After the “Power Celebrity 40″rankings were released, there was a growing skepticism surrounding the credibility of Forbes Korea. Many netizens pointed out that some of the top A-list celebrities were ranked surprisingly low, or even worse, not included on the list at all.
On April 29, Forbes Korea revealed their “Most Powerful Korean Celebrities”list for the year 2024.
Despite this, the rankings received mixed responses from fans as some expressed disappointment at the exclusion of certain artists they believe should have been included in the Top 40.
Forbes Names BLACKPINK as Top ‘Power Celebrity 40’
This year, according to Forbes Korea, BLACKPINK was recognized as the top Korean celebrity in terms of power.
More specifically, the outcome was determined by four distinct categories, with their placement being 8th for media coverage, but claiming the top position for both social media and highest revenue categories.
This is the result of their dedication and effort in presenting 66 concerts worldwide in 2023.
Based on information from Performance Touring Data, out of the 66 performances, 61 of them reported a total sales of $281.03 million (KRW 389.3 billion). Additionally, BLACKPINK alone earned 100 billion won ($73 million) in performance fees.
Additionally, the top 5 was rounded out by Son Heung Min, NewJeans, Kim Min Jae, Lim Young Woong, and Lee Jung Hoo, in that order.
Full List of the ‘Power Celebrity 40’
The list includes a variety of famous individuals such as BLACKPINK, Son Heung Min, NewJeans, Kim Minjae, Lim Young Woong, Lee Jung Hoo, JIMIN, Lee Kang In, JUNGKOOK, IVE, Cha Eunwoo, Jang Min Ho, Lee Sang Min, DEX, Ahn Eun Jin, Lee Chan Won, Kim Ho Joong, Kian84, Kim Ha Seong, Lee Junho, Yoo Jaesuk, Son Tae Jin, Uhm Jung Hwa, LE SSERAFIM, YoonA, Son Suk Ku, Lee Seung Gi, Namgoong Min, Young Tak, IU, Park Eun Bin
The Criteria Behind IU and BTS’s Rankings According to Forbes Korea, Leading to Frustration Among K-Netz
Despite the results being announced, a significant number of K-netizens expressed their disappointment. They remained unconvinced of the rankings’ credibility, as many A-list stars were ranked incredibly low or not included at all.
Despite being absent from various categories, IU still managed to secure a spot at 30th place in the rankings. While Jimin and Jungkook both entered as soloists, BTS unfortunately did not make it into the top 40 as a group. Additionally, aespa was also not included in the rankings.
They expressed their dissatisfaction with the remarks, stating:
“Lim Young Woong is ranked 5th, which is lower than expected. Yoo Jae Seok, on the other hand, is ranked 21st. Surprisingly, IU is not included in the ranking. What criteria were used for this ranking?”
“Do you not think it is significant that BTS and IU are not present?”
“I am not aware of which standard this is.”
“Aespa does not exist.”
“Isn’t even Karina here?”
“Is it possible for Son Tae Jin to have a lower ranking than IU?”
“BTS should still be present, even if they are serving in the military.”
“Why are Yoo Jae Seok and IU ranked so highly? Surprisingly, Jeon Hyun Moo and BTS are not included on the list.”
“Can you remind me where you researched this?”
“While it may be called Forbes Korea, the publication lacks credibility and should not be automatically equated with Forbes.”
In response to this, Forbes Korea revealed additional details about the overall rankings and issued the Top 10 rankings for each sector.
There are a total of four categories, consisting of (1) press, (2) social media, (3) broadcast, and (4) income.
The term “press”refers to the frequency with which journalists report on a particular artist, whereas “SNS”represents the impact and development of the celebrity on the internet.
At the same time, the scores of televised broadcasts are assessed and contrasted by establishing an evaluation measure that takes into account the number of films featured, the top viewer ratings, and bonus points for accolades, with the fourth criterion focusing on the celebrity’s source of income.
Despite ranking 10th in the press and 5th in social media, IU was unable to secure a spot in the top 10 for the remaining categories, resulting in a lower overall ranking. Similarly, BTS did not make it into the top 10 for any of the four sectors.
At the same time, Forbes Korea’s “Power Celebrity 40″is the Korean equivalent of the “Highest-paid Celebrity 100″list, which is chosen every year by Forbes in the United States.
In the years 2023 and 2024, the annual income (50%) of 100 celebrities from the fields of singing, acting, broadcasting, and sports was determined based on their popularity on the Daum Kakao Portal. This quantification took into account their media, social media, and broadcasting influence (50%), resulting in a total score calculated by combining the indicators.
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