YouTube clicks attest to global popularity of Korean pop

The global popularity of "Hallyu," or the popularity of Korean pop culture, is displayed on the video sharing site YouTube’s K-Pop map.

Korean entertainment agencies such as SM, JYP and YG Entertainment release teaser and music videos of their new songs on their official YouTube channels. A click on the YouTube videos provides quick statistics showing how many times a clip was viewed in a country or region. The popularity of a clip is marked with the thickness of a color.

○ Everybody knows Korean pop stars?

YouTube’s K-Pop map shows that the maps of Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries are marked with the thickest color, suggesting that fans in those countries click the videos of Korean singers the most, followed by the U.S., China, Canada, Australia, South America, Europe, Russia and Africa.

The SM Channel is the most viewed Asian channel on YouTube. Among its videos, the music video of “Gee” by Korean girl band Girls Generation is the most popular with more than 42 million views as of Monday. The video was viewed in all countries worldwide except Chad and the Central African Republic.

The SM Channel is the most popular among viewers in Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries, followed by those in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia and Peru. In France, where SM’s singers are scheduled to hold a joint concert in June, the “Gee” video has been viewed as often as it has been in China, the U.K., Northern Europe and South America.

○ Big Bang and 2NE1 popular in N. America

YG bands are more popular in North America than other areas outside of Korea. The music video of “Lonely” uploaded by Korean girl band 2NE1 received 7.7 million clicks in a relatively short period of time, showing the thickest color among those of Korean idol groups.

2NE1’s recent hosting of a worldwide cover contest is believed to have helped boost the number of clicks on its video. The video enjoyed explosive popularity in North America thanks to the group’s embrace of hip hop and electronic and collaboration with mainstream American musicians such as the Black Eyed Peas and will.i.am.

The music video of Big Bang’s "Lollipop" was popular in North America with 26.6 million views, though the group is not active in the U.S. Big Bang’s new EP "Tonight” was released in Korea in March but ranked seventh on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart and third on its World Albums chart with no particular promotional activities in the U.S. market.

The video of Wonder Girls’ “Nobody,” however, received just 21.1 million views in the U.S. despite the band’s focus on the U.S. market. The number of U.S. views lagged behind those in Korea and Southeast Asia. SM’s boy band Shinee is said to be popular in France but clicking its “Ring Ding Dong” video suggests that the song is more popular in Southeast Asia and the U.S.

YouTube clicks also suggest that DSP’s girl band Kara, which is active in Japan, is more popular in Japan than in Korea.

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