The separation of BTS also had an impact on the stock market

The earthquake caused by announcement of separation or temporary rest of the musical group BTS made itself heard this Tuesday, June 14, on the Seoul Stock Exchange, with the company representing the band collapsing by 24%, and throughout South Korea, where admirers and authorities have been orphaned of what until now it was its main cultural ambassador.

The announcement came in the most unexpected way, in a video posted on Tuesday around 9pm South Korean time (12pm GMT) on the YouTube platform where its seven members were seen having dinner together on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the bandwhich had just been fulfilled the day before.

During the recording, framed in BTS Festa, the annual online event with which the group celebrates its anniversaries, the seven recalled their experiences together and, little by little, began to emphasize how exhausted they are and to abandon that. they need to focus on their personal projects.

Indeed, the message generated enormous confusion that forced Hybe, the communications company that created and still represents the group, to take a step forward, briefly ensuring that “BTS doesn’t take a break. Its members will focus more on their personal projects. “

This cryptic communication indicates the band would abandon joint musical projects for the time being, but it would continue to produce audiovisual content for websites and social networks or participate in promotions.

Hit the stock exchange

Anyway, the listing of the company founded by producer and songwriter Bang Si-hyuk closed this Wednesday 16 24.7% below its Tuesday close and during the day it reached its lowest historical rating140,000 won per share.

When in October 2020 Hybe – which now operated under a different structure and under the name of Big Hit Entertainment – was listed on the stock exchange, many analysts expressed their doubts about an asset whose turnover depended for more than 90% on a of the few bands it represented at the time, BTS.

Proof of this is that the company’s shares peaked in November last yearin conjunction with the launch of TO BEthe band’s latest studio album, and since then, while waiting for BTS to announce a new job or global tour, they’ve dropped 63.8%.

It is true that in the last two years Hybe has significantly diversified its business, acquired new labels and has apparently great potential bands in its portfolio, such as the recently launched Le Sserafim girls’ groupas well as starting a global audition last week to find a new men’s ensemble.

Above all, the company has continued to explore new avenues monetize your product beyond traditional industry channels.

However, a horizon without BTS (or without BTS at 100%) seems to leave investors too much uncertainty.

Happiness and sadness

Apart from the confusion generated, the anniversary dinner video brought sadness and joy at the same time among the ARMY, the official group of supporters of the band composed mainly of women.

Joy because, as many fans have commented on networks like Weverse, the seven will be able to take a break and stop dedicating themselves body and soul to something that, according to several members, seems to have stopped making them happy.

The level of sincerity shown in the video by RM, Jimin, V, J-Hope, Suga, Jin and Jungkook was something unusual for the K-Pop industry and also for BTS themselves, who have given an in-depth interview to a media in the last five years.

Although the message arrived modified and checked by Hybe, the seven have recognized how different they are and how difficult it has been to live together for a decade, they admitted suffering from creative exhaustion, the feeling of no longer controlling what they produce or the pressure to please millions of followers around the world, and claimed to suffer for something that most of them suffer from his compatriots: fatigue due to overwork.

The months that remain ahead can, yes, serve to resolve a thorny issue that the group has been planning for the past two years; the need for them to complete military servicewhich lasts 18 to 21 months and is mandatory for all able-bodied South Korean males.

Meanwhile, South Korea could lose its best ambassadors for now (its seven members were in fact issued with special diplomatic passports), today converted into a symbol of the extraordinary economic growth that the Asian country has experienced and of the enormous projection that its so-called “soft power” has today.

Source: EFE / Andrés Sánchez Braun

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