How K-Pop Band BTS Positively Impacted Gender and Youth Equality Throughout Their Career

How K-Pop Band BTS Positively Has Impacted Gender and Youth Equality Throughout Their Career
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code and Name
Professor’s Name
Date
How K-Pop Band BTS Positively Has Impacted Gender and Youth Equality Throughout Their Career
Abstract
Music can significantly influence how people do or perceive various things in life. Indeed, it can encourage people on how to avoid problems. The K-Pop band BTS is a seven-member South Korean music group founded in 2010. The band has gained popularity worldwide by composing, writing, performing, and producing songs and videos that promote gender and youth equality. The two primary themes emphasized by BTS are love and equality, which are crucial in fighting against individuals’ differences. BTS encourages people to love themselves and others regardless of their culture, age, or gender differences. The group has gone further to release English songs to ensure that the message is passed to people worldwide. Therefore, BTS has been a significant force positively promoting gender and youth equality.
Introduction
The K-Pop band BTS is one of the largest music groups in South Korea. The band has seven members, and they began as the Big Hit Entertainment’s trainees before becoming a band. Band members’ names are Kim Nam-Joom, Kim Seok-Jin, Min Yoon-Gi, Jung Ho-Seok, Kim Tae-Hyung, Jeon JungKook, and Park Ji-Min (Kraterou & Roback, 2021). BTS was established in 2010, and in 2013, the band signed with Big Hit Entertainment. Many of the K-Pop band artists were discovered by Big Hit Entertainment through auditions. Big Hit Entertainment nurtured the BTS members, prepared, and coached them to be music superstars. For instance, they were trained how to sing and dance. Some of the members, such as JungKook, started to train when he was only 14. JungKook is the youngest member and is now 23-years-old (Choi, 2020). The popularity and celebrity status of BTS has positively impacted youth equality and gender. Before becoming a K-Pop idol group, BTS was previously thought to be a hip-hop group. The K-Pop Band’s first music album is called “2 COOL 4 SKOOL” and succeeded beyond expectations after it was released. In particular, one of the songs in the album is known as No More Dream, which portrays the pressures that teenagers encounter when growing up. The K-Pop Band has positively impacted gender and youth equality throughout their career. 
Literature Review
The K-Pop band is so far the largest group in South Korea and exports music overseas. In 2019, their music downloads, merchandise, and ticket sales generated about $4.65 billion, accounting for around 0.3% of South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) (Liu, 2020). BTS became the first South Korean band to earn three number one albums based on the Billboard 200 chart in the same year. Although BTS did not get a Grammy nomination in 2020, they performed with Lil Nas X. Specifically, BTS has become one of the most renowned music bands globally. The K-Pop band has many fans from all over the world, and they significantly influence numerous gender and youth equality social movements. Being an idol group has made numerous people purchase what the band members touch. The co-founder of a Korean news pop website, Paul Han, said that individuals are ready to purchase any product recommended by BTS (Liu, 2020). BTS has become an endorsement and merchandising empire. The group reaches millions of young people and international consumers through social media.
BTS explores various forms of love in their songs. The group members speak, rap, and sing about love in a way beyond sexual romance ideas, traditional, and monogamous (Wilson, 2018). When it comes to the issue of gender, BTS emphasizes that people should be respected regardless of their sex. In addition, BTS suggests that love for an individual goes beyond what others can see and is more than physical attraction. Young people love BTS since the members talk about the challenges of being a teenager. The members emphasize that youth should be handled well and advised accordingly. In other words, parents and guardians are encouraged to take care of young people and love them to help them realize themselves (Yoon, 2019). Without relevant support, numerous things can affect youth equality in society. However, BTS group members have presented themselves as an example of how youth should be treated. In addition, the K-Pop band writes, produces, and performs songs and music videos that do not objectify individuals based on their gender or age. In the reality show Bon Voyage, BTS said that the familial aspect in their relationship is what keeps the band intact (Wilson, 2018). Despite having a large fan base and celebrity superiority, the band members remain humble, and they appreciate individuals who support them in every way. They emphasize that people should treat themselves and others with care and affection to overcome numerous challenges in life. BTS encourages families to respect their members and handle them equally. As a result, the boy band has created a platform where people feel equal regardless of their gender, and young individuals get a place to share their life experiences. 
BTS performs a mix of R&B, pop, electronica, and hip-hop, which many young people like to listen to frequently. The K-Pop band performs alongside Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and One Direction. For instance, at some point, they sold out Wembley Stadium’s 90,000-capacity within 90 minutes (Liu, 2020). In that light, many individuals worldwide love BTS and are ready to attend their concerts. With such a large following globally, BTS has become a significant force that addresses gender and youth equality (Romano, 2021). Band members give their careers stories to encourage young people. When BTS went to Hyundai Palisade in 2019, the group landed lucrative partnerships with Puma, a sportswear manufacturer, and Line Friends for things, such as plush dolls and smartphone cases (Liu, 2020). Other collaborators include the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Starbucks. BTS said that they are in the frontline to foster human rights, which include respect for all people regardless of their gender, and youth equality.
The K-Pop band promotes a pop culture that transcends language, culture, and age. BTS harmonizes individuals regardless of their sex and considers them as their fans. Band members do not discriminate against anyone based on gender. For example, Kim Namjoon, speech to the world encouraged individuals to speak for themselves regardless of who they are and to share their stories without fear (Atmaja, Ardini, & Lestari, 2021). Many companies worldwide would partner with BTS if given a chance since they understand that young people love this band. In August 2020, BTS released an English song titled Dynamite,  ranked number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (Chon, 2020). Here is the list of the songs and their ranks from the Spotify Global Chart tweet in 2020; BTS’s Dynamite is number one.


In addition, the song was the most viewed on YouTube. Notably, BTS coming up with English songs would make them more influential internationally. When BTS shares their career journey, they motivate young people who might be facing challenges when they try to climb up the ladder of success. In particular, the group has positively affected Korea’s and youth image internationally (Bang, Joo, Seok, & Nam, 2021). Band members admit that people did not pay attention when the group started. They emphasize brotherhood, sisterhood, and love with no boundary (Punt, 2020). The group said that members sometimes argue, but they know to handle themselves. In 2020, K-Pop fans, known as ARMY, in the United States of America (USA) supported Black Lives Matter (BLM) (Lee & Kao, 2021). K-Pop Band fosters the realization that people are unique and it is what make them better. BTS has significantly influence the youth in Asian countries to stand for themselves whenever they feel like their rights are being violated (Otolorin & Spatichia, 2017). As such, the band says that people should understand that arguments portray individuals’ differences, but they should not be the reason for conflicts since people need to respect others&...