South Asians Love K-pop. When Will It Love Us Back?
From racist lyrics to reporting Lara Raj to ICE, the world’s hottest genre has a glaring problem.
Ruchi Gupta is kind of embarrassed by how much she spends on K-pop a year. “It’s in the tens of thousands,” the consultant reluctantly admitted. In one video, she’s decked out in a purple wig and knee-high combat boots, singing along with a blond K-pop idol beckoning to her from the stage. “That’s Dino from SEVENTEEN!” Gupta squealed. “We’re singing in HINDI!”
You might be forgiven if you think K-pop is a cult. Before most saw Lara Raj and fellow KATSEYE members strut to GAP’s viral “Milkshake” ad, which now has over 8 billion views, the South Asian K-pop fandom was already exploding.
K-pop or Korean pop is a global phenomenon, a music genre from South Korea punching well above its population of 50 million, set to hit over $24 billion in value by 2030. KPop Demon Hunters (2025) is now Netflix’s most watched movie. Notably, India has one of the largest (and most vocal) BTS fandoms and South Asians globally likely spend millions of dollars a year on tickets, merch, and more. There’s just one problem: this industry doesn’t exactly love South Asians, from someone reporting Raj to ICE to “No Indians allowed” signs at Korean eateries. This begs the question: if South Asians are so obsessed with K-pop, is it too much to ask for K-pop to love us back?