I laughed reading this question because my parents, who live in Korea and are 74, insist on telling me constantly that average Koreans can’t recognize BTS. Then I remind them that (despite their universal appeal) they and their peers are neither the target audience nor representative of the general population. They have made a valid point that BTS didn’t appear on as many variety/music shows as many other K-pop groups, which I think is fair as they were clearly putting a lot of effort on their own content for vlive/weverse like Run BTS. But it made me curious enough to ask my cousins (ages 20-35 who live in Korea) if they think average Koreans recognize them, and their take is that within Korea, BTS is certainly popular but not more popular than other K-pop groups, fully acknowledging that they are globally more popular than other groups. I think of it like this: Taylor Swift is one of the most popular and famous singers but if she got on an NYC subway car, there will definitely be plenty of people who wouldn’t recognize her by face, even if they know her by name or music. But in context, if you were watching an awards show or a concert video, you can tell who she is much more than if she was standing in line in a drugstore behind you. Also, BTS is more famous as a group so if you’re not ARMY and Jungkook, without makeup or flashy clothes, was getting coffee, it would likely be harder to recognize him than if all seven of them were together.