##  [# KPOP Hasn’t Caught Up With Fans’ Increasing Interest in Korean Entertainment ](/sections/features/kpop-hasnt-caught-fans-increasing-interest-korean-entertainment) 

 

# KPOP Hasn’t Caught Up With Fans’ Increasing Interest in Korean Entertainment 

 

 

Growing interest in South Korean culture and entertainment hasn’t translated into investor returns, yet.



 

 

 

 

 

[By Ambreen Ali](/authors/ambreen-ali)

 May 01, 2023

 Edited by: Daria Solovieva

 

 

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Could an exchange-traded fund created for K-pop fans see broader appeal as Korean music and entertainment enjoys a global surge in demand?

Last week, Netflix announced it would make a $2.5 billion investment in Korean movies and shows. South Korean media stocks, including [Showbox Co.](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/086980.KQ?p=086980.KQ&ncid=stockrec) and [Studio Santa Claus Entertainment](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/204630.KQ/), surged on the news.

Meantime, K-pop, which is leading the global expansion of Korean popular culture, continues to see its popularity rise. Girl group Blackpink made history last month by becoming the first K-pop band to headline the Coachella Music Festival.

The Korean entertainment industry—including film, music and video games—has become a serious business, surpassing the export of home appliances and rechargeable batteries to hit a record high of $12.4 billion in 2021, according to government data cited by [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/technology/netflix-invest-25-bln-south-korea-make-tv-shows-movies-2023-04-25/).

“Squid Game” is the most-watched Netflix series of all time, and “Parasite” was the first foreign-language movie to take home the Oscar for Best Picture.

The growing interest in Korean culture is good news for the [**KPOP and Korean Entertainment ETF (KPOP)**](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/KPOP/), which CT Investments launched in September as a way for global K-pop fans to invest in their passion.

“There’s this fandom aspect where you want to own part of K-pop, not just consume K-pop,” Jangwon Lee, CEO of CT Investments, told etf.com.

Despite the name, the fund includes a broad set of stocks, including Korean music conglomerates such as [Hybe Corp.](https://hybecorp.com/jpn/company/artist) and [JYP Entertainment](https://www.jype.com/), entertainment companies including [CJ ENM](https://www.cjenm.com/en/) and [SM Entertainment Group](https://www.smentertainment.com/), cinema operators, and internet and ad companies.

“K-pop is an interesting theme, but it hasn’t attracted a huge amount of interest among U.S. ETF investors. While only eight months old, the KPOP ETF has just over $3 million in assets,” said etf.com’s Senior Analyst Sumit Roy. “So far, K-pop fans haven’t embraced the ETF like they have their favorite K-pop artists, and investors who are only looking at performance haven’t been interested in a fund that’s lagged the broader [**iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY)**](www.etf.com/EWY) by 600 basis points since inception. That could change, though.”

KPOP has had a rocky start, dipping 28% to a low of $14.15 in October before recovering close to its initial price. It was trading at $20.04 on Monday.



 

 

 [ Ambreen Ali ](/authors/ambreen-ali) 

 

 

    [View Bio](/authors/ambreen-ali)

 



 

 


 Related Topics  [Thematics](http://www.etf.com/topics/thematic-etfs) 

 [South Korea](http://www.etf.com/topics/south-korea)