[FACTCHECK] Is Stray Kids' music only popular overseas?
Published: 26 Apr. 2023, 17:14
Updated: 28 Apr. 2023, 18:02
To the question of who will succeed the throne of BTS as its members start their two-year military duties, a frequently mentioned name is Stray Kids — the eight-member boy band that debuted in 2018 under JYP Entertainment.
One aspect that makes the group a strong contender is the fact that many of its loyal fandom, known as STAY, are from overseas.
In fact, there’s a Korean meme that says “1.7 Hantay.” This is a shortened version of “1.7 percent Hanguk STAY,” or “1.7 percent Korean STAY.” The origin of the number 1.7: The percentage of Korean viewers of the “God’s Menu” (2020) music video during the early stages of the video’s release.
Ever since its debut with “District 9,” the band has been particularly popular among overseas fans, making their stardom in Korea seem minuscule in comparison. So much so, that Korean STAYs call themselves Hantay to differentiate themselves from the other STAYs, and overseas STAYs express joy when they see someone comment in Korean.
So do the Hantays really only take up 1.7 percent of all the STAYs out there? No, but it may likely be no more than 3 percent.
BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)