It is no secret that Malaysians love K-pop as there is even data to prove so. Based on statistics from Twitter and fandom data observatory K-pop Radar, Malaysian K-pop fans make up the seventh biggest market for K-pop-related conversations on Twitter by tweet volume.
K-pop acts such as BTS, EXO, TXT, BLACKPINK and Twice were boybands and girl groups with the highest number of mentions by Malaysian users who engage with their content on Twitter.
There have been 6.1 billion K-pop related tweets in the past 12 months alone as South Korean pop culture grew into a global phenomenon in the past decade. Fans can easily see the best tweets and join conversations about their favourite groups on Twitter as there are now 300 K-pop topics sorted by artiste names on the platform.
Kim Yeon-jeong, Twitter’s head of global K-pop partnerships said that Twitter has become the go-to platform for fans to access the latest news and content from the biggest K-pop stars.
“All we can say is thank you. It’s been a pleasure to watch and participate in the growth of K-pop over the past 10 years.
“When K-pop artistes want to reach a global audience, they go on Twitter to connect with their passionate fans who want to be the first to see and talk about what’s happening.
“These fans — many who are young and based all over the world — are flocking to Twitter to join these fun #KpopTwitter conversations to feel connected to a global fan community,” said Kim.
Even though many concerts and in-person fan events were cancelled due to the pandemic, the love for K-pop continues to go on as fans stay connected with each other online. Fans of K-pop also played a notable role on social media buy showing support during the Black Lives Matter movement this year.
“Even during this Covid-19 pandemic when K-pop concerts, global tours, and fan appreciation events have been cancelled, we haven’t seen any drop in #KpopTwitter conversations.
“K-pop fans want to stay connected with each other and have their voices heard on Twitter, whether they are cheering for their favourite artiste’s new song or participating in movements like #BlackLivesMatter.
“We can’t wait to see what the next 10 years of K-Pop and Twitter bring to the world,” said Kim.