The Korean Business Research Institute has revealed this month’s brand reputation rankings for individual boy group members!

The rankings were determined through an analysis of the consumer participation, media coverage, communication, and community awareness indexes of 703 boy group members, using big data collected from November 18 to December 17.

BTS swept the top four spots on the list this month: Jin rose to the top of the rankings after seeing a staggering 182.94 percent increase in his brand reputation index since November, bringing his total score for December to 9,009,081.

High-ranking phrases in Jin’s keyword analysis included “Super Tuna,” “Instagram,” and “Yours” (Jin’s OST song for the tvN drama “Jirisan“), while his highest-ranking related terms included “launch,” “congratulate,” and “heartwarming.” His positivity-negativity analysis also revealed a score of 89.69 percent positive reactions.

Meanwhile, after an impressive run of 35 consecutive months at No. 1, BTS’s Jimin took second place in the rankings for December. His brand reputation index for the month came out to 8,179,443, marking a 58.24 percent rise in his score since November.

BTS’s V claimed third place on the list with a brand reputation index of 6,268,086, marking a 70.08 percent increase in his score since last month, and his bandmate Jungkook followed at fourth place with a total index of 5,650,694, marking a 99.93 percent rise in his own score.

Finally, 2PM’s Lee Junho rounded out the top five for December with a brand reputation index of 5,339,397, marking an 80.76 percent rise in his score since November.

Check out the top 30 for this month below!

1. BTS’s Jin
2. BTS’s Jimin
3. BTS’s V
4. BTS’s Jungkook
5. 2PM’s Lee Junho
6. WINNER’s Song Mino
7. ASTRO’s Cha Eun Woo
8. SF9’s Rowoon
9. BTS’ Suga
10. WINNER’s Kim Jin Woo
11. BTS’s RM
12. WINNER’s Lee Seung Hoon
13. 2PM’s Chansung
14. BIGBANG’s G-Dragon
15. BTS’s J-Hope
16. Super Junior’s Kim Heechul
17. SHINee’s Key
18. VICTON’s Byungchan
19. WEi’s Kim Yo Han
20. MONSTA X’s Shownu
21. SEVENTEEN’s Jun
22. SHINee’s Jonghyun
23. NCT’s Jaehyun
24. EXO’s Chen
25. NU’EST’s Minhyun
26. NCT’s Doyoung
27. EXO’s Kai
28. SHINee’s Minho
29. NCT’s Taeyong
30. MONSTA X’s Minhyuk

Watch “Jirisan” with subtitles here…

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…and check out Lee Junho’s hit drama “The Red Sleeve” below!

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If you’ve been a longtime fan of K-pop, you know by now that the genre experiments with concepts that are simply out of this world. Sometimes, that statement is quite literal, as many idols, both soloists and groups, have decided to give the outer space theme a try.

Here are eight stellar K-pop MVs that represent the extraterrestrial life, in one way or another.

1. Stray Kids – “Astronaut”

We’ve all thought of running away to somewhere far away, but Stray Kids took it to the next level. Although subtly hinted, the visuals along with the lyrics scream “cosmic,” while the boys are singing their hearts out about being young, wild, and free roaming outside their terrestrial world.

2. TWICE – “Signal”

In this narrative, TWICE is going E.T. The members are zapped by a UFO, granting them superpowers. They then decide to use their new gifts to charm their new extraterrestrial classmate. Intimidated by their infatuation, the student goes home, leaving in return nine alien girls on planet Earth.

3. BIGBANG – “BAE BAE”

If you haven’t heard of this masterpiece before, let me walk you through it. From the angel statue all the way to the out-of-ordinary settings throughout the MV, the members are having the time of their lives as they throw an extravagant party somewhere in the galaxy while enjoying a seemingly celestial company, as described in their lyrics.

4. LOONA – “Star”

LOONA is letting their inner stars shine bright in this beautiful rendition, with an equally beautiful cinematography that sends the audience on a trip into outer space. What makes this song even more special is that it is addressed to the entire fandom and serves as the group’s first English release.

5. BTS and Coldplay – “My Universe”

BTS is no stranger to the stellar world, as they have often sung about moons and suns. Furthermore, they even released “Mikrokosmos,” which addressed their love for their fandom, ARMY. In this one-of-a-kind collaboration with Coldplay, the members went universal in conveying their appreciation for their fans, which they highlighted throughout the rhymes. The MV beautifully captures the cosmic energy in this song.

6. AKMU’s Lee Suhyun – “Alien”

Suhyun has chosen a bold concept with which to debut her solo career, as she embraced her inner alien. In fact, the artist describes herself throughout the lyrics as someone who is out of this world, with a uniqueness defined by superpowers that are simply too grand for planet Earth. The visuals comically narrate her story and further support her statement.

7. EXO – “Power”

If anyone does the galactic concept justice in the K-pop industry, it’s EXO. The group has been at it since their debut and their storyline continues, this time on their own planet. The members fight off their opponent in an effort to regain their superpowers in an exciting extraterrestrial battle.

8. WJSN – “Secret”

For a group who has “cosmic” in their name, a space-themed song is simply inevitable. This MV alone is cosmo incarnate, as the sky gives a glimpse of what’s going on out there in the galaxy. The members themselves have a celestial aura that is hard to ignore while they sing of an ethereal love story.

Which space-themed K-pop MV is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

Esmee L. is a Moroccan lively dreamer, writer, and Hallyu enthusiast.

The Korean Business Research Institute has revealed this month’s brand reputation rankings for male idol groups!

The rankings were determined through an analysis of the consumer participation, media coverage, interaction, and community indexes of various boy groups, using big data collected from November 11 to December 11.

BTS topped the list for the 43rd consecutive month with a brand reputation index of 8,730,664, marking a 46.60 percent rise in their score since November.

High-ranking phrases in BTS’s keyword analysis included “Super Tuna,” “Instagram,” and “ARMY,” while their highest-ranking related terms included “award,” “selected,” and “surpass.” The group’s positivity-negativity analysis also revealed a score of 87.90 percent positive reactions.

SEVENTEEN held onto their spot at second place with a brand reputation index of 3,541,815 for December.

Meanwhile, EXO rose to third place in the rankings with a brand reputation index of 2,592,445.

MONSTA X came in at a close fourth with a brand reputation index of 2,581,681, marking a 59.37 percent increase in their score since last month, and NCT rounded out the top five with a brand reputation index of 2,396,510 for December.

Check out the top 30 for this month below!

1. BTS
2. SEVENTEEN
3. EXO
4. MONSTA X
5. NCT
6. THE BOYZ
7. SF9
8. SHINee
9. ASTRO
10. BTOB
11. Highlight
12. Stray Kids
13. ENHYPEN
14. 2PM
15. INFINITE
16. 2AM
17. NU’EST
18. TXT
19. Super Junior
20. ONF
21. BIGBANG
22. VIXX
23. ATEEZ
24. ONEUS
25. PENTAGON
26. TREASURE
27. TVXQ
28. WINNER
29. Golden Child
30. WEi

Watch EXO’s Sehun in his current drama “Now We Are Breaking Up” with subtitles below!

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