Millions of screaming fans. A global phenomenon. A multi-billion pound business.
No, it's not Taylor Swift (this time). We're talking K-pop. And with four of 2023's top 10 best-selling acts coming out of South Korea , the Brits want a piece of the action.
Step forward newly created boy band, Dear Alice, who applied to take part in the latest BBC One talent show, Made in Korea: The K-pop Experience. Meet Blaise, Dexter, James, Olly and Reese. You might be hearing a bit more about them from now on.
None of them knew each other before they individually auditioned and were put together as a band by the showrunners. The fresh-faced quintet were then flown out to South Korea's capital, Seoul, for 100 days of rigorous K-pop training with stardom in their sights. Most K-pop training takes years rather than months.
Not for the faint-hearted, the boys' experience involved long hours of vocal coaching and learning intricate choreography with a bit of Korean sight-seeing thrown in for good measure (and good TV - the South Korean tourist board will be thrilled). The six-part series is a collaboration between the BBC, K-pop powerhouse agency SM Entertainment and Moon&Back Media, run by TV veterans Dawn Airey, Nigel Hall and Russ Lindsay, whose back catalogue includes shows such as The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and Saturday Night Takeaway. K-pop expert Hee Jun Yoon, the creative force behind some of the biggest K-pop bands of the last 20 years, critiques the band's performance at the e.