K-pop fandom opens the door to Korean art... Go to an American art museum to see RM’s collection.

Guardian “More than 66,000 exhibition tickets sold… 6 times the number of exhibitions before pre-sale”

Introducing Yun Hyeong-geun, Park Rae-hyun, Jang Wook-jin, etc. Continued interest through repeat viewing and membership conversion

BTS RM's art collection is drawing visitors to American art museums. Fans' interest in RM leads to visits to exhibition halls, where they encounter Korean modern and contemporary art. This is an example of the influence of K-pop extending beyond performances and albums to demand for viewing in other cultural areas.

‘RM It opened on October 3 and will run until February 7, 2027. This is the first museum exhibition introducing RM's collection, co-curated by RM with SFMOMA's America Castillo and Hyoeun Kim.

According to the British Guardian, more than 66,000 tickets for this exhibition were sold on the 24th, and the pre-sale volume was higher than that of any previous exhibition at the museum. It was reported that exhibition-related products sold at the museum store and online store were sold out within three hours. Ticket sales figures are as of the time of reporting and are separate from the actual cumulative number of admissions.

BTS RM의 이름으로 들어와 한국 작가를 만나다

[Photo caption=RM's attendance at the 2025 W Korea event. Photo = TV10 / Wikimedia Commons⁠, CC BY 4.0⁠]

According to SFMOMA's official announcement, about 180 works by Korean and foreign artists were exhibited in the exhibition. RM's collection includes works that have never been publicly exhibited in the United States. It was organized to examine works from different eras and cultures, focusing on Korean modern and contemporary art.

In RM's collection, you can see works by Yun Hyeong-geun, Park Rae-hyeon, Jang Ucchin, Kim Yun-shin, Kwon Ok-yeon, and Do Sang-bong. Here, works by SFMOMA's collections by Hwanki Kim, Nam June Paik, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, and Henri Matisse were placed together. It is a way to show how different writers expressed common themes such as nature, memory, and human existence.

The case introduced by the Guardian is the meeting between Yoon Hyeong-geun and Roscoe. In the exhibition hall, Hyonggeun Yun’s ‘Umber-Blue’ and Rothko’s ‘No. 24’ were placed side by side. It is designed to allow visitors to look into RM's tastes and at the same time examine the relationships between works.

RM not only lent the works, but also participated in the exhibition commentary. We prepared a self-recorded audio guide in Korean and English, a self-written exhibition description, and a playlist for exhibition hall music. The viewing experience includes not only the collector's choice but also the perspective on the work.

The characteristic of this exhibition is that the starting point of interest and the object of appreciation can be different. Even if the reason for visiting is RM, what visitors encounter at the exhibition hall are the works of several artists. Fandom for K-pop stars is a point of contact that can lead to interest in K art.

75달러 반복 관람권…팬의 방문을 미술관 경험으로

The museum operates an ‘Encore Pass’ that allows you to view this exhibition multiple times. The price is $75, and you can return an unlimited number of times during the exhibition period. You can also visit other exhibition halls on the day of your visit, and separate entry times must be reserved.

The Encore Pass is an exhibition-only product that is different from the general membership, but it also provides a passage leading to the membership. If a visitor converts to a SFMOMA membership, the entire $75 pass purchase price can be used toward membership costs.

This structure ensures that the demand for visits created in the name of a star does not remain at a single event. It is a way to connect so that you can view the same works again, encounter new works in other exhibition rooms, and later visit the museum as a member. It can be read as a design to keep the fandom's high interest in repeat viewings and long-term relationships.

Of course, separate results need to be confirmed to see how much these devices have led to an actual increase in membership or continued viewing of Korean art. Creating an opportunity to visit and forming a new audience must be considered separately.

흥행의 다음 질문은 ‘무엇을 남겼나’

This exhibition also attracted attention in that it revitalized an art museum that had been experiencing financial difficulties. The Guardian reported that SFMOMA cut 7.5% of its total workforce last year amid a deficit of $5 million, and that there was a positive financial effect after the opening of the RM exhibition.

However, it cannot be concluded that the museum's deficit has been resolved solely through ticket sales and product shortages. The confirmed results are high viewing demand and product sales response. Additional data, including income and operating expenses, are needed to evaluate the profitability of the exhibition and the financial recovery of the museum as a whole.

The question of measuring cultural performance is slightly different. What new artists do visitors who come to see RM learn about? And will they continue to look for Korean art after the exhibition? What is important is not only the size of the box office success, but also where the interest leads.

It also provides food for thought to domestic art museums and galleries. It is about connecting collaboration with popular culture to an experience of discovering works and artists rather than just a one-time topic. Making visitors who enter through the door opened by a star come back again with the charm of the art itself, at that point the encounter between fandom and art can continue for a longer period of time.