How K-pop swept Latin America

By Mitchell McCluskey and Cristopher Ulloa, CNN

(CNN) — Tickets that go for $9,000 each; fans who plant trees so their idols can see them from their plane; devotees who listen for up to 11 hours a day.

Few places have caught the K-pop bug as intensely as Latin America.

After nearly a four-year break, the preeminent Korean pop music group BTS is reuniting for a world tour featuring several dates in Latin America, where the group’s return is highly anticipated.

In the band’s absence, the so-called “Korean wave” has continued to flourish on a global scale, with successes represented in the Netflix film “KPop Demon Hunters” and the solo careers of the Blackpink performers.

This dominance is especially emblematic in Latin America, where K-pop artists maintain a feverish fandom.

In 2021, the social media platform X found that the countries with the most K-pop fans included Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. Spotify recently reported that Mexico is among the genre’s largest markets.

Perhaps no group exemplifies the genre’s success more than BTS, the massively popular boy band that commands an expansive base of fans. The legions of followers who surround the group are known as the “ARMY,” a symbol of the loyal and organized nature of the fandom.

Before their break for mandatory military service, the group enjoyed titanic success that has transcended borders and languages.

After kicking off their long-awaited tour in Seoul, the group heads to Latin America in the fall, with dates in Bogotá, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and São Paulo.

Across the region, anticipation for the group’s arrival is palpable.

The BTS craze has driven up resale prices in Mexico, where tickets cost as much as $9,000.

In Peru, fans are planting trees so the band will have “a better view” from the plane.

Meanwhile, some Chileans have expressed concern at the lack of a confirmed venue for the two October dates in Santiago.

Latin American fans have seemingly embraced the influence of K-pop acts, with their refined aesthetic presentation, flashy performances, and potent messages of self-acceptance.

Why K-pop resonates in Latin America

Across Latin America, K-pop fandom manifests in diverse ways.

In Colombia, a burgeoning movement of competitive dance groups is building communities centered around the music.

Fans in Mexico City gather to participate in K-pop themed events in Friki Plaza, a lively shopping center that offers Korean and Japanese merchandise and food. In Mexico, BTS is so popular that President Claudia Sheinbaum requested South Korea to schedule more tour dates.

Even in Cuba, which only formalized diplomatic relations with South Korea in 2024, the phenomenon has caught on, with fan-organized dance events.

But the majority of the community-building is based in online platforms, Dr. Benjamin Min Han, a professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia, told CNN.

“The role of social media is significant in driving the fandom in Latin America,” he added.

Despite the genre’s growing popularity, the culture remains somewhat niche and relatively unfamiliar to some communities, Han told CNN.

This can lead to marginalization, which subsequently reinforces the sense of community felt within the fandom, Han’s research found.

Those dejected fans can find solace in the words of K-pop idols, some of whom preach about the importance of acceptance and self-worth.

“There’s this element of care – they feel that they are being cared for by the community and also by the artists, who often engage in livestreams to help establish connection and intimacy,” Han said.

The element of performance also contributes to igniting the fan base. K-pop performers are often remarked for their polished choreography and technically impressive concerts.

“K-pop has had a huge impact in Latin America because of its comprehensive approach: it’s not just music, but also a combination of aesthetics, performance, storytelling, and constant content,” Carolina Aballay, president of the official BTS fan club in Chile, told CNN.

“It’s an industry that pays close attention to detail, from the visuals to the concepts, which is appealing to audiences looking for something different from the traditional,” Aballay added.

Ro Julio, a choreographer and dancer in Santiago, Chile, considers dancing and performance an important element of the genre’s global popularity.

“I think it’s global. The rhythms, the music, everything is very flashy, very visual. The group work also involves super dynamic choreography. All of that has attracted attention for more than 10 years, but lately it has become more mainstream with the number of groups that keep appearing,” she told CNN.

Camila Pizarro, a 32-year-old publicist and BTS fan, told CNN that the group’s multidisciplinary prowess lends to their appeal.

“They all sing so well, they dance excellently, they act, they have such expressiveness—there’s so much talent. They’re the complete package as performers,” she said.

Overall, K-pop leads South Korea’s cultural exports, a 2025 report from South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism found, though it noted that interest in other media has also increased.

How K-pop caught on

Throughout the early 2000s, South Korean culture was chiefly introduced to large audiences in Latin America through the broadcasting of Korean drama series, or K-dramas.

Ahead of the 2002 World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea, Peru’s public broadcaster began airing K-dramas in a partnership with the Korean embassy.

Other Latin American countries also began airing the shows, which were often dubbed in Mexico. Over time, K-dramas developed in popularity across the region.

This interest in Korean pop culture increasingly extended to music with the increased prevalence of social media in the 2010s.

Many K-pop fans were introduced to the genre through anime or through dance games at local arcades, before going online to discover more, Han told CNN.

Latin America’s large youth population has also played a central role in the music’s success.

K-pop is “mostly appealing to younger generations who use a lot of social media,” Han said.

In 2025, Spotify reported that nearly seven out of 10 K-Pop listeners in Mexico are 29 years old or younger.

In recent years, the juggernauts behind K-pop’s global success have made clear efforts to capitalize on Latin America’s unique interest in the genre.

“The Korean music industry realized the significance of the Latin American market,” Han said, and the companies began allocating more resources to develop a robust fan base in the region.

In 2023, HYBE – the multimedia giant behind BTS and Katseye, which has had notable success in the US – acquired the record label Exile Music and established a Mexico-based subsidiary focused on Latin America.

Last year, HYBE Latin America debuted its first group, Santos Bravos, targeted at Latin demographics.

Tim Kim, manager of popular K-pop groups Momoland and T1419, began working with Miami-based public relations firm Nevarez Communications, which counts reggaeton icon Daddy Yankee among its clientele, to expand his own clients’ impact in the region, Billboard reported.

T1419 even covered Daddy Yankee’s song “Campeón” in 2022, highlighting the crossover appeal of the genre.

The language barrier also seems to be falling. Some K-pop groups have incorporated Latin music styles or Spanish-language phrases into their songs, like in BTS’s “Airplane pt.2” or Ateez’s “THANXX.”

Members of the group NMIXX, which made headlines for performing at Chile’s Viña del Mar Festival, have spoken about their efforts to learn to learn Spanish.

Before their hiatus, BTS spoke about their love of Latin pop and their upcoming album features production from Spanish musician El Guincho, who has worked with artists like Rosalía, J Balvin, and Ozuna.

While on stage at a solo concert in Mexico City last year, BTS member J-Hope recognized the clear intensity of the fan response.

“It’s really no joke. You made tonight special,” he said to the audience, “Honestly, during the concert I thought, ‘Wow, this is Mexico. This is why we have to come.’”

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