{
  "id": 5585674,
  "title": "K-pop's new power fans? Middle-aged Americans with money and time to spend",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/k-pops-new-power-fans-middle-aged-americans-with-money-and-time-to-5585674",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-04T15:47:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/k-pop/20260905/k-pops-new-power-fans-middle-aged-americans-with-money-and-time-to-spend"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the first half of 2026, K-pop's popularity in the United States witnessed a remarkable surge, surpassing the value of kimchi imports from Korea. Germany also emerged as the fourth-largest overseas market for K-pop albums, with imports increasing more than sixfold year-over-year. CDs experienced a resurgence, defying predictions of their demise. Korea solidified its position as the world's third-largest music export powerhouse, trailing only the United States and Britain. The global music market was captivated by K-pop's unprecedented growth and the evolving ways in which fans consumed the music.",
  "summary": "Last year, the United States imported more kimchi from Korea than K-pop albums. However, in the first half of 2026, K-pop album exports to the United States surged to three times the value of kimchi exports, while the country surpassed Japan and China to become the largest overseas market for K-pop albums. The United States was not alone in seeing a surge in K-pop album imports. Germany became…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "K-pop's new power fans? Middle-aged Americans with money and time to spend",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/k-pops-new-power-fans-middle-aged-americans-with-money-and-time-to",
        "published": "2026-09-04T15:37:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}