The Unexpected K-Pop Artist Declared The Wealthiest In The Industry

The K-Pop industry has seen exponential growth in the past decade, crossing every boundary of language and cultural hegemony to become a global music industry. Artists like BTS, TWICE, and BLACKPINK have attained international fame of unprecedented levels. So, it is natural to assume that these idols might also be the richest ones in the industry. But as it turns out, it is none of the names dominating the charts today.

BTS | BIGHIT MUSIC TWICE BLACKPINK | @blackpinkofficial/Instagram

According to a report from the Korean media outlet Tenasia, Park Jinyoung, also known as JY Park, is the richest K-Pop singer in the industry currently.

Park Jinyoung | @asiansoul_jyp/Instagram

While many K-Pop fans today know him as the founder and CEO of JYP Entertainment, he is also a first-generation idol who debuted in 1992. He is still actively making music, continuing his idol activities. Apart from that, he is also a lucrative songwriter and producer who is credited for the creation of iconic groups such as G.O.D, 2 PM, Wonder Girls, Miss A, TWICE, and ITZY. Consequently, a significant chunk of his income comes from copyright revenues.

G.O.D 2PM | YouTube Music Miss A | Wikitree

But perhaps the lion’s share of his earnings are owed to his shares in JYP Entertainment. Park reportedly owns 5,402,311 shares of the company, which have an estimated asset value of about ₩385 billion KRW (about $287 million USD) as of April 3, KST.

According to a 2022 report, JY Park is not just the richest Korean celebrity but also by a really large gap. The second richest K-Pop idol, as per the 2022 report, was Kim Jaejoong, whose net worth was less than half of Park’s fortune, at USD 90 million Dollars!