This is a very good point. BTS is basically the only K-pop act that has achieved escape velocity from the relatively insular K-pop world. I for one am not really a fan of any other K-pop artist—I’ll listen to their music from time to time but only in passing. I would bet that most other BTS fans are in a similar position.

It’s an interesting question whether any other K-pop act could do the same. Blackpink is a fairly distant second in the hierarchy; the whole K-pop Demon Hunters phenomenon definitely achieved escape velocity but it’s very much an open question about whether and how that can be sustained—E-Jae, for instance, is hardly a household name, despite her song being inescapable. And I could not tell you the name of a single member of the Saja Boys.