For example, Natty, a Thai member of Kiss of Life, emerged as one of the main 4th generations. The new group of girls of Sm Entertainment Hearts2hearts includes Carmen, an Indonesian member. This reflects K-Pop’s growing attention on the Southeast Asian market.
With a population of 630 million, Southeast Asia is a key economic region with a rapidly growing digital infrastructure and a high demand for cultural content. K-pop agencies now actively target this market, using local idols as a bridge to connect with fans.
Thailand has long been an important Hub K-Pop, producing stars like Lisa di Blackpink, Nichkhun at 2 in the afternoon, Got7’s Bambam, (g) Minnie of I-Tle and NCT. Recently, YG debuted two Thai members, Phaarita and Chiquita, in Babymonster, further consolidating the position of Thailand as a key market.
YG has even set up a joint venture, Ygmm, with the Thammy Thammy entertainment giant in 2021 to explore and train Talenti talents.
Indonesia, the most populous 4th country in the world (270 million people), has a huge fan-pop, but few Indonesian idols have debuted. However, in February, Carmen debuted in Hearts2hearts of MS, making history as the first Indonesian idol under an “Big 4” agency.
To expand to Indonesia, SM opened a flagship store, Kwangya@Jakarta, in 2022, hosted Smtown Live in Jakarta and recently organized various experiential spaces to commemorate the 30th anniversary of SM.
Hybe is observing Vietnam, incorporating Vietnamese linguistic support into his project by Midnatt voice and launching Korean language courses inspired by BTS Vietnamese. This aligns with the presence of Hanni of Newjeans, who is Vietnamita-Australian.
Rookie Girl Group Unis made its debut in 2024 with two Filipino members, Elisia and Gehlee, gaining strong traction in the Philippines. In the meantime, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam are also opening up to the influence of K-pop.
With the passionate Fandom of South-East Asia and the growing economy, the K-Pop agencies are embracing local idols and market strategies to strengthen their global domain.
