K-pop, a global phenomenon struggling to win over France

Paris is once again getting ready to rock to the sound of K-pop . On Saturday night, the group Blackpink will take over the Stade de France, where more than 55,000 fans await them. These four girls, whose names Lisa, Rosé, Jennie, and Jisoo may not mean anything to you; they are among the most listened to artists in the world. On YouTube, eight of their singles have exceeded one billion views, while 32 million people listen to their music each month on Spotify. At the same time, an equally popular group, known as BTS , is releasing a documentary, titled Forever We Are Young, aimed at their fans . Between them, the two collectives exercise a virtual monopoly on the Korean music industry.

K-pop emerged in the 1990s with the emergence of the rock and American music-influenced band Seo Taiji & Boys. It was greatly popularized by PSY in the early 2010s with his hit Gangnam Style . And in 2023, the observation is clear: 19 of the 20 best-selling albums in the world belong to Korean music. Only Taylor Swift has made a place for herself amidst this unparalleled dominance. “It’s a major musical movement on an international scale ,” notes Angelo Gopée, general manager of Live Nation France. “K-pop is a real experience. Fans have fun, dance, dress up, live their passion. It doesn’t exist elsewhere. It’s a way of life.”

Skip the ad

Blackpink - JUMP (2025)

K-pop is so successful because of its diversity. Of course, the genre "remains pop," says Margaux, 20, a big fan of BTS and Stray Kids since 2020. "The music is simply sung in Korean," she notes. But you can find everything there. Rap, for example, occupies a prominent place in current K-pop groups. "It's full of different styles, namely pop, rock, or hip-hop," admires Salomé, 20, a fan of the group Bigband for six years.

Also read : South Korea: a special visa to become a K-pop star

Like the Spice Girls, or more recently One Direction, K-pop artists form veritable boy and girl bands. Blackpink, Stray Kids, and NCT have been the new "people stars" for young people since the end of the 2010s. For BTS, their fans claim to be members of ARMY. This collective, founded in 2013 when the group launched, follows them everywhere in their adventures. In France, a website is dedicated to it, as is an Instagram account bringing together nearly 24,000 enthusiasts. "I was part of ARMY ," confides Salomé. "When you join, you find out about all the artists' news. We don't just listen to music. We watch shows, we read books..." Jeanne, 17, considers herself "Blink," the name given to fans of the girl band Blackpink .

“It's more of an industry than a musical genre,” Margaux emphasizes. “We listen to the songs, we buy the albums, we get to know the band members. There's a lot of content. It's different from French-speaking or American artists. There's more of a connection with the fans.” K-pop artists are also a significant financial boon. According to a report from the Korean Culture and Tourism Institute, published in July 2024, the industry is expected to generate more than $893 million in 2023. How? By selling albums, of course, in the form of vinyl, CDs, or on music streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer. But also by offering all kinds of merchandise for sale.

Earlier this week, reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain announced a collaboration with Blackpink, as their European tour kicks off this weekend at the Stade de France . Fans will be able to find limited-edition T-shirts and hoodies featuring the PSG and Blackpink logos. Each album release, which comes with two releases annually, also comes with its own set of (paid) goodies. Stray Kids' next album, titled Karma , due out on August 22, is currently up for pre-order. A poster and a photocard complete the package.

Skip the ad

This "photocard" is "inspired by Panini images," explains Linda Li, manager of the Tai You store in the ^13th arrondissement of Paris. Her store is one of the first in Europe to specialize in the world of K-pop. It opened in the 2000s in the Asian district, at a time when J-pop, Japanese pop, was fashionable. "The clientele increased around 2016 with the arrival of BTS ," she notes. "Even more so with the lockdown, when people took the time to discover K-pop." Her store, just a few square meters in size, is a must-see meeting place for fans. "We sell vinyl records, CDs, books, photocards, and clothing," lists Linda. There are also keychains, pins, flower pots, and even magazines. A veritable treasure trove for enthusiasts. The store's clientele, made up of "young women in their twenties," remains very community-oriented. "People come back ," says the manager. "We're all fans of the same bands. We'd like to introduce everyone to this genre of music."

Also read: In Afghanistan, these K-Pop fans who dance on the rooftops of Kabul

Because despite its global success, K-pop remains relatively communal. Some countries around the world have already adopted it, like the United States where Bruno Mars recently joined forces with the Korean artist Rosé on the single APT . Our British neighbors also became interested in this musical genre in 2021 with the release of a collaboration between the London group Coldplay and BTS on My Universe . "It has become a very commercial, very Americanized music," Gabriela even regrets. For Salomé, this new K-pop, sung in English, does not mark any difference with "the style of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones."

In France, we tend to be very strict with new things.

Yun, French K-pop singer

France is more resistant. According to a November 2024 survey in 26 countries around the world by the Korean Ministries of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, only 57.3% of French people who have listened to K-pop give a favorable opinion. For comparison, the global average is set at 70%. The French public is also the one that rejects this musical genre the most, with a rate rising from 21.7% in 2023 to 24.2% in 2024. Nearly a third (31.3%) of French residents even say they are reluctant to invest in this industry. Why? K-pop has a very particular style. "In France, we tend to be very harsh with new things," notes Inès Pillot, aka Yun, a rare French K-pop singer.

This 24-year-old Parisian took a gamble in 2019 by launching herself into Franco-Korean pop, a first in the country. Colorful clips, catchy choruses, choreographies... The artist borrowed her know-how from the "Land of the Han", thinking she was "doing something out of the ordinary" and could "please the uninitiated" . "It wasn't so well received ," Yun admits. "At first, it was even poorly received. People accused me of copying and pasting. Plus, I arrived too early. No one dared to do that. And today, as an independent artist (she was with Sony Music in 2019, editor's note), it has become difficult to work."

Yun - Checkmate (2019)

Skip the ad

At the start of her career, young Yun was listened to by some 26,000 people each month on Spotify. Her first single, Échec & Mat, has reached almost a million views on YouTube. Lately, she has "stopped making music videos," touring small festivals and offering her services for short films. The singer had hoped to gain more notoriety after her promising debut. But there are still too many reservations, particularly due to the language barrier. "The lyrics have always been poorly received," she notes. A sentiment shared by Salomé: "It's a very original musical style, especially in terms of the language." 9.1% of French people believe that K-pop is "difficult to access" for this reason.

Especially since the musical genre has never left a real mark on French music. In their songs, Korean artists do not fail to make references to France, certainly. The girl band Izone titled one of its tracks La Vie en rose in 2018, in homage to Édith Piaf . NCT Dream released Déjà vu in 2020. But collaborations between French and Korean artists can unfortunately be counted on the fingers of one hand. Two years ago, DJ Snake , a French-Algerian composer, teamed up with Jung Kook on the track Please Don't Change , taken from his album GOLDEN . In 2018, at the height of K-pop, French DJ Hcue of WATI B released the track I Feel So Lucky with ACE. It's hard to find others. "It's a shame ," laments Yun. "Especially since Koreans love fashion, France and Paris." They may be afraid and think that our language is more sensitive than English."

Jung Kook and DJ Snake - Please Don't Change (2023)

K-pop still suffers from a distrust of group phenomena. For a long time, and this is still the case, fans - also called netizens - were stigmatized. "For people, we are 14-year-old girls with colored hair ," says Salomé. There is some truth in that, but it doesn't correspond to all fans. There are also men and 50-year-olds at concerts, not just middle school girls." Margaux admits that K-pop has "a bad image." According to her, this criticism is mainly made of fans, some of whom are considered "hysterical, crazy, or crazy." "We put everyone in the same basket," she exclaims. Singer Yun adds: "Fans are often likened to lovers of Asia, anime, or manga. They are said to be weird people, in their own world."

I was afraid that some boys in my class would criticize me.

Gabriela, K-pop fan

These remarks sometimes turn into discrimination. Gabriela says she has already heard "homophobic remarks" against the singers of a K-pop group. "I was also afraid that some boys in my class would criticize me," continues the young fan. Salomé, in turn, confides that she felt "judged in middle school" and was "pointed at by the boys in her class" as well . "I was literally pulled out for that," she recalls. As a result, it is difficult for all these young girls to assert their musical tastes. "I avoided telling everyone that I listened to K-pop for fear of being ostracized," Gabriela realizes. "It's not the style of music that I would pretend to listen to first when people ask me what I like ," adds Margaux. "I don't know anyone who listens to K-pop in my circle, so I don't have much opportunity to talk about it." »

However, it's not all doom and gloom. Despite these obstacles, K-pop attracts "between 300,000 and 500,000 fans in France," estimates Angelo Gopée, general manager of Live Nation France. In 2025, Korean artists filled numerous concert halls in France. On March 30, TOMORROW X TOGETHER took over the Accor Arena. More recently, the girl group Ive delivered a formidable performance at the Lollapalooza festival at the Paris Longchamps racecourse. "They brought a certain freshness to the event ," enthuses Angelo Gopée. "The audience, which was larger, appreciated it. They were surprised to see that there was rock, hip-hop, and even techno. No one was bored." On July 26 and 27, the group Stray Kids set the Stade de France ablaze. And this weekend, Blackpink will be on a mission to win over this French audience at the Saint-Denis arena. Of course, the audience isn't exclusively French, as these major concerts attract audiences far beyond their borders. But for their promoters, it's a sign that things are changing.

"In terms of concerts, K-pop is no longer a niche musical genre in France," says the man who organized the first K-pop concert in France in 2011. He adds, convinced: "110,000 people are expected this weekend to see Blackpink. Over the last two weeks, with Stray Kids' shows, we've had more than 200,000 spectators. That's unprecedented. The concerts were sold out in ten minutes."

Step by step, K-pop is trying to make a place for itself in the French musical landscape, amidst rap, the number one genre for several years, or variety. Soul, one of the members of the group P1HARMONY, has also made advances to Marseille's SCH , offering him a collaboration in 2021. During the Paris Games , the eldest of BTS, just released from his compulsory 18-month military service, participated in the Olympic torch relay on July 14 in the capital. A huge crowd awaited his passage. In Lyon, a festival dedicated to Korean culture and more specifically to K-pop has been organized every year since 2022, bringing together nearly 4,000 people. A similar event is held in Paris.

In a sign of the times, K-pop has even become a subject of diplomatic discussion. In March, the French Embassy in Seoul, the National Center for Music, and several South Korean recording studios organized a "K-pop workshop" bringing together artists from both countries "for six days of creative collaboration," reports the Korea Times . Around fifteen tracks were produced during this meeting, sometimes even with lyrics and titles in French. And with BTS returning next year—they've announced a world tour and the release of a new album in 2026—the French K-pop community is likely to make even more noise. "Nothing's decided yet, but there's a real expectation ," bets Angelo Gopée. "If BTS comes to a Stade de France, so much the better..."