South Korean boy band BTS’ leader RM, also known as Kim Namjoon, has sent K-Pop fans flooding to art museums thanks to his Instagram.
A new type of marketing is emerging regarding A-listers and celebrities standing tall on their socials. Forget products, and advertising solutions, Hollywood rappers like Kim Namjoon, are guiding his army of K-pop fans to the doors of art institutions – and art venues aren’t complaining.
The BTS leader has frequently tweeted photos of his visits to art museums and galleries worldwide. Recently the group’s leader RM used his clout to draw attention to a more niche institution – the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – and its exhibit on the Canadian-American painter Phillip Guston.
South Korean boyband BTS couldn’t achieve their successful careers without the leadership of Namjoon, nicknamed RM. Recently he has been to several exhibitions like the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, a few of the more significant museums, like The Getty in Los Angeles and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
But RM’s visit to Skarstedt to see KAWS was already sold out when he attended on one of its final days, thanks to his fans. And even after he left, the spot at the front of the museum’s grounds, where RM took pictures, has become kind of a shrine. It is so popular that staff has even put up a sign.
The K-pop star’s visit is having a positive influence on the art industry. The paradigm of how national and public cultural facilities are enjoyed is changing. On top of just studying and collecting works of art, it has become a place of entertainment where people can relax.
The pop group, which announced in June that it is going on a temporary break, is known for having that effect – it’s become known colloquially as “the BTS bump.”