture influenced the name of some of the country’s most well-known companies. Now we’re wondering: what makes a K-pop band’s brand name successful? What can others companies learn from all these popular K-pop groups’ name approach inside a broader sense?
The acronym, or initialism, is indeed the most often used naming method for K-pop bands. This was popularised by BTS and was initially used by several of the first boy bands to emerge from the Korean Wave, H.O.T.
H.O.T. is indeed an acronym that combines the words “Highfive Of Teenagers” as well as “hot.” In 1996, the band and its concept were established in part as a result of a survey of high school students to determine what their dream-pop group is like. Likewise, the term BTS is derived from the phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan,” which translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Romanized Korean. BTS became a backronym for “Beyond the Scene” in 2017, four years after the band was established because it is frequently used to acronymize “Behind-The-Scenes” in English.
The key advantage of choosing an acronym is that it is short and simple to remember, which appeals to both Korean as well as worldwide audiences. The fact that the term itself doesn’t create much explanation, at first sight, piques interest, allowing the band to utilise the moniker as a springboard to describe the underlying concept as well as, overage, further develop as well as extend the brand.
From 1996 through 2018, the most prominent K-pop bands have included youth as a reoccurring theme. And besides, its most ardent supporters were mostly high school students. However, as K-fanbase pops has become broader, more international, and more diversified, the genre is beginning to look beyond its youthful demographic. Recent cases demonstrate this.
Also Read: Who is the best leader in K-pop?
