Like every pop group to ever exist, there always seems to be the question of who in the group is the most liked by fans. In the case of Korean pop-group BTS, fans seem to be super into either Jimin or Jungkook.
Jimin is more popular in South Korea, but Jungkook is more popular internationally. The rest of the members of BTS are also really popular among fans, just not as much as these two. Either way, both are still all in the world’s most famous K-pop group and arguably the most popular pop group to have ever come out of South Korea.
You can read more below about the formation of the group BTS, how member’s popularity has been determined, and how they are paving the international road to fame for other K-Pop groups.
How BTS Came to Be
BTS was formed all the way back in 2010 by the CEO of Big Hit Entertainment, Bang-Si Hyuk. The formation of pop groups in South Korea works a little bit differently than it does in North America.
K-Pop group formation works more in the way you would have seen the formation of One Direction. A producer comes up with a vision for the group they want to form and then different singers will audition to become a member of the group.
Getting into a K-Pop group is a big deal for many young artists in South Korea because it can lead to huge opportunities for their careers. Just like you see with many groups in North America, getting into a K-Pop group can mean a solo career, acting opportunities, and of course the chance to become a teen idol.
So when BTS was formed in 2010, it took almost three years for the Bang Si-Hyuk to be satisfied with the group’s lineup. It was in 2012 that the group was finalized with members J-Hope, Jin, Suga, RM, V, Jimin, and Jungkook.
Jungkook was only fifteen when the band was formed! Despite their formation and production backing with Big Hit Entertainment, BTS failed to make it to that idol status internationally until 2018.
Their very first studio album was released in 2014 titled Dark & Wild. While this album made it to number two on the Korean charts, it failed to make an impact anywhere else.
The second studio album that the group released was Wings in 2016. This album hit number one in South Korea and the band was hitting that idol status in their own country, but not internationally.
It was with their 2018 album Love Yourself: Tear, that the group started making an impact on the international charts. They managed to spend 15 weeks on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number one.
You can watch BTS and their quirky personalities that fans love so much in the below Noisey interview.
Fan Polls on Group Members Popularity
As mentioned above, Jimin seems to be the fan-favorite in South Korea. However, internationally, fans seem to have Jungkook as their favorite star of the band.
Every year Gallup polls Korean’s to see who the most popular Korean idol is within to country. In 2018 and 2019, BTS’ Jimin topped the list as the most popular celebrity.
Tumblr looked at the stats for the most popular K-Pop groups and stars on their website as a part of their year in review. Unshockingly, BTS was the number one K-Pop group and all seven members of BTS took the top spots of most popular K-Pop stars.
The number one spot on Tumblr’s list went to Jungkook. Jimin was in the second spot and V in the third.
Who was the least popular member of the group? It was J-Hope, who was also the least popular member in Gallop’s poll too.
BTS Opening Doors for Other K-Pop Groups
Outside of BTS, there haven’t been very many Korean’s to hit the same level of success. In reality, only one artist comes to mind: PSY. Do you remember PSY’s 2012 hit ‘Gagnam Style’ that went viral?
Remember the dance that went along with his song and watching him doing it on virtually every American late night and day time television show? Well, BTS finally hit that level in 2018 with the success of their album Love Yourself.
They have been on virtually every show around the world and they are actually helping to bring K-Pop into the mainstream. Groups like BLACKPINK are now on the same road to popularity.