Tickets that go for $9,000 every; followers who plant bushes so their idols can see them from their aircraft; devotees who hear for as much as 11 hours a day.
Few locations have caught the K-pop bug as intensely as Latin America.
After practically a four-year break, the preeminent Korean pop music group BTS is reuniting for a world tour that includes a number of dates in Latin America, the place the group’s return is very anticipated.
In the band’s absence, the so-called “Korean wave” has continued to flourish on a worldwide scale, with successes represented within the Netflix movie “KPop Demon Hunters” and the solo careers of the Blackpink performers.
This dominance is particularly emblematic in Latin America, the place K-pop artists keep a feverish fandom.
In 2021, the social media platform X found that the international locations with probably the most K-pop followers included Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. Spotify just lately reported that Mexico is among the many style’s largest markets.
Perhaps no group exemplifies the style’s success greater than BTS, the massively standard boy band that instructions an expansive base of followers. The legions of followers who encompass the group are often known as the “ARMY,” a logo of the loyal and arranged nature of the fandom.
Before their break for obligatory army service, the group enjoyed titanic success that has transcended borders and languages.
After kicking off their long-awaited tour in Seoul, the group heads to Latin America within the fall, with dates in Bogotá, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and São Paulo.
Across the area, anticipation for the group’s arrival is palpable.
The BTS craze has driven up resale prices in Mexico, the place tickets price as a lot as $9,000.
In Peru, followers are planting trees so the band may have “a better view” from the aircraft.
Meanwhile, some Chileans have expressed concern on the lack of a confirmed venue for the 2 October dates in Santiago.
Latin American followers have seemingly embraced the affect of K-pop acts, with their refined aesthetic presentation, flashy performances, and potent messages of self-acceptance.
Across Latin America, K-pop fandom manifests in numerous methods.
In Colombia, a burgeoning movement of aggressive dance teams is constructing communities centered across the music.
Fans in Mexico City collect to take part in K-pop themed occasions in Friki Plaza, a full of life purchasing heart that gives Korean and Japanese merchandise and meals. In Mexico, BTS is so standard that President Claudia Sheinbaum requested South Korea to schedule extra tour dates.
Even in Cuba, which solely formalized diplomatic relations with South Korea in 2024, the phenomenon has caught on, with fan-organized dance occasions.
But nearly all of the community-building relies in on-line platforms, Dr. Benjamin Min Han, a professor of leisure and media research on the University of Georgia, instructed NCS.
“The role of social media is significant in driving the fandom in Latin America,” he added.
Despite the style’s rising recognition, the tradition stays considerably area of interest and comparatively unfamiliar to some communities, Han instructed NCS.
This can result in marginalization, which subsequently reinforces the sense of group felt throughout the fandom, Han’s analysis discovered.
Those dejected followers can discover solace within the phrases of K-pop idols, a few of whom preach in regards to the significance of acceptance and self-worth.
“There’s this element of care – they feel that they are being cared for by the community and also by the artists, who often engage in livestreams to help establish connection and intimacy,” Han stated.
The ingredient of efficiency additionally contributes to igniting the fan base. K-pop performers are sometimes remarked for his or her polished choreography and technically spectacular live shows.
“K-pop has had a huge impact in Latin America because of its comprehensive approach: it’s not just music, but also a combination of aesthetics, performance, storytelling, and constant content,” Carolina Aballay, president of the official BTS fan membership in Chile, instructed NCS.
“It’s an industry that pays close attention to detail, from the visuals to the concepts, which is appealing to audiences looking for something different from the traditional,” Aballay added.
Ro Julio, a choreographer and dancer in Santiago, Chile, considers dancing and efficiency an essential ingredient of the style’s international recognition.
“I think it’s global. The rhythms, the music, everything is very flashy, very visual. The group work also involves super dynamic choreography. All of that has attracted attention for more than 10 years, but lately it has become more mainstream with the number of groups that keep appearing,” she instructed NCS.
Camila Pizarro, a 32-year-old publicist and BTS fan, instructed NCS that the group’s multidisciplinary prowess lends to their enchantment.
“They all sing so well, they dance excellently, they act, they have such expressiveness—there’s so much talent. They’re the complete package as performers,” she stated.
Overall, K-pop leads South Korea’s cultural exports, a 2025 report from South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism discovered, although it famous that curiosity in different media has additionally elevated.
Throughout the early 2000s, South Korean tradition was mainly launched to giant audiences in Latin America by the broadcasting of Korean drama collection, or Ok-dramas.
Ahead of the 2002 World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea, Peru’s public broadcaster began airing Ok-dramas in a partnership with the Korean embassy.
Other Latin American international locations additionally started airing the exhibits, which have been usually dubbed in Mexico. Over time, Ok-dramas developed in recognition throughout the area.
This curiosity in Korean popular culture more and more prolonged to music with the elevated prevalence of social media within the 2010s.
Many K-pop followers have been launched to the style by anime or by dance video games at native arcades, earlier than going surfing to find extra, Han instructed NCS.
Latin America’s large youth population has additionally performed a central function within the music’s success.
K-pop is “mostly appealing to younger generations who use a lot of social media,” Han stated.
In 2025, Spotify reported that almost seven out of 10 Ok-Pop listeners in Mexico are 29 years outdated or youthful.
In current years, the juggernauts behind K-pop’s international success have made clear efforts to capitalize on Latin America’s distinctive curiosity within the style.
“The Korean music industry realized the significance of the Latin American market,” Han stated, and the businesses started allocating extra assets to develop a sturdy fan base within the area.
In 2023, HYBE – the multimedia large behind BTS and Katseye, which has had notable success within the US – acquired the report label Exile Music and established a Mexico-based subsidiary targeted on Latin America.
Last yr, HYBE Latin America debuted its first group, Santos Bravos, focused at Latin demographics.
Tim Kim, supervisor of standard K-pop teams Momoland and T1419, started working with Miami-based public relations agency Nevarez Communications, which counts reggaeton icon Daddy Yankee amongst its clientele, to broaden his personal shoppers’ influence within the area, Billboard reported.
T1419 even covered Daddy Yankee’s tune “Campeón” in 2022, highlighting the crossover enchantment of the style.
The language barrier additionally appears to be falling. Some K-pop teams have integrated Latin music types or Spanish-language phrases into their songs, like in BTS’s “Airplane pt.2” or Ateez’s “THANXX.”
Members of the group NMIXX, which made headlines for acting at Chile’s Viña del Mar Festival, have spoken about their efforts to study to study Spanish.
Before their hiatus, BTS spoke about their love of Latin pop and their upcoming album options manufacturing from Spanish musician El Guincho, who has labored with artists like Rosalía, J Balvin, and Ozuna.
While on stage at a solo live performance in Mexico City final yr, BTS member J-Hope recognized the clear depth of the fan response.
“It’s really no joke. You made tonight special,” he stated to the viewers, “Honestly, during the concert I thought, ‘Wow, this is Mexico. This is why we have to come.’”