Jimin's 37-Month Streak: Redefining Individual Star Power in K-Pop

Thirty-seven months. That's not just a number—it's the length of BTS member Jimin's unprecedented reign atop the Korean Business Research Institute's individual idol brand reputation rankings. The January 2026 results, analyzing big data from December 22, 2025, to January 22, 2026, show Jimin maintaining his iron grip on the top spot.

The rankings evaluate 1,730 idols across four key metrics: consumer participation, media coverage, interaction, and community awareness indexes. Following Jimin, NewJeans'Haerin claimed second place, with IVE'sJang Wonyoung rounding out the top three.

When Individual Stars Drive Industry Value

Jimin's dominance represents more than personal achievement—it signals a fundamental shift in how the K-Pop industry operates. Where groups once moved as unified brands, individual members now wield the power to make or break entire companies.

Consider HYBE's stock performance, which closely tracks BTS members' individual activities. When news breaks about Jimin's solo releases or personal projects, markets react immediately. We're witnessing an era where a single idol can influence the valuation of multi-billion dollar entertainment conglomerates.

Competing agencies like SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment have taken notice, pivoting their strategies to maximize individual member brand values. NewJeans' Haerin's second-place showing suggests ADOR is successfully executing this playbook.

The Economics of Personal Fandom

These rankings reveal deeper changes in global fan consumption patterns. Fans increasingly gravitate toward specific members rather than entire groups, driving purchases of individual merchandise, targeted ad engagement, and member-specific social media participation.

This shift is reshaping marketing strategies worldwide. Global luxury brands now prefer individual idol partnerships over group endorsements. Jimin's personal contracts with Dior and Tiffany & Co. generate tens of millions in advertising revenue, demonstrating the commercial power of personal branding.

The Korea Creative Content Agency reports that groups with strong individual member brands achieve 2.3 times higher success rates in international markets. Personal star power has become the currency of cultural export.

The Sustainability Question

Yet Jimin's streak raises intriguing questions about the nature of sustained popularity in the digital age. His consistent dominance occurs during BTS's group hiatus, suggesting individual brand strength can transcend collective activity. But how long can any single star maintain such overwhelming market position?

The data-driven nature of these rankings also highlights the evolving relationship between measurable popularity and cultural impact. Social media engagement and search volumes capture one dimension of influence, but do they fully represent an artist's lasting significance?