K-POP GAYEST MOMENTS THAT HAD ME SHOCK
This story appears in the June 30, 2021 issue of Forbes Asia. Subscribe to Forbes Asia South Korean K-pop band BTS held a press conference in Seoul to introduce their new single "Butter" ... [+] ASSOCIATED PRESS This story is part of Forbes' coverage of Korea’s Richest 2021. Thanks to a much-anticipated IPO, the mastermind behind one of the world’s most popular boy bands debuts on the list as K-pop’s first billionaire. Since taking Big Hit Entertainment public in October, founder Bang Shi-hyuk , 48, has seen the company’s value soar to the tune of $8 billion. Now worth an estimated $2.7 billion, Bang heads the country’s most valuable entertainment agency (which recently changed its name to Hybe), easily trumping local incumbents JYP, SM and YG, previously known as the Big Three. Starting as an underdog, Bang launched Big Hit in 2005 and in 2010 signed on the seven members of BTS, who were then mostly in their teens. After a rocky start, t