BTS Leads, Stray Kids Second, Seventeen Third: K-Pop Rankings

The boy group brand reputation rankings for March 2026 have been released! According to big data analysis, BTS (방탄소년단) takes the top spot, followed by Stray Kids in second place, and SEVENTEEN in third.

The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute analyzed 61,006,053 pieces of boy group brand big data from February 7, 2026, to March 7, 2026, measuring participation index, media index, communication index, and community index through consumer behavior analysis. This represents a 0.19% increase compared to the 60,890,349 pieces of big data from February.

The brand reputation index is created through brand big data analysis, recognizing that consumers’ online habits significantly influence brand consumption. Boy group brand reputation analysis measures positive/negative evaluations of boy groups, media interest, and the amount of consumer interest and communication. Consumer-participated brand reputation recommendation data is also included with a weighting.

The top 30 boy groups in the March 2026 brand reputation rankings are: BTS, Stray Kids, SEVENTEEN, EXO, Wanna One, BIGBANG, TWS, ENHYPEN, AlphaDriveOne, Kortis, NCT, THE BOYZ, 2PM, SHINee, INFINITE, Super Junior, ATEEZ, BOYNEXTDOOR, MONSTA X, BTOB, TREASURE, VIXX, ASTRO, ZEROBASEONE, TVXQ!, Shinhwa, RIIZE, PENTAGON, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, and Highlight.

The brand reputation index for BTS (RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook) is analyzed to be 8,622,083, with a participation index of 146,796, a media index of 1,607,667, a communication index of 3,377,713, and a community index of 3,489,908. This is a 12.94% decrease compared to the brand reputation index of 9,903,378 in February.

The brand reputation index for Stray Kids (Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, I.N) is analyzed to be 4,341,278, with a participation index of 60,828, a media index of 480,504, a communication index of 1,342,280, and a community index of 2,457,666. This is an 18.15% increase compared to the brand reputation index of 3,674,527 in February.

The brand reputation index for SEVENTEEN (S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, Dino) is analyzed to be 4,006,878, with a participation index of 71,240, a media index of 566,406, a communication index of 1,293,475, and a community index of 2,075,758. This is a significant 72.58% increase compared to the brand reputation index of 2,321,728 in February.

The brand reputation index for EXO (Suho, Chanyeol, Kai, D.O., Baekhyun, Sehun, Xiumin, Chen, Lay) is analyzed to be 2,908,613, with a participation index of 88,982, a media index of 840,728, a communication index of 918,646, and a community index of 1,060,257. This is a 16.17% decrease compared to the brand reputation index of 3,469,533 in February.

The brand reputation index for Wanna One (Kang Daniel, Park Jihoon, Lee Daehwi, Kim Jaehwan, Ong Seongwu, Park Woojin, Lai Kuanlin, Yoon Jisung, Hwang Minhyun, Bae Jinyoung, Ha Sungwoon) is analyzed to be 2,905,234, with a participation index of 81,994, a media index of 552,193, a communication index of 1,045,451, and a community index of 1,225,595. This is a large 90.08% increase compared to the brand reputation index of 1,528,461 in February.

Koo Chang-hwan, Director of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, stated, “In the March 2026 big data analysis of boy group brand reputation, BTS (RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook) ranked first. The boy group brand category increased by 0.19% compared to the February boy group brand big data of 60,890,349. Looking at the detailed analysis, brand consumption decreased by 12.84%, brand issue decreased by 31.20%, brand communication increased by 15.69%, and brand spread increased by 17.18%.”

He continued, “In the March 2026 big data analysis of boy group brand reputation, the link analysis for BTS, which ranked first, showed high results for ‘comeback,’ ‘reveal,’ and ‘announce.’ Keyword analysis showed high results for ‘ARMY,’ ‘SWIM,’ and ‘March 21st.’ In the positive/negative ratio analysis, the positive ratio was analyzed to be 92.51%. Looking at the detailed analysis of the BTS brand reputation, brand consumption decreased by 0.42%, brand issue decreased by 10.03%, brand communication increased by 0.49%, and brand spread decreased by 24.26%.”

The March 2026 analysis of boy group brand reputation included BTS, Stray Kids, SEVENTEEN, EXO, Wanna One, BIGBANG, TWS, ENHYPEN, AlphaDriveOne, Kortis, NCT, THE BOYZ, 2PM, SHINee, INFINITE, Super Junior, ATEEZ, BOYNEXTDOOR, MONSTA X, BTOB, TREASURE, VIXX, ASTRO, ZEROBASEONE, TVXQ!, Shinhwa, RIIZE, PENTAGON, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Highlight, Kickflip, Block B, Ahops, GOT7, VERIVERY, CRAVITY, ONF, EVNNE, 2AM, SF9, ONEUS, FTISLAND, B1A4, Xdinary Heroes, TEEN TOP, Sechs Kies, iDentity, AiDiT, TNX, and NOWADAYS.