BTS, Lee Min Ho, Blackpink, Psy, and Song Hye Kyo Only Entertainers to Make the KOCIS 2021 Most Influential South Korean Poll

The recently released 2021 KOCIS (The Korean Culture and Information Service) poll of 16 overseas countries and 8000 voters gathered who foreigners think is the most influential South Korean. This poll is not limited to entertainment stars and the top vote getter was South Korean president Moon Jae In. Only four K-ent stars made the list with BTS coming in 2nd, then Lee Min Ho as the first acting star on the list in 3rd place, Blackpink landed in 4th, and Psy remains prominent in people’s minds at 5th place. The second group is soccer star Son Heung Min in 6th, jailed former South Korean president Park Geun Hye weirdly in 7th (bad publicity is better than no publicity?), Song Hye Kyo next in 8th, and then soccer star Park Ji Sung in 9th and figure skating champion Kim Yuna in 10th. Many of these are repeats and some notable moves are Blackpink going from 7th last year to 4th this year, Song Hye Kyo dropping from 4th to 8th, and Song Joong Ki not making the top 10.


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BTS, Lee Min Ho, Blackpink, Psy, and Song Hye Kyo Only Entertainers to Make the KOCIS 2021 Most Influential South Korean Poll — 60 Comments

  1. Pingback: BTS, Lee Min Ho, Blackpink, Psy, and Song Hye Kyo Only Entertainers to Make the KOCIS 2021 Most Influential South Korean Poll - Kpopnchill - All About K-pop News

  2. Except for BTS and Blackpink these lists could be a carbon copy from 10-15 years ago. Seriously though both groups basically saved hallyu in their own ways because it was clearly dying.

    • I don’t think it’s dying. Might be in europe or America. But in ASIA, especially in my country, Kdrama is still alive and has huge fanbase.

  3. Kris jenner make top 3??Last year he no.1 hallyu star poll but it didnt help him get rating hit in drama lol!!!Where is park seo joon,hyun bin,kang he nul,nam goong min???Their drama was rating hit last year did better than lee min ho botox-sii.Because botox in his cheek he can’t potrait pull emotion in king eternal flop.This poll doesnt mean anything even kim nam gil was better and talented actor tham him!!

    • Marie suzy stays flop and a decoration. Her existence is mere prop . Wait for jennie and jisoo to debut. They gonna snatch her decoration characters because of their overseas fame SUzy is no match for them worldwide!

      • Oh Ady, you’re obsessed with Queen Suzy lmao. She lives in your mind 24/7 rent-free. Pretty sure that user is Joane lol. But anyways, I agree with everything OP said, except for the username. Kim Go Eun IS talented and hard-carried the acting in TKEM whereas the eternal chaebol just modeled in front of the cam as usual. Who cares about hallyu when acting is his main profession from the start yet still mediocre af almost 2 decades in.

      • King remains unbothered with his upcoming 130 million dollars project. Who will offer woozie such project lmao!. No korean actor can command such project and he is not like woozie to media play his salary. But everyone knows what apple must be paying him!

        Rofl woozie fan talking about acting
        King remains better actor and star than ur local woozie
        So u r transphobic by agreeing? Good! Showed ur true self
        And btw if people get disappointed by lmh because they expect from him to do better
        Because they know he is actually a good actor
        But noone expects anything from ur woozie bcoz she is a decoration used in movies. With no substance. A mere showpiece with 100 flops! She needs to rely on top actors to get hits as she has zero power
        And yes i m ady only

      • Suzy’s drama Start Up is still at top 3 among world Netflix kdramas from last year untill now! She’s only 3 months older than jisoo, but already have many hit dramas and movies, won many acting awards, meanwhile Jisoo still not debut as an actress yet, even many famous Hallywoo actors/actresses still have many flop movies, only in your dream Jisoo can catch up with her just rely on riding the frame of BP but not her selfe!

      • Start-up is a flop . No.katter how many fanfiction woozie’s tards right.
        She is no match for bp members global fame who r world famous n outearn by a mile. Stay in ur lane
        She is queen of flops n a mere decoration who will be replaced by another decorations
        Like Han ga in. Atleast han ga in went out with 40% drama rofl

    • Popularity doesn’t equate to talent necessarily. I dont begrudge LMH his success or fan base but I genuinely don’t understand it. He is an okay actor, with some hits but a bunch of his dramas are cliched messes with lots of toxic masculinity (The Heirs anyone?)

    • Suzy’s fans and their obsession with lmh.
      They broke up a long time ago, learn to move on. And if you want to hate him use your bias’s name using another actress’s name is cowardice.
      And Thinking you did something with that troll comment when you are only bringing unnecessary trolls to Suzy.

  4. Lee min ho big budget international drama, his pan asian endorsements which pay him more than korean actors , speaks of his hallyu fame and the above showpiece suzy fan making transphobic comment calling him kris jenner. Your suzy overseas fame is being his ex. Nothing more lol. She is a local showpiece. Atleast he makes his dramas profitable on his own star power and kind was profitable even pre airing which ur woozie can never, unlike your eternal showpiece who is used as prop in movies and whenever she tries dramas on her own, they all flop. She is not on level of LMH and no one will cast her for mega budget international dramas like Hallyu KIng
    Song Hyo kyo pioneer of hallyu with autumn in my heart. SHe and lee min ho has eyes for dramas which sells out overseas. That’s why they are blue chip of industry.
    Whether u like lmh or not, u cant deny his hallyu fame. Third gen failed to make hallyu actors and BTS become world stars. Blackpink too become big, with girl groups. But difference is bts>> wall> bp> other kpop groups. BTS can sell million tickets in online concert. BP only 280 k. No match Offline at all in album sales and ticketing power. But BP are huge compared to others. Both BTS members V , Jungkook as well as jisoo r offered dramas and movies , but Tae said he will do after he turns 30. Third gen failed to create hallyu actors. Only first gen and second gen hallyu actors are relevant, with Lee min ho and song hye kyo at top. Jun ji hyun long hiatus has hurted her ranking, but she will get it back with next show. Kim soo hyun, song joongki are hallyu stars too. Even back in 2nd gen k actors are way biggest stars than 2nd gen kpop idols. But third gen kpop>>> kdrama

  5. Lee min ho, this guy can literally just vanish from the face of the earth and still be trending and entering polls.

    His fan base is sophisticated

    • Lee Min Ho popularity came grom BoF. He really Hit the chart then and until now that popularity is still intact in international viewers.

      I remember when I was in AbuDhabi even the pirated DVD of BoF was selling by Chinese. Lol

  6. Wow BTS and BP should marry each other, they’re everywhere. King and Queen of kpop.

    But LMH and SHK are freaking popular internationally. No wonder. Hate it or love it, even for my non drama lover friends, they are popular.
    Wondering why SJK isnt on top 10. He’s also very famous.

    • LMH the biggest Korean actor globally.. You can argue with your wall.

      Goto any remote place in the world, they know him.. In fact, he is the only Korean actor most people outside Korea know his full name..other actors look the same to them.. The only asian actors that are well known as LMH or even surpass him are jet li, Jackie chan, Shah rukh khan,Aishwarya rai, donnie yen, chow yun fat.

      • I agree. LMH has the name recall compared to his contemporaries and even sunbaes among Kdrama and non Kdrama fans. I bet the mothers and grandmas, and preferably the male audience in other countries esp Asians knew him and would still mention his name even if he’ll go into hiatus. My mother for example who do not watch Kdrama knew LMH’s full name and his face.

      • Don’t forget Xiao Zhan from China.
        He trends everyday in the US here.
        I think he’s way more popular than Lee Min Ho.
        But you’re right , asides BTS , black pink and to some extent Exo ….Lee Min Ho and Song Hye Kyo are the most popular actors in Korea.

      • I agree he is popular but to say that you can go to any remote place and people would know him? No way. He is not a movie star. He is know in kdrama land. So unless you watch kdramas, who would know him??? He is not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt with that kind of face or name recognition. Even people who don’t watch movies know who those two are. I assure you most people don’t know who LMH is.

    • Another despo attempt by blink to put their models on level of BTS when they are not. BP touring stats, sales are close to other kpop groups than BTS. Even nct had 200 k online concert viewers. Blinks were predicting 500k to million like bts but they didnt even touch 300k. BTS deserve nice people, not these arrogant women who cant even clap during performances! They gonna be finished by 2023 when their contract ends. 2ne1 remember, The fate of yg girl groups!

    • nah, Lee Min Ho and Song Hye Kyo get popular around 2000 – 2009 through full house/Autumn Tale and BOF for LMH, and still maintain that popularity. Joong Ki is just got a rising star in 2010 and start booing through DOTS. So I understand why they get bigger fan base.

  7. Even in France, BTS are named Mega Top Kpop stars by medias . The others are only known by kdrama lovers as me . Le quotidien a popular tv show used “dynamite” in sept 2020 to promote the new season…when they only use indie or trendy music . A show in wich big stars used to come as Tom cruise, Will Smith, Dua Lipa, Tom Hanks, Marvel’s star, Game of Thrones cast, La casa de papel, Steven spielberg,…

    • BTS is legitimately famous in most countries, they’re starting to become known as a “pop” artist in the same league as major western stars now. I’m no kpop fan but that’s truly impressive (even if it sadly comes at the cost of them having to face racism).

      (One good measure of BTS fame in Korea is that almost every drama I watched between 2018 to now has mentioned them in some way – unless it’s a sageuk or period drama lol. Most recently it was Vincenzo!)

      • Only 3 artists to debut in 21st century who has sold over 100 million EAS ( equivalents album sales used by ifpi and billboard )
        Taylor swift , coldplay and Rihanna or u can go back. Britney and eminem who debuted at end of 90s.
        Adele and Drake are at 90 million
        Guess what? BTs sold 16 million Eas in last 9 months and are near 75 million total
        And by end of 2022 will join exclusive 100 million EAS club in less than ten years of debut
        Ifpi named them artist of yeat
        Dynamite in 4 month was ranked in top 10 worlwide hits
        Butter is on way to be there too
        They had most number one consumed album and number 4 consumed albums
        In pure sales they had top 2 most albums
        Reaching 100 million EAS faster than western acts in huge
        They sells million tickets for one online concert
        Has huge endorsements globally
        They are biggest right now according to ifpi

      • Not a kpop fan either but Dynamite and butter are perfect while driving going to work . The only ones i know and i like are Baby VOX and T ara’s songs .

      • @cahill – I only know Baby VOX because of Yoon Eun Hye haha, I remember being so surprised to learn she was a girl group member! There are other kpop idols from that time who became successful as actors but YEH was the only one whose career as an actress fully eclipsed her idol image, I never see it brought up in her articles etc.

        I don’t know what all those numbers the BTS fans are bringing up, actually mean – but I agree they are global superstars, it’s extra impressive that even the pandemic didn’t slow their rise. I enjoy Dynamite and Butter is fun too, but I think some of their Korean songs are better/have better lyrics. I hear some people are calling their #1 position a “fraud” because fans bought their songs and blocked that Disney girl from the top? But buying songs/paying money is how the music industry survives, why yell at fans for spending their own money. I’m with the fans on this one.

      • BTS really broke through in a big way, but I actually think the pandemic helped cement and grow their fanbase because Western artists make bank on touring and not as much music was getting released because no tours were gonna happen. (I mean WAP but…ugh) Their company is very good at managing them and thinking strategically. I am kind of middle of the road about some of their recent stuff but it’s nice that people internationally are checking out Korean content.

        Also, the US music market has been a desert for so long they deserve to get shellacked by international acts though I realize the companies are all holding hands at this point.

  8. Pingback: BTS, Lee Min Ho, Blackpink, Psy, and Song Hye Kyo Only Entertainers to Make the KOCIS 2021 Most Influential South Korean Poll - SanIsidro

  9. @Joker pointless comment. If you think this website writes pointless articles why are you even visiting this website? People can write anything they want, if it’s not your cup of tea you can stay away

  10. BTS deserves their world wide success. In addition to being incredible performers, their Korean discography is amazing collection of songs spanning all types of genres.

  11. I find this kind of survey is pointless. Like PSY is still making these lists based on popularity ages ago. BTS is huge and most people off the street would now associate them with South Korea and maybe the president as well for those that pay attention to world events. BP is gaining traction but I don’t see them reaching the same level as BTS. But the rest? Unless you are a kdrama fan, you wouldn’t know LMH or any of these actors. He is not Tom Cruise. Not to mention there are much better representative working actors in SK. KOCIS and KOFIC are obsessed with how SK performers are perceived overseas. Not sure other countries care this much.

    • LMH is more popular than all the Korean actors and actress put together.As far as internationally is concerned.

      Name one Korean actor that is more popular than him globally and I can bet you, you can’t name one.

      The highest other actors can reach is being well known in China or Philippines .. As far as Korean celebrities is concerned, LMH is more popular and well known in Africa, in Europe, America ( both South and north) he is not called the hallyu king for nothing… The only people that have matched and manage to surpass his popularity is actually a group called BTS. Do you even know many time LMH have trended in countries like Nigeria Ghana and South America.

      Stop fighting it for the sake of your mental health. All this suzy fans vomiting rubbish here, you all need to move on… It has been years since they broke up.. Move on and stop being bitter even song songs fans don’t do like this.

      • Oh wow. On what planet is LMH more popular than every Korean actor or actress put together? I’m not disputing he is very popular and well known Hallyu star but he is not known outside of kdrama land to the general public. He is not a movie star, hence most people around the world don’t care. And I am not a Suzy fan at ALL. Just not a fan of superficially hyping people up. This poll is not representative of anything other than reaffirming how popular BTS is. They are the only truly well known international artists out of SK from that list that people in remote countries will know, not LMH ?

      • @ray I love how you typed all your jargon and yet you didn’t answer my question.. You can’t even name the Korean actor or actress that is more famous than him bcos you can’t.. Stop using English to confuse yourself.. Isn’t shameful that you talk about him being an only kdrama actor and yet can’t name the so called Korean movie star that is more famous than him… Facts do not care about your feeling??..

    • I agree, everyone knows Psy from Gangnam Style but he peaked with that, same with some others. BTS is actually famous, Black Punk maybe a level below them but that’s it for k-celebs in the west. Even the actors who were in Oscar-winning movies or are in dramas popular on Netflix, don’t have that level of fame as the current big kpop idols and I say this as a drama fan.

      • Èxactly. PSY’s inclusion on this list tells you everything you need to know about its relevancy.

    • Lmh is mosy popular korean actor
      He is headlining 130 millipn usd upcoming drama. More expensive than any movie any korean actor acted in
      He is most popular korean actor
      Even kpop is known to fanbases only
      Lmh is most popular korean actpr since 2009 overseas
      Even kpop is run by fans
      Bts at number one, bp at 2 and lmh at number 3. He is more.popular than aby 2nd gen idol
      Even an old man sitting in country dont care about kpop
      Whether idols or actors are known by fanbases only outside korea
      Lmh is a household name throughout asia and have a strong fanbase where dramas are niche. Same with kpop

      • Exactly, that guy carried a weak film like eternal on his shoulders alone and made it the highest grossing series for netflix..it only did poorly (by LMH standards) in Korea but made the highest amount of of money for Netflix globally of all the Korean drama released ever.

      • “made the highest amount of money for Netflix”

        ok, how? Merch sales? Or do you people have no idea how Netflix works? (Hint: it’s not a tv channel, they don’t have adverts to sell)

      • Royal we know u n kaoalas r 15th century boomers who dont know d power of netflix but it was widely reported by production. That they made prpfit of 30% pre airing and it was huge success worldwide on netflix. U can search
        Second his success on netflix is reason he is on apple plus now. Getting paid record billion won ( over 900k usd ) per episode of next online show
        Which has budget of 14 billion won per episode n will have multiple season
        Why so called top stars like ksh sjk or movie legends didnt get that role in mega project?
        Lmh success hurt haters. When he has biggest project ever headlined by k drama actor
        Which will have multiple seasons. He is going global.and that drama wont air on tv. U will call it flop too lol
        Sure u know more than apple n producers who gave LMH lead role over ur so called greats

    • @ray mention any Kdrama actor or actress more popular than him, i will wait. You don’t even need to like him or his dramas but you can’t deny his star power is out of this world. Yes he is no Tom cruise or brad pit but compared to a lot of Asian actors he can stand tall on his own, and he has been owning that throne since 2009.

    • I don’t understand the point of comparing BTS to BP as if the latter is somehow inferior. That’s like comparing BSB to Spice Girls or Little Mix to OD. Girl groups are always less popular than boy groups by now everyone know that. The longevity for BG has also always been more and so has their selling power. The whole world is patriarchal so stop comparing BTS power to BP power. It can’t be denied that they are both restively the top male and female groups in the world. Not to mention the amount of impact BP has on all 4th gen GGs with literally everyone trying to be the next BP. The way BP managed to merge fashion and kpop is something GD and CL started but never managed to make as mainstream as BP has. Even rookie groups focus on styling and big brands these days and aim for luxury endorsements as soon as they debut. BPs music and fashion has become one of the defining identifed of kpop and even all the upcoming Western artists look towards BP for music and fashion inspiration. Eventually if they keep making music for a long time they can reach the Grammy’s too. They finally got their 1st Billboard nomination this year. Legacies are build one step at a time. They don’t have to be bigger than BTS to prove their worth or impact.

  12. @Lily, reading comprehension in not your forte, clearly. I didn’t claim another actor is more popular than him, I said he is not bigger and more popular than all Korean actors and actresses put together, which was the ridiculous claim someone made upthread. My English is just fine ?

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