K-pop sensationd BTS made headlines once again this week,... by bagging 2 trophies at the Billboard Music Awards. <br />And as the popularity of K-pop continues,... so does its economic impact. <br />Our Won Jung-hwan has the details. <br />The Korean Wave or Hallyu, refers to the global popularity of South Korea's culture overseas. <br />And the economic impact of Korean pop-music, TV shows, video games, and movies continues to grow every year. <br />According to the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange on Thursday,… exports of cultural contents surged more than 20-percent last year, contributing to overall growth. <br />While the figure has been gradually increasing every year since 2014,… last year's total Hallyu exports marked 9-point-4-billion U.S. dollars,… up 9-point-1 percent from the previous year. <br />Among the export categories, the gaming industry accounted for the largest portion of cultural contents exports at 3 billion U.S. dollar,... followed by music... and film and television. <br />Meanwhile,... exports of consumer goods and tourism were down 0-point-5 percent.<br />The report also has its own "Hallyu Index" to measure such cultural exports and the impact they have on the domestic economy. <br />It conducted a survey on 7-thousand-500 people in 16 countries, and used Korean cultural contents export reports from 16 domestic industries.<br />The report also used the BTS fan club platform to analyze indirect contribution toward the economic growth. <br />The annual report once again proves the ever-growing popularity of the Korean wave. <br />Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News. <br />
