PETALING JAYA, Sept 23 — Malaysians are passionate about their love for K-pop and there’s data to prove it.

Malaysian K-pop fans make up the seventh biggest market for K-pop-related conversations on Twitter by tweet volume according to statistics collected by Twitter and fandom data observatory K-pop Radar.

Boybands BTS, EXO, TXT, and girl groups Blackpink and Twice were the K-pop acts with the highest number of mentions by Malaysian users who engaged with their content on Twitter.

South Korean pop culture has grown into a global phenomenon in the past decade with 6.1 billion K-pop-related tweets in the past 12 months alone.

Malaysia trails Brazil and the US in the list of biggest markets for K-pop-related conversations by tweet volume. — Image courtesy of Twitter
Malaysia trails Brazil and the US in the list of biggest markets for K-pop-related conversations by tweet volume. — Image courtesy of Twitter

There are now 300 K-pop topics sorted by artiste names that can be followed on Twitter where fans can easily see the best tweets and join conversations about their favourite groups on the platform.

Twitter’s head of global K-pop partnerships Kim Yeon-jeong said 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.

K-pop has become a force to be reckoned with on social media with more than six billion tweets over the past 12 months. — Image courtesy of Twitter
K-pop has become a force to be reckoned with on social media with more than six billion tweets over the past 12 months. — Image courtesy of Twitter

Despite the widespread cancellations of concerts and in-person fan events due to Covid-19, the love for K-pop continues to burn bright as fans choose to stay connected with each other online.

K-pop fans also played a notable role on social media by showing solidarity with 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 stans 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.