29 C
Vientiane
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
spot_img
Home Blog Page 2632

Rising Korean Star Wi Ha-joon Of MSteam, Wholly-Owned By Spackman Entertainment Group’s Associated Company, Spackman Media Group, Stars In Korean Crime Thriller Film, MIDNIGHT, To Be Screened On Korean Theatres And Online On 30 June 2021

  • Trailer of Korean crime thriller, MIDNIGHT, headlined by Wi Ha-joon of MSteam, released

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 14 June 2021 – Spackman Entertainment Group Limited (“Spackman Entertainment Group” or the “Company” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group“), one of Korea’s leading entertainment production groups, wishes to announce that up-and-coming actor Wi Ha-joon of MSteam Entertainment Co., Ltd. (“MSteam“), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Group’s associated company, Spackman Media Group Limited, stars in upcoming Korean crime thriller film, MIDNIGHT, which is expected to be screened on Korean theatres and online on 30 June 2021.

The trailer of Korean crime thriller film, MIDNIGHT, is released on https://tv.naver.com/v/20700640. More information on MIDNIGHT can be viewed at https://movie.naver.com/movie/bi/mi/basic.nhn?code=189120.

MIDNIGHT shall be streamed via Korean OTT platform TVING. The film is written & directed by Kwon Oh- seung and produced by Peppermint & Company. It relates the story of a girl, working as a sign language counsellor (played by Jin Ki-joo of HOMEMADE LOVE STORY (2020)), who has a hearing problem, being chased by a serial killer (played by Wi Ha-joon).

Wi Ha-joon of MSteam starred in GONJIAM: HAUNTED ASYLUM (2018), which was one of the biggest March openings ever achieved by a Korean film, accumulating 1.4 million admissions in its opening weekend and accounted for 40% of the total weekend box office.

Wi Ha-joon also stars in new webtoon film, SHARK: THE BEGINNING, which is expected be released on 17 June 2021 via Korean OTT platform TVING.

Other than Wi Ha-joon, MSteam also represents iconic Korean actress Son Ye-jin, who starred in highly popular romance drama CRASH LANDING ON YOU (2020), and top actress Lee Min-jung who won the Top Excellence Award at the 2020 APAN Star Awards.

About Spackman Entertainment Group Limited

Spackman Entertainment Group Limited (“SEGL” or the “Company“), and together with its subsidiaries, (the “Group“), founded in 2011 by Charles Spackman, is one of Korea’s leading entertainment production groups. SEGL is primarily engaged in the independent development, production, presentation, and financing of theatrical motion pictures in Korea. According to Variety, Korea was the world’s fourth largest box office market in 2019, behind only North America, China and Japan.

The Group also invests into and produces Korean television dramas. In addition to our content business, we also own equity stakes in entertainment-related companies and film funds that can financially and strategically complement our existing core operations. SEGL is listed on the Catalist of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited under the ticker 40E.

Production Labels

SEGL’s wholly-owned Zip Cinema Co., Ltd. (“Zip Cinema“) is one of the most recognised film production labels in Korea and has originated and produced some of Korea’s most commercially successful theatrical films, consecutively producing 10 profitable movies since 2009 representing an industry leading track record. Recent theatrical releases of Zip Cinema’s motion pictures include some of Korea’s highest grossing and award-winning films such as CRAZY ROMANCE (2019), DEFAULT (2018), MASTER (2016), THE PRIESTS (2015), COLD EYES (2013), and ALL ABOUT MY WIFE (2012). For more information on Zip Cinema, do visit http://zipcine.com

SEGL also owns Novus Mediacorp Co., Ltd. (“Novus Mediacorp“), an investor, presenter, and/or post-theatrical distributor for a total of 79 films (58 Korean and 21 foreign) including ROSE OF BETRAYAL, THE OUTLAWS and SECRETLY, GREATLY, which was one of the biggest box office hits of 2013 starring Kim Soo-hyun of MY LOVE FROM THE STARS, as well as FRIEND 2: THE GREAT LEGACY. In 2012, Novus Mediacorp was also the post-theatrical rights distributor of ALL ABOUT MY WIFE, a top-grossing romantic comedy produced by Zip Cinema. In 2018, THE OUTLAWS, co-presented by Novus Mediacorp broke the all-time highest Video On Demand (“VOD“) sales records in Korea. For more information on Novus Mediacorp, do visit http://novusmediacorp.com.

The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Simplex Films Limited (“Simplex Films“) which is an early stage film production firm. The maiden film of Simplex Films, JESTERS: THE GAME CHANGERS (2019), was released in Korea on 21 August 2019. Simplex Films has several line-up of films including HURRICANE BROTHERS (working title).

The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Take Pictures Pte. Ltd. (“Take Pictures“) which produced STONE SKIPPING (2020) and THE BOX (2021), and shall release GUARDIAN (working title) in 2021 tentatively.


The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Greenlight Content Limited (“Greenlight Content“) which is mainly involved in the business of investing into dramas and movies, as well as providing consulting services for the production of Korean content. Through the acquisition of Greenlight Content, the Group’s first co-produced drama, MY SECRET TERRIUS, starring top Korean star, So Ji Sub, achieved #1 in drama viewership ratings for its time slot and recorded double digits for its highest viewership ratings. Greenlight Content was one of the main investors of MY SECRET TERRIUS.


The Company owns a 20% equity interest in The Makers Studio Co. Ltd., which plans to produce and release four upcoming films, the first of which will be THE ISLAND OF THE GHOST’S WAIL, a comedy horror film.

Our films are theatrically distributed and released in Korea and overseas markets, as well as for subsequent post-theatrical worldwide release in other forms of media, including online streaming, cable TV, broadcast TV, IPTV, video-on-demand, and home video/DVD, etc. We release all of our motion pictures into wide-theatrical exhibition initially in Korea, and then in overseas and ancillary markets.

Talent Representation

The Company holds an effective shareholding interest of 43.88% in Spackman Media Group Limited (“SMGL“). SMGL, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, together with its subsidiaries, is collectively one of the largest entertainment talent agencies in Korea in terms of the number of artists under management, including some of the top names in the Korean entertainment industry. SMGL operates its talent management business through renowned agencies such as MSteam Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Son Ye-jin, Lee Min-jung, Ko Sung-hee), UAA&CO Inc. (Song Hye-kyo, Yoo Ah-in, Park Hyung-sik), Fiftyone K Inc. (So Ji Sub, Ok Taec-yeon), SBD Entertainment Inc. (Son Suk-ku), and Kook Entertainment Co., Ltd. Through these full-service talent agencies in Korea, SMGL represents and guides the professional careers of a leading roster of award-winning actors/actresses in the practice areas of motion pictures, television, commercial endorsements, and branded entertainment. SMGL leverages its unparalleled portfolio of artists as a platform to develop, produce, finance and own the highest quality of entertainment content projects, including theatrical motion pictures, variety shows and TV dramas. This platform also creates and derives opportunities for SMGL to make strategic investments in development stage businesses that can collaborate with SMGL artists. SMGL is an associated company of the Company.

The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Constellation Agency Pte. Ltd. (“Constellation Agency“). Constellation Agency, which owns The P Factory Co., Ltd. (“The P Factory“) and Platform Media Group Co., Ltd. (“PMG“), is primarily involved in the business of overseas agency for Korean artists venturing into the overseas market. The P Factory is an innovative marketing solutions provider specializing in event and branded content production. PMG is a talent management agency which represents and manages the careers of major artists in film, television, commercial endorsements and branded entertainment.

Strategic Businesses

The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Frame Pictures Co., Ltd. (“Frame Pictures“). Frame Pictures is a leader in the movie/drama equipment leasing business in Korea. Established in 2014, Frame Pictures has worked with over 25 top directors and provided the camera and lighting equipment some of Korea’s most notable drama and movie projects including ITAEWON CLASS (2020), HOW TO BUY A FRIEND (2020), KIM JI-YOUNG, BORN 1982 (2019), FOUR MEN (2019) and ASADAL CHRONICLES (2019).

We also operate a café-lounge called Upper West, in the Gangnam district of Seoul and own a professional photography studio, noon pictures Co., Ltd.

For more details, do visit http://www.spackmanentertainmentgroup.com/

#SpackmanEntertainmentGroup

Laos Sees Widespread Flooding in Wake of Tropical Storm Koguma

Widespread floods in Laos after tropical storm Koguma
The Nam Song River bursts its banks in Vang Vieng.

Parts of northern and central Laos have been hit by floods after Tropical Storm Koguma blew across Laos over the weekend.

Technology, Manufacturing, and Banking and Finance were Threat Actors’ Top Targeted Sectors in Asia Pacific in 2020: Ensign InfoSecurity Report

The report also found that opportunistic threat actors sought to exploit people’s emotions and uncertainties during the pandemic by using Covid-19 topics to anchor their phishing campaigns

 

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 14 June 2021 – Ensign InfoSecurity (Ensign), Asia’s largest, pure-play cybersecurity firm, today unveiled the findings of its Cyber Threat Landscape 2021 report, which found that the technology, manufacturing, and banking and finance industries were the top targets in Asia Pacific for threat actors in 2020.

Ensign’s latest report provides insights into the cyber risks and threats that surfaced across four Asia Pacific markets – Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea – as the pandemic dramatically reshaped the business landscape. It also explores cyber threat trends that are emerging or will persist in 2021.

Here are the key findings and insights from the report:

Sector analysis: Threat actors targeted the technology sector to achieve economies of scale

Technology service providers were attractive targets for threat actors as many organisations have engaged their services during the pandemic to ensure business continuity. A successful cyber attack would allow the threat actors to obtain the credentials of these service providers’ clients, gaining them illicit access to a wide range of companies.

Threat actors also targeted technology hardware and software vendors to breach and implant malicious codes and components into the vendors’ product development systems. This enabled the perpetrators to rapidly develop zero-day exploits or create backdoors to compromise the integrity of the products, allowing them to readily reach a larger pool of targets.

The threat actors’ focus on these sectors is a concern as organisations continue to invest in digital technologies. According to IDC, digital transformation investments in Asia Pacific including Japan and China (APJC) are poised to hit an estimated US$921 billion by 2024, compared to US$430 billion in 2019[1]. Additionally, IDC estimates that by the end of 2023, 80% of enterprises in Asia Pacific will put mechanisms in place that will enable them to shift to cloud-centric infrastructure and applications twice as fast as before the pandemic[2].

“Technology suppliers and service providers will continue to be lucrative targets for threat actors as organisations become increasingly reliant on digital technologies to support their business operations and position themselves for the future. If threat actors can successfully compromise just one of these companies’ systems, it can create a ripple effect that will impact large groups of organisations across industries and geographies,” said Steven Ng, CIO and EVP of Managed Security Services, Ensign.

“Organisations need to recognise that as their cyber supply chain ecosystem expands and diversifies, they will also need to take additional steps to mitigate the elevated cyber risks that come with it. This includes increasing the organisation’s situational awareness by maintaining a complete inventory of the software, hardware, and information assets that are within their network, and those managed by their partners and vendors,” added Steven.

Sector Analysis: Threat actors exploited Covid-19-induced disruptions and set their sights on trade secrets

Ensign highlighted that in 2020, threat actors attacked manufacturing companies with ransomware. The perpetrators understood that these companies’ production capabilities were already strained due to the pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions. This made manufacturers more willing to pay the ransom to resume operations quickly and avoid further production disruption.

Cyber adversaries also targeted manufacturing companies to steal their trade secrets, including industrial design, operational knowledge, as well as source materials and suppliers. These types of information are particularly valuable as they can significantly undermine the victims’ competitive edge while boosting the capabilities of their competitors.

Sector Analysis: Threat actors intensified social engineering attacks and sought to exploit remote working arrangements in the banking and finance sector

As the country went into lockdown during the pandemic in 2020, there was increased usage of online banking services. This led threat actors to ramp up their social engineering attacks by faking banking websites and mobile applications to deceive bank customers into disclosing their credentials.

The report also revealed a greater increase in threat activities in this sector due to the widespread adoption of remote working arrangements. More exploit attempts were targeting remote solutions used in this sector compared to other industries. Threat actors were particularly interested in getting credentials to gain access to banks and other financial institutions. They could sell this information to ransomware operators and other sophisticated threat groups that can find their way into these organisations’ core network.

Emotet and TrickBot were Top Malware Detected Across Asia Pacific

Ensign found that Emotet and TrickBot were the top malware observed across the region in 2020, constituting the bulk of Command & Control (C2)[3] threat activities detected, especially in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Threat actors commonly use Emotet and TrickBot as they are versatile in design, allowing the perpetrators to steal credentials, obtain information to move deeper into the infiltrated network, and inject additional malicious payloads into the compromised digital environment.

Threat actors frequently target technology service providers with these two malware families due to their capabilities to download more malware into the infected systems. Both Emotet and Trickbot were also observed to be used in phishing campaigns worldwide.

Opportunistic Threat Actors Exploited Covid-19 in Phishing Campaigns

The report revealed that threat actors sought to exploit individuals’ anxiety, fear, and curiosity caused by the pandemic through phishing attacks. Ensign uncovered that 99% of the phishing campaigns detected in Singapore in 2020 were centred on Covid-19 subjects, and that the market’s Circuit Breaker period provided an opportune timeframe for threat actors to launch phishing attacks.

Similarly, in South Korea, most phishing emails also took advantage of the pandemic situation. One of the top threat actor groups in Asia Pacific, Lazarus Group, also impersonated the South Korean government to announce fake additional Covid-19 payouts and shopping vouchers in their phishing campaign in June 2020. The attacks were targeted at 700,000 email addresses they have illicitly obtained from previous breaches.

Moreover, Ensign found that Covid-19-themed phishing attacks are more effective. In an exercise Ensign conducted to test a client’s cybersecurity measures, 35% of the organisation’s employees clicked on the simulated malicious link included in Ensign’s mock Covid-19-related phishing email and provided their personal information. This is 10% higher than the average result of past exercises, demonstrating the effectiveness of customised, well-timed phishing campaigns.



[1] IDC Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide – Technology Forecast 2021

[2] IDC FutureScape: Worldwide IT Industry 2021 Predictions — Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Implications

[3] Command and Control is a set of techniques that threat actors use to communicate and commander devices that have been compromised by malware. Threat actors can issue instructions to the compromised devices, including downloading additional malicious payloads or transferring stolen data back to the threat actors.

About Ensign InfoSecurity

Ensign InfoSecurity is the largest, pure-play end-to-end cybersecurity service provider in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, Ensign offers bespoke solutions and services to address their clients’ cybersecurity needs. Their core competencies are in the provision of cybersecurity advisory and assurance services, architecture design and systems integration services, and managed security services for advanced threat detection, threat hunting, and incident response. Underpinning these competencies is in-house research and development in cybersecurity. Ensign has two decades of proven track record as a trusted and relevant service provider, serving clients from the public and private sectors in the Asia Pacific region.

For more information, visit www.ensigninfosecurity.com or email marketing@ensigninfosecurity.com

#EnsignInfoSecurity

Covid-19 Cases Rise in Laos as Country Exceeds 2,000 Total Cases

Covid-19 update

Community transmitted cases of Covid-19 in Laos are back on the rise, with the country recording over 2,000 total cases.

“You Gotta Be” Music Video Premieres Online Today

13 world-class international artists from 9 countries brought together by True Colors Festival.

 

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 14 June 2021 – Performing from their homes, the cast presents a new take on R&B classic, You Gotta Be, by Des’ree in the latest True Colors music video.

Artists include Mandy Harvey, whose performance on America’s Got Talent earned Simon Cowell’s Golden Buzzer; Raul Midón, a Grammy-nominee who devoted his life to music after being told that blindness would be an obstacle; Kenta Kambara, an accomplished aerial performer who featured in the Rio 2016 Paralympics; Signmark, the first deaf artist to be signed to a major record label; and Alienètte Coldfire, who placed third in France’s Got Talent.

The technical process of producing this music video involved countless WhatsApp, Messenger and Zoom calls, working across time zones, and using Google Translate in real time. “The real challenge, though, was to develop a relationship with each artist, such that trust and freedom would allow them to perform and be themselves, with their spirit and energy coming through in a real and palpable way,” explains Dr Sydney Tan, Creative & Music Director.

Adds Mandy Harvey: “Even though we haven’t met in person…you can feel that every person put their heart into the entire process. Being a part of this team is another reinforcement to me that what’s within you is so much stronger than the barriers we face. This is a reminder to reach farther and dream bigger. My hope is that people are encouraged to try!”

Says Ichiro Kabasawa, Executive Director of The Nippon Foundation, presenter of True Colors Festival: “People everywhere have been going through such a prolonged period of uncertainty, isolation and fear. We chose this classic, You Gotta Be, for everyone, everywhere at this time, to realize the potential in ourselves; to choose to be bolder, stronger, wiser, whatever each day may bring. It’s a reminder that when it comes down to it, we’re all human, living together in our one world.”

The True Colors music video comes with Closed Captions (for the Deaf) & Audio Description (for the Blind), and an accompanying video Transcript (for the Deafblind).

Visit: True Colors Festival website

#TrueColorsFestival

OneMALL Announces Limited Time Offer for Setup of Online Stores

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 14 June 2021 – Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), micro SMEs and individual entrepreneurs have to bear the brunt of the lockdown imposed nationwide to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections. In the face of these challenges, TFP Solutions Bhd’s e-commerce solution provider, OneMALL, announced a limited-time offer for the setup of online stores.

The offer allows merchants to sign up with just a few clicks to have their products appear across OneMALL’s online marketplace without paying any sign-up charges. OneMALL, a new and trendy online marketplace in Malaysia that gives a refreshing digital shopping experience for consumers, has introduced this limited-time offer in order to encourage aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners to take their business online.

Speaking on the limited-time offer, YM Puteri Munawarah Syammiyah binti Munir, the Group Executive Director of TFP, said, “In our continued effort to support underserved micro and small businesses community in Malaysia to shift towards e-commerce, we’re making it even easier for businesses to get onboard with our online platform. We have all seen the importance of e-commerce during this pandemic, and our goal is to drive the online success of our partners and merchants.”

This limited-time offer will provide opportunities for micro and small businesses to continue running their business despite of the recent lockdown imposed nationwide recently. This is important as many SMEs and micro-enterprises are struggling with cashflow during this pandemic.

According to the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), many employers and micro enterprises have reached a breaking point under the total lockdown and “have zero cash flow to sustain businesses.”

The offer by OneMALL, will provide a lifeline for micro and small businesses and cushion the impact on businesses.

Aside from the setup of online stores at zero costs, OneMALL will also provide free promotional video for FIVE selected NEW registered merchants. “This will help to increase their visibility on the e-commerce platform, which would drive their online sales. As we have seen during the pandemic, digital marketing has evolved significantly, with video marketing being one of the most effective ways to reach out to consumers” mentioned TFP Solutions’ Group Managing Director, Datuk Hussian @ Rizal A Rahman.

While there are other more established online e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Shopee, Mudah, and Carousell, OneMALL stands out from the competition by leveraging TFP Solutions’ i) FinTech digital community, which has over 22,000 members, ii) a FinTech mobile payment solution, a delivery platform, and iii) an additional revenue stream for entrepreneurs by promoting OneCALL mobile Fintech to their members.

Merchants who set up their online stores with OneMALL will benefit from the wider audience that they would be exposed to. For businesses that are already on board with existing e-commerce platforms, their presence at OneMALL will improve their visibility and reach to consumers. This is as multichannel selling empowers e-commerce store owners to build their own brand and increase conversions. It will also help sellers to grow through economies of scale, assuming that the merchants increase their output with more channels.

Channel diversifications will also help to reduce risks as it diversifies the merchants’ revenue streams, which would help them stay ahead of the ever-changing landscape of e-commerce.

Given the benefits offered by the setup of online stores with OneMALL, micro and small businesses could take advantage of the limited-time offer to get onboard. Online businesses can be intimidating for sellers who are new to the platform, but OneMALL offers assistance throughout the entire process, from the setup of the online stores to the management of inventory, payment options as well as consolidation of shipping for merchants.

Online shopping has gained momentum following the pandemic, and this trend is expected to continue in the post-COVID world. We have also seen a surge in retailers and merchants on the online platform, leading to overcrowded competition in the e-commerce space.

Retailers and merchants will need to set themselves apart from their competitors in order to reach out to consumers. Unlike the mainstream online shopping platform, OneMALL will prioritize the growth of its merchants and partners by providing a self-initiated and personalized guide on social media marketing tools.

Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a business owner with an existing presence on the e-commerce platform or an enterprise that are new to online business, OneMALL’s limited-time offer provides you with an opportunity to penetrate the e-commerce market. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and OneMALL welcomes you to take the first step together.

About TFP Solutions Berhad

The TFP Group aims to continually innovate and evolve itself to be at the forefront of business productivity.

In 2020, the Group launched OneCALL, its mobile fintech services, in collaboration with mobile virutal network operator (MVNO) Tune Talk Sdn Bhd. OneCALL offers e-remittance, e-wages, virtual ATM, game PIN, lifestyle tool and bill payment services, among others.

In January 2021, TFP Solutions announced that it was teaming up with LEAP Market-listed ACE Innovate Asia Berhad to launch a digital gold trading platform. The Company is branding the gold as OneGOLD which is a shariah-complaint gold trading business. The main difference between OneGOLD and other gold trading platform is that TFP Solutions integrates its gold trading platform with its e-wallet, which enables its members to easily invest in gold whenever they want.

#TFPSolutionsBerhad #OneMALL

Twitter is critical tool for K-pop artists, with current artists Tweeting more than seven times a day

  • The fourth generation K-pop groups Tweet more than seven times a day, multiple times more than previous generations of K-pop artists
  • Twitter and K-pop Radar analyzed K-pop stars’ Twitter use for the first time, including analyzing Twitter use by each generation
  • Increasing Twitter use reflects the growing global fanbase of the global phenomenon of K-pop


SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Media OutReach – 14 June 2021 – Twitter, together with K-pop Radar, analyzed K-pop stars’ use of Twitter for the first time and found it to be a critical tool for artists as they built global audiences, as the fourth generation of K-pop stars actively communicates with global fans on Twitter. This analysis, “K-pop Generations Analysis by Twitter Usage”, looked at 69 total K-pop artists with more than 300,000 Twitter followers as of May 1, 2021, and analyzed the artists by generation.

Notably, K-pop the fourth generation averages 323 Tweets before their official debuts. This may be a key factor in the fourth generation artists’ global fanbases and successes, as fourth generation artists release their first overseas album, on average, 9 months earlier than the previous generation did.

▲Photo Description: K-pop Artist Generation Analysis

K-pop stars’ method of communicating with their fans has changed in line with the development of the K-pop industry, as well as the media. First and second generation K-pop stars communicated with their fans through closed communities, such as fan cafes. From the third generation onward, artists shared content with their fans through global media platforms such as Twitter, and started to communicate with wider fan bases through live streaming and text messaging channels. Recently, beyond releasing content, K-pop stars are diversifying ways to communicate with their fans by actively utilizing new features such as Fleets and Spaces on Twitter. In addition, as offline concerts and fan signing events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are actively communicating with global fans through online concert streaming, as well as #TwitterBlueroom live Q&A on Twitter.

▲Photo Description: Different Twitter Use Behavior by Artist Generations

In terms of Twitter usage, there is a clear difference between the way that each generation used Twitter, especially in the following areas.

Tweets per day

Excluding the first generation, who were active before Twitter launched, K-pop stars averaged:

  • 1.2 Tweets per day for second-generation stars
  • 3.5 Tweets per day for third-generation stars
  • 7 Tweets per day for fourth-generation stars


Fourth generation stars Tweeted 5.8 times more than second generation stars, and 2 times more than third generation stars.

▲Photo Description: Cumulative Tweets by Generation for the Period of One Year After Debut

First Tweets

Comparing first Tweets to stars’ official debut dates, Twitter and K-pop Radar found, on average:

  • Second generation stars Tweeted for the first time 1,154 days (more than three years) after their debut
  • Third generation artists Tweeted for the first time 132 days (more than four months) after their debut
  • Fourth generation artists Tweeted for the first time 116 days (more than four months) BEFORE their debut

Analyzing the amount of Tweets for a year following artists’ debuts reveals other differences between the generations as well. Most second- and third-generation artists did not post Tweets before their debut, and slowly increased their amount of Tweets after their debut. However, a notable exception is BTS: BTS opened its Twitter account in December 2012, six months ahead of debut, and actively communicated with fans globally. Currently, BTS has 36 million Followers on Twitter.

Fourth generation artists, such as ATEEZ, THE BOYZ, ENHYPEN, Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, and TREASURE, communicated with their fans after opening their Twitter accounts, months ahead of their respective debuts. On average, fourth generation artists Tweeted an overwhelming amount before their debuts compared to second and third generations, with each artist uploading an average of 323 Tweets, and accumulating 562,377 Followers even before debuting.

▲Photo Description: Comparison of The Third and Fourth Generation K-pop Artists regarding Overseas Advancement

Global content

In addition to communicating with fans globally via Twitter earlier than other generations, fourth generation artists also released content for their fans globally faster than previous generations, on average:

  • The Fourth generation artists released their first overseas albums 9 months earlier than third generation artists
  • The Fourth generation artists also held their first overseas concerts 13 months earlier than third generation artists

“Direct communication with global fans through Twitter has now become a success formula for K-pop artists,” said YeonJeong Kim, Head of Global K-pop and K-Contents Partnerships at Twitter, who has led this analysis. “When BTS, a 3rd generation K-pop group, had intimate real-time conversations with its global ARMY, it set an example for the 4th generation to make this a feature of their engagement with fans. Fourth generation artists like THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, ATEEZ, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, GIDLE, ITZY, TREASURE, ENHYPEN, and aespa, who have been using Twitter as an active communication channel even before their debut, are advancing to the global stages faster than the previous generations, which demonstrates that digital-based communication has a significant impact on growing their fandom.”

This survey included the following artists:

The Second generation – TVXQ(@TVXQ), Super Junior(@SJofficial), Girls’ Generation(@GirlsGeneration), SHINee(@SHINee), 2PM(@follow_2PM) etc.

The third generation – EXO(@weareoneEXO), BTS(@BTS_twt), GOT7(@GOT7Official), MAMAMOO(@RBW_MAMAMOO), Red Velvet(@RVsmtown), MonstaX(@OfficialMonstaX), SEVENTEEN(@Pledis_17), TWICE(@JYPETWICE), NCT(@NCTsmtown), BLACKPINK(@BLACKPINK) etc.

The fourth generation – THE BOYZ(@Creker_THEBOYZ), Stray Kids(@Stray_Kids), GIDLE(@G_I_DLE), ATEEZ(@ATEEZofficial), ITZY(@ITZYofficial), TOMORROW X TOGETHER(@TXT_BigHit), TREASURE(@TreasureMembers), aespa(@aespa_official), ENHYPEN(@ENHYPEN_members) etc.

Since most of the first generation groups, like HOT, Sechs Kies, SES, and Fin.K.L., were active before the launch of Twitter, and do not currently have Twitter accounts, they were excluded from this data analysis. Among first generation artists, however, Shinwa (@ShinhwaCompany), continue to be active as a group, and share their latest news through Twitter. Also, Seo Taiji (@SEO_TAIJI), known as the ‘President of Culture’ and the originator of this chapter of modern K-pop, debuted as the group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992. After the launch of Twitter, he opened his own Twitter account in April 2010, and has changed the account name to SEOTAIJI 서태지(@SEO_TAIJI) in March 2021. Currently, he is connecting with fans globally by holding concerts via global livestreams on Twitter.

In the run-up to ‘World Music Day’, which is celebrated worldwide on June 21, Twitter is preparing to host #KpopTwitter campaign where K-pop fans can participate and communicate. Twitter also plans to organize various events such as #KpopFirstTweet campaign to find and share the first tweets of K-pop artists for a week period starting from June 14 on Twitter Music account (@TwitterMusic) and Twitter Korea official account (@TwitterKorea). #KpopMasterpiece campaign to recommend hidden masterpieces is another event Twitter is currently preparing. Any K-pop fans around the world can participate by posting a tweet with the hashtags. Tweets that have garnered enthusiastic responses from fans will be collected and published on Twitter blog.

About Twitter, Inc.

Twitter is what’s happening and what people are talking about right now. To learn more, visit about.twitter.com and follow @Twitter and @TwitterKorea. Let’s talk.

#Twitter

New Covid-19 Case in Luang Namtha Draws Concern

Covid-19 Update

Laos has confirmed six cases across three provinces today, with a case in Luang Namtha drawing public attention.