RESCENE tops August star brand reputation, beating BTS and Lim Young-woong

Rookie girl group RESCENE has claimed the top spot in the August 2026 star brand reputation rankings, surpassing BTS and Lim Young-woong. Given that this first-place finish was achieved amidst global superstars BTS and Lim Young-woong, who possesses a powerful fandom, it is interpreted as an indicator that RESCENE is rapidly expanding public interest and online consumption activities.

According to the results of the August 2026 star brand reputation big data analysis announced by the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute on the 29th, RESCENE—a five-member group consisting of Woni, LIV, Minami, Kang Hyeju, and ZENA—took first place. BTS and Lim Young-woong ranked second and third, respectively.

This survey was conducted from July 29 to August 29, targeting top stars in various fields, including entertainers, singers, trot singers, drama actors, movie actors, boy groups, girl groups, and athletes. The big data used for the analysis totaled 213,650,543 units.

RESCENE's brand reputation index was calculated at 10,180,185. Compared to the 7,974,809 recorded last July, this represents a 27.65% increase in just one month.

BTS, in second place, recorded 9,495,066, an increase of 16.77% from the previous month. BTS, consisting of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Park Ji-min, V, and Jung Kook, maintains powerful brand influence based on their global fandom and world tours, but they were narrowly edged out by RESCENE in this survey.

Lim Young-woong's brand reputation index was analyzed at 7,240,530. He recorded a participation index of 512,038, a media index of 1,252,986, a communication index of 3,410,942, and a community index of 2,064,565.

The most notable part of this result is RESCENE's rate of increase rather than the ranking itself. Unlike stars like BTS or Lim Young-woong who have built massive fandoms over long periods, RESCENE's growth speed is remarkable in that they reached the top of the brand reputation rankings in a relatively short period.

Gu Chang-hwan, director of the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, analyzed RESCENE by stating, "As a syndrome-level fandom is being built, consumers are actively participating in the narrative."

This is also linked to the recent consumption patterns of K-pop fandoms. In the past, the brand value of idols was often evaluated based on traditional activity indicators such as album sales, television appearances, and concert scales. However, as social media and short-form content have established themselves as the core distribution networks of popular culture, online engagement itself—such as fan comments, searches, content sharing, and community activities—has come to exert significant influence on the formation of a star's brand.

The brand reputation index is also an indicator that reflects these online consumption behaviors. Therefore, it is not appropriate to interpret RESCENE's first place as meaning they outperformed both BTS and Lim Young-woong in musical achievements. This is because the calculation methods and measurement targets differ from individual performance indicators such as music release, album sales, concert scales, and television viewership ratings.

Nevertheless, RESCENE's first place is meaningful because it shows that the way rookie groups secure interest is changing in the popular culture market. A structure is being created where fandoms do not just consume content but actively spread it through comments, communities, and SNS, amplifying the buzz of a specific artist within a short time.

Although BTS recorded second place in this survey, their brand reputation index itself increased from the previous month. Gu evaluated that they maintain an unrivaled position, citing communication through their global fandom and world tours as their strength.

Lim Young-woong is also continuing his consistent brand influence based on his fandom, Hero Generation. Gu analyzed that Lim Young-woong is steadily growing while creating a positive influence alongside his fans.

Various stars transcending generations and genres were included in this top 30. Along with RESCENE, BTS, and Lim Young-woong, the list included Yoo Jae Suk, ATEEZ, Go Youn Jung, Psy, IVE, SEVENTEEN, Cortis, BIGBANG, BLACKPINK, aespa, Stray Kids, John Park, Lee Byung Hun, Nam Joo Hyuk, Kim Do-young, Taeyeon, Gong Yoo, Park Ji Hyun, Lee Seon-min, Jung Ho-yeon, Kim Seong-ri, Lee Chan Won, DAY6, NCT, Yun Gyeong-ho, Lee Dong-wook, and Park Ji-sung.

In particular, the fact that idol groups, solo singers, actors, entertainers, and sports stars compete simultaneously within a single indicator shows that the concept of a 'star brand' in the current popular culture market is integrating across genre boundaries. It has become difficult to explain a star's influence solely through musical achievements, and contact points with the public and viral power online have also become important competitive factors.

Whether RESCENE's first place will be a temporary phenomenon or lead to sustained growth in musical achievements and fandom size remains to be seen through their future activities.

However, at least in the August 2026 brand reputation data, RESCENE has surpassed the massive names of BTS and Lim Young-woong. The key will be whether this 'syndrome-level fandom' can establish itself as a long-term star brand rather than remaining a temporary spike in numbers.