“Billboard recognizes K-pop and K-music not merely as music genres, but as significant cultural movements that are reshaping the international entertainment industry landscape.”
Mike Van, president of Billboard, held a press conference at a hotel in Seoul on April 15, during his first visit to South Korea. He repeatedly expressed optimism about the future of K-pop. The conference was held to directly communicate the operational plans for the upcoming launch of the Korean version of Billboard, “Billboard Korea,” this June. Van praised all Korean artists, saying, “All artists from Korea are incredible and admirable,” and added, “Both my daughter and niece love BTS, Blackpink, NewJeans, Le Sserafim, TWICE, and Tomorrow X Together.”
The newly established Billboard Korea is a separate entity from the previous magazines that shared its name, sold under license by the Billboard headquarters in 2009 and 2017. This new venture is directly managed by a subsidiary following the acquisition of Billboard by Penske Media Corporation (PMC) in 2020, a global media group that owns numerous American entertainment media including Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety. Plans for Billboard Korea include the release of its inaugural issue, “Billboard K Vol.1,” in June, and will feature a K-pop dedicated magazine, exclusive K-pop charts, collaborative content, and performances. “Billboard Korea is essentially the K-music team of Billboard headquarters,” said Kim Yu-na, the publisher and representative of Billboard Korea who attended the conference. “We plan to co-present many contents through the headquarters’ social media and online platforms and to host some of the headquarters’ events in Korea.”
During the conference, the Billboard president formally denied rumors of “K-pop containment” related to recent Billboard chart reforms. In 2022 and 2023, Billboard reduced the number of valid weekly downloads and their scope where K-pop stars achieved impressive results, leading U.S. media to suggest this was a containment strategy towards K-pop fandoms. Van clarified, “While complex relationships with various partners might exist, there is absolutely no truth to the containment claims.” He added, “Besides K-pop, Billboard also operates over 150 various charts including Latin music, jazz, and Afrobeats, and the creation of detailed charts is meant to enhance reliability, not to discriminate against K-pop.”
Van, who began his term as president in 2022, marks his first visit to Korea. A Vietnamese-American, he joined Billboard as Vice President of Sales in 2018 and climbed to his current position by securing partnerships with companies like TikTok, Pepsi, Samsung, and Twitter, contributing to Billboard’s highest revenues in 2021. “During my five days in Korea, I will meet with Billboard’s brand partners and visit every jjimjilbang (Korean spa),” he said, laughing. He expressed his desire to “broadly promote the beauty of K-music through a dedicated Billboard team composed of music enthusiasts from both the U.S. and Korea.”
