Monthly spending on K-pop worldwide 2018-2023

According to a survey conducted across 26 countries in 2023, respondents stated that they spent an average of 4.5 U.S. dollars on South Korean pop music (K-pop) content per month, a decrease from about seven dollars the previous year.

K-Pop consumption

Regarding monthly spending on K-pop, consumers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spent the most, at around 17.6 dollars per month in 2023. The same survey showed that the majority of K-Pop fans used YouTube for accessing K-Pop online, while Spotify was the second most popular online service for K-pop content. Due to the vast amount of content related to K-Pop, such as music videos, behind the scene videos, variety content and more, K-pop fans usually spend a lot of time watching said content. The average time spent engaging with K-pop, was highest among Thai and Indian fans, followed by Vietnamese and Indonesian consumers.

Fan culture and collecting

K-pop content, especially CDs, usually has unique packaging which makes it attractive for consumers to buy and collect. An album usually includes a photobook and a lot of freebies such as photocards or stickers. Since the albums often include only one photocard out of many, fans often buy more copies to collect one of each member of the group. In some cases, idol groups release several versions of the same album with different photo concepts, so that avid collectors spend even more on K-pop. One example is the top-selling physical album of 2023, "FML" by SEVENTEEN, for which six versions were available.