Cho Yong-pil fans gather on May 13, 2023, at the main Olympic stadium of Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul, where the South Korean pop legend held his concert. The photo is provided by Insight Entertainment.
SEOUL, June 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean seniors over 50 years of age, once considered outcasts in the popular music market, are emerging as significant consumers for K-pop.
Subscribers to streaming platforms between the ages of 50 and 59 listened to 1.91 billion minutes of music last year, according to a report by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.
This placed them third, following the 19-29 age group with 5.59 billion minutes and the 30-39 age group with 4.35 billion minutes.
The 50-59 age group’s streaming time was twice that of the 13-18 age group, which is commonly regarded as the primary consumer of K-pop.
Examining the increase in streaming time for each age group, the 50-59 age group experienced a 172 percent jump, while the 60-69 age group saw a 205.2 percent increase from the previous year.
Both groups surpassed the 13-18 age group, which had an increase of 146.8 percent.
This change is largely attributed to the influx of senior K-pop fans following the success of several trot audition shows that swept the country in 2020.
Trot music is a form of traditional Korean pop-music, which derives its name from a shortening of “foxtrot.”
As singers from music competition TV shows venture into other genres such as ballads, pop rock, and classics, senior fans are demonstrating their significant purchasing power.
In fact, Korean trot sensation Lim Young-woong had 15 of his songs listed on Melon’s Top 100 chart as of Friday.
The presence of senior fans is increasingly felt in the concert and performance market.
The proportion of seniors over the age of 50 in concert ticket sales rose from 5.5 percent in 2019 to 9.7 percent last year, according to ticketing platform Yes24.
Among the top 10 ticket sales performances, concerts with a significant senior presence, such as those by Lim Young-woong (six places among the top 10) and Cho Yong-pil (5th place), followed immediately after K-pop groups like NCT Dream (1st place) and NCT 127 (2nd place).
Considering that many seniors are unfamiliar with online transaction systems and rely on their children to make reservations for them, the actual number of senior concert-goers is expected to be even higher.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
