K-pop boy band BTS is worth $3.6 billion a year to South Korea

South Korean boyband BTS is worth more than $3.6 billion to their country's economy every year. This is equivalent to the contribution of 26 mid-sized companies, according to a research institute.

The institute also revealed that the band is responsible for increasing tourism in the country as one in every 13 foreign tourists visited South Korea in 2017. Some 800,000 tourists were believed to have chosen South Korea as their destination last year because of BTS -- more than seven per cent of the total visitors to the country.

The boy band, known for their good looks and crazy style of dressing are a hit all over the world. They have, in turn, become one of South Korea's best-known and most valuable musical exports. More than $1 billion in consumer exports, such as clothes, cosmetics, and foodstuffs, were associated with them, it said.

Earlier this year, they became the first K-pop band to top the US album charts.

As they chart a success route for themselves, BTS has helped in boosting the brand image of South Korean products abroad, the institute said, making BTS a valuable economic asset. 

Researchers estimated the group's so-called annual production inducement effect -- the total economic value generated by related industries -- at 4.1 trillion won ($3.63 billion) annually, the same as 26 mid-sized South Korean companies.