[Courtesy of Big Entertainment]
SEOUL -- South Korean boy band BTS was selected by U.S. magazine TIME among 25 most influential people on the internet that included President Donald Trump and pop star Rihanna and Kanye West.
For an annual report on the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet, TIME evaluated contenders by looking at their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.
BTS continues to gain global momentum, the magazine said, adding the group has already broken at least one of its own U.S. records in 2018, releasing the highest-charting K-pop album ever.
The real engine behind their success is their passionate social fanbase, ARMY, which eagerly consumes anything related to the group from tweets to videos, TIME said. "A steady social media presence for each of the boys -- along with periodic solo releases -- further bolsters the group, which counts at least 50 million followers across English-language social media platforms."
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
