Hey blog! I think you’ll agree with me when I say that BTS is one of the most well-known K-pop groups. K-pop music has been becoming more and more popular throughout the nation. But how did BTS, the seven member South Korean boy band, get so popular, even in the US? Well, the quantitative approach in John Storey’s intro of “What is Popular Culture?”, explains this and the best ways to approach how to examine this pop culture. The quantitative approach is one of the best ways to approach pop culture in which it is all about the numbers, which is very direct. Since popular culture is “culture that is widely favored and well liked”, it is very straightforward to look at popularity through numbers (What Is Popular Culture by John Storey). It is an easy way to get a measurement so many people use this quantitative approach in order to look over large amounts of data and statistics within popular culture. Numbers are easy to read when it comes to followers, likes, comments, viewers, tickets sold for events and CDs or movies sold etc. Also, the growth of numbers on the media allows for an increasing number of audiences, followers, and overall popularity. The numbers will keep growing allowing for more popularity, therefore pop culture. Although numbers are not just online, the quantitative approach is very relevant online right now because the current pandemic we are living in. Numbers are increasing online as people are focused on social media for entertainment and news while staying home and not being able to go out to the movies, concerts, theaters, and more in person events. When people go out to these events, they order tickets which will increase their sales as well. The quantitative approach is pretty clear; therefore, I would say that this is an accurate description of an approach to popular culture. BTS was founded in 2010, launched their first single in 2013, and went on their first world tour in 2015. They suddenly gained thousands of followers and fans through social media as videos of them performing started going viral. The numbers increased online allowing them to receive international success with a huge American fanbase.
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/music/how-did-bts-become-so -famous-around-the-world.html/
https://brightspace.lmu.edu/d2l/le/content/130898/viewContent/1325861/ View
By Gabby Barba
Seoul Searching 