K-pop's new power fans? Middle-aged Americans with money and time to spend

K-pop album exports to the United States surged in the first half of 2026, making the U.S. the largest overseas market for K-pop albums. Germany also rose sharply as a major European market, while fans in their 40s and 50s became increasingly visible and financially important in the fandom. The article says K-pop is also reviving CD sales by turning albums into collectibles rather than just listening media.

K-pop album exports to the United States reached $74.12 million in the first half of 2026, ahead of China at $61.18 million and Japan at $45.61 million.

K-pop album exports to the United States rose 281 percent year-on-year, from $19.45 million to $74.12 million, while kimchi exports to the United States increased 12.9 percent to $24.60 million.

Germany’s K-pop album imports jumped from $3.43 million in the first half of last year to $21.17 million this year, making it the fourth-largest overseas market.

Luminate’s 2026 Midyear Report said U.S. CD sales rose 16 percent year-on-year to 16.3 million copies in the first half of this year, with K-pop cited as a major driver.

Billboard’s K-Pop Fandom in the U.S. report said 55 percent of fans aged 45 to 54 had bought higher-priced box sets bundling albums with merchandise.

Published Sep 5, 2026 12:05 am KST

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Last year, the United States imported more kimchi from Korea than K-pop albums. However, in the first half of 2026, K-pop album exports to the United States surged to three times the value of kimchi exports, while the country surpassed Japan and China to become the largest overseas market for K-pop albums.

The United States was not alone in seeing a surge in K-pop album imports. Germany became the fourth-largest overseas market after its imports increased more than sixfold in a year. K-pop also breathed new life into CDs, once thought destined for extinction, while fans in their 40s and 50s emerged as an increasingly visible part of the fandom.

Korea also rose to become the world’s third-largest “music export powerhouse,” behind only the United States and Britain, breaking the English-speaking world’s monopoly on the top three. The global music market witnessed one K-pop surprise after another in the first half of this year. As striking as the pace of growth was the way that growth unfolded: Where, by whom and how K-pop is consumed are all changing.

US reshapes K-pop album export market long led by Japan and China

According to a Hankook Ilbo analysis of Korea Customs Service data on album exports in the first half of this year, shipments to the United States reached $74.12 million, overtaking China at $61.18 million and Japan at $45.61 million. The change at the top of the export rankings suggests that the center of K-pop consumption is shifting beyond East Asia to the United States, the world’s largest music market.

The growth in K-pop album exports to the United States is even more striking when compared with kimchi. The fermented Korean staple was expected to receive a boost after being included in the U.S. government’s “Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030,” released in January. Kimchi exports to the United States rose 12.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, from $21.79 million to $24.60 million.

By contrast, K-pop album exports surged 281 percent over the same period, from $19.45 million to $74.12 million. In simple terms, their growth rate was more than 20 times that of kimchi exports. The release of BTS’ new album was a major factor behind the explosive growth.

Germany overtakes Taiwan as major K-pop album market

The shift in K-pop’s export landscape was also evident in Europe. Exports to Germany surged more than sixfold, from $3.43 million in the first half of last year to $21.17 million this year. That put Germany ahead of Taiwan, which had ranked fourth a year earlier and imported $17.95 million worth of K-pop albums in the first half of this year.

Germany also far outpaced the Netherlands at $4.32 million and Britain at $3.32 million, rapidly emerging as a major new hub for K-pop in Europe.

“Before BTS, there was a tendency in Germany to dismiss K-pop as something enjoyed by a small group of obsessive teenage fans or to view it through a racist lens,” Lee Yu-jin, a former Berlin correspondent for the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, told the Hankook Ilbo. “These days, however, the local media and music industry are treating K-pop seriously.”

Once regarded as a subculture consumed by a niche group of enthusiasts, K-pop has become a commercial force that Germany’s mainstream music market can no longer ignore.

Such a shift would have been difficult to imagine just five years ago. In 2021, Matthias Matuschik, a DJ at German public radio station Bayern 3, sparked accusations of racism after likening BTS to SARS. The pendulum has since swung the other way, to the point that the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has described Frankfurt as “Germany’s K-pop capital.”

A Billboard report on K-pop fandom in the United States shows that middle-aged consumers have emerged as some of the fandom’s biggest spenders, contrary to expectations that younger fans would spend the most. Captured from Billboard

Americans aged 45 to 54 emerge as biggest buyers of high-priced K-pop CDs

The changes K-pop has brought go beyond the rankings of the countries buying its albums to how music itself is consumed. CD sales in the United States, once thought destined to disappear in the age of streaming, have rebounded, with K-pop driving the resurgence.

But their purpose has changed somewhat. Rather than buying CDs simply to listen to music, fans are buying them to “own” their favorite artists’ music in physical form.

According to Luminate’s “2026 Midyear Report,” CD sales in the United States rose 16 percent year-on-year to 16.3 million copies in the first half of this year. Excluding K-pop releases, however, the increase was only 6.7 percent. Luminate, which compiles global music consumption data for Billboard, concluded that K-pop had driven the sharp rise in U.S. CD sales.

Eight of the 10 bestselling CDs in the United States during the same period were K-pop albums. K-pop also swept the top three spots, led by BTS’ “ARIRANG,” followed by ENHYPEN’s “THE SIN: VANISH” and ATEEZ’s “GOLDEN HOUR: Part.4.”

Members of ENHYPEN pose during a press conference celebrating the release of their eighth mini-album, “THE SIN: BLISS,” at Mondrian Seoul in Yongsan District, Seoul, Aug. 20. Newsis

Members of ATEEZ pose at the blue carpet event for the “2026 SBS Gayo Daejeon Summer” at KINTEX Exhibition Center 2 in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 9. Yonhap

Behind the revival of CDs is a K-pop fandom culture that treats them less as a way to listen to music than as collectibles or merchandise.

According to Billboard’s “K-Pop Fandom in the U.S.” report, based on a survey of 1,304 K-pop fans in the country, 52 percent of respondents had bought multiple versions of the same album, mainly to collect items such as member photocards that differed between editions. Another 41 percent said they spent more than $100 annually on K-pop CDs. In reviving a dying format, K-pop has also transformed what the CD is for.

The revival was not driven by young fans alone. Fans in their 40s and 50s have emerged as some of the genre’s biggest spenders. Among those aged 45 to 54, 55 percent had bought higher-priced box sets bundling albums with merchandise, the highest proportion of any age group.

Billboard drew particular attention to the spending power of middle-aged K-pop fans. Vicki Ronn, an English professor at Friends University, gave her son, who is in his 40s, a vinyl copy of BTS member J-Hope’s solo album “Jack in the Box,” prompting him to become a BTS fan.

Grace Kao, a sociology professor at Yale University, also said the K-pop fan base was growing older as more middle-aged fans with the time and disposable income to travel for concerts entered the fandom.

Behind the revival of K-pop CDs, then, is the crumbling of another old assumption: that K-pop is music only for teenagers and 20-somethings.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

2026年上半年，K-pop专辑对美国的出口激增，使美国成为K-pop专辑最大的海外市场。德国作为欧洲主要市场也迅速崛起，而40至50岁的粉丝群体在K-pop粉丝圈中日益活跃，并成为重要的经济支柱。文章指出，K-pop正在通过将专辑从单纯的听歌媒介转变为收藏品，从而重振CD销量。

2026年上半年，韩国流行音乐专辑出口到美国的金额达到7412万美元，超过了中国的6118万美元和日本的4561万美元。

韩国流行音乐专辑对美国的出口额同比增长 281%，从 1945 万美元增至 7412 万美元；泡菜对美国的出口额同比增长 12.9%，达到 2460 万美元。

德国的 K-pop 专辑进口额从去年上半年的 343 万美元跃升至今年的 2117 万美元，使其成为第四大海外市场。

Luminate 发布的 2026 年中报告称，今年上半年美国 CD 销量同比增长 16%，达到 1630 万张，其中 K-pop 被认为是主要驱动力。

Billboard 发布的《美国 K-Pop 粉丝报告》显示，45 岁至 54 岁之间的粉丝中有 55% 购买了价格更高的套装，这些套装包含专辑和周边商品。

发布于2026年9月5日凌晨12:05（韩国标准时间）

使用人工智能生成的图像

去年，美国从韩国进口的泡菜数量超过了K-pop专辑的数量。然而，在2026年上半年，K-pop专辑对美国的出口额飙升至泡菜出口额的三倍，美国也超越日本和中国，成为K-pop专辑最大的海外市场。

美国并非唯一一个韩流专辑进口量激增的国家。德国的进口量在一年内增长超过六倍，一跃成为第四大海外市场。韩流也让一度被认为即将消亡的CD重获新生，而四五十岁的粉丝群体也日益活跃，成为韩流粉丝群体中不可忽视的一部分。

韩国也跃升为世界第三大“音乐出口强国”，仅次于美国和英国，打破了英语国家对前三名的垄断。今年上半年，全球音乐市场见证了韩流音乐（K-pop）接连不断的惊喜。与增长速度同样引人注目的是其发展方式：韩流音乐的消费地点、消费人群和消费方式都在发生变化。

美国重塑了长期以来由日本和中国主导的韩国流行音乐专辑出口市场。

据《韩国日报》对韩国海关今年上半年专辑出口数据的分析显示，韩国对美国的专辑出口额达到7412万美元，超过了中国的6118万美元和日本的4561万美元。出口排名榜首的这一变化表明，K-pop的消费中心正在从东亚转移到全球最大的音乐市场——美国。

与泡菜相比，韩国流行音乐专辑对美出口的增长更为显著。这种韩国发酵食品被美国政府纳入今年1月发布的《2025-2030年美国膳食指南》后，预计其出口量将大幅增长。今年上半年，泡菜对美出口额同比增长12.9%，从2179万美元增至2460万美元。

相比之下，同期K-pop专辑出口额飙升281%，从1945万美元增至7412万美元。简单来说，其增速是泡菜出口的20多倍。BTS新专辑的发行是这一爆炸性增长背后的主要因素。

德国超越台湾，成为主要的K-pop专辑市场

韩流音乐出口格局的转变在欧洲也显而易见。对德国的出口额增长超过六倍，从去年上半年的343万美元飙升至今年的2117万美元。这使得德国超越了台湾，台湾去年排名第四，今年上半年进口了价值1795万美元的韩流专辑。

德国也远远超过了荷兰（432 万美元）和英国（332 万美元），迅速成为欧洲 K-pop 的主要新中心。

“在BTS走红之前，德国人往往认为K-pop只是少数痴迷的青少年粉丝的爱好，或者带有种族歧视的色彩，”韩国国际文化交流财团前柏林记者李裕珍告诉《韩国日报》，“但如今，德国媒体和音乐产业都开始认真对待K-pop了。”

K-pop 曾经被视为小众爱好者群体所消费的亚文化，如今已成为德国主流音乐市场无法忽视的商业力量。

五年前，这样的转变还难以想象。2021年，德国公共广播电台Bayern 3的DJ马蒂亚斯·马图希克（Matthias Matuschik）将防弹少年团（BTS）比作SARS病毒，引发了种族歧视的指责。此后风向发生了逆转，以至于德国《法兰克福汇报》（Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung）将法兰克福称为“德国的K-pop之都”。

美国公告牌（Billboard）关于K-pop粉丝群体的一份报告显示，与人们预期年轻粉丝消费能力最强的现象相反，中年消费者已成为该群体最大的消费群体之一。摘自公告牌

45岁至54岁的美国人成为高价K-pop CD的最大购买群体。

K-pop带来的改变远不止于专辑销量排名，更体现在音乐消费方式的转变上。在美国，CD销量一度被认为会在流媒体时代走向衰落，但如今却强势反弹，而K-pop正是推动这一复兴的关键因素。

但他们购买CD的目的已经有所改变。歌迷们不再仅仅为了听音乐而购买CD，而是为了以实体形式“拥有”他们喜爱的歌手的音乐。

根据 Luminate 发布的《2026 年中报告》，今年上半年美国 CD 销量同比增长 16%，达到 1630 万张。但如果剔除 K-pop 音乐，增幅仅为 6.7%。Luminate 为 Billboard 提供全球音乐消费数据，该公司认为 K-pop 是美国 CD 销量大幅增长的主要驱动力。

同期美国销量前十的CD中有八张是K-pop专辑。K-pop专辑也包揽了前三名，分别是BTS的《ARIRANG》、ENHYPEN的《THE SIN: VANISH》和ATEEZ的《GOLDEN HOUR: Part.4》。

8月20日，ENHYPEN成员在首尔龙山区蒙德里安酒店举行新闻发布会，庆祝第八张迷你专辑《THE SIN: BLISS》的发行。（图片来源：Newsis）

8月9日，ATEEZ成员在京畿道日山市KINTEX展览中心2举行的“2026 SBS歌谣大战夏季”蓝毯活动上合影。（韩联社）

CD复兴的背后是K-pop粉丝文化，这种文化将CD视为收藏品或周边产品，而不是听音乐的方式。

根据Billboard发布的“美国K-Pop粉丝群体”报告，基于对1304名美国K-Pop粉丝的调查，52%的受访者购买过同一专辑的多个版本，主要目的是为了收集不同版本中不同的成员小卡等周边产品。另有41%的受访者表示，他们每年在K-Pop CD上的花费超过100美元。K-Pop在复兴一种日渐式微的音乐形式的同时，也改变了CD的用途。

这股复兴浪潮并非仅仅由年轻乐迷推动。四五十岁的乐迷也成为了该类型音乐消费主力军。在45岁至54岁的乐迷中，55%的人购买过包含专辑和周边产品的高价套装，这一比例在所有年龄段中最高。

《公告牌》杂志特别关注了中年韩流粉丝的消费能力。弗兰兹大学的英语教授维姬·罗恩送给她四十多岁的儿子一张防弹少年团成员J-Hope的个人专辑《Jack in the Box》的黑胶唱片，这促使她的儿子成为了防弹少年团的粉丝。

耶鲁大学社会学教授 Grace Kao 也表示，随着越来越多的有时间和可支配收入的中年粉丝加入到 K-pop 粉丝群体中，K-pop 粉丝群体正在老龄化。

因此，K-pop CD 的复兴背后，是另一个旧观念的瓦解：K-pop 只是青少年和二十多岁年轻人的音乐。

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。