Shadowing Practice: The V Effect: Why Brands Pay Millions for BTS V's Face - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Summer, 2011.
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A 15 -year -old boy and his dad step off an express bus in Seoul
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and climb into their very first Seoul taxi.
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The meter ends at $32 ,801, about $30.
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Years later, the boy would joke that the driver scammed them through three tunnels.
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They're headed to a tiny music company.
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Back home, his grandmother is sure the whole thing is a scam too.
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And the weird part?
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The boy never planned to audition.
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He'd only gone to Watch.
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14 years later, that same boy owns a penthouse in Seoul worth 14 .2 billion won.
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About $10 million.
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No mortgage on record.
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His name is Kim Tae -hyun.
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You know him as V from BTS.
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So how does the kid who came to Watch become a face that companies pay millions for?
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Why did his own company hide him?
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And why did a coffee chain bet on him while he was in the army?
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Here's the problem with K -pop money.
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Nobody shows you the meter.
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Contracts?
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Secret.
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Fees?
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Secret.
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Nobody posts their payslip.
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So we'll run our own meter.
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It starts at 32 ,801, and every time V's value jumps, so does the meter.
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Watch for three stops.
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A song he gave away, a piece of paper worth billions, and a cup of coffee.
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By the end, you'll know exactly where the meter stops and three money moves you can borrow from him.
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But first, we rewind to a little boy, a big banner, and a grandmother with a plan.
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Kim Taehyung is born in Daegu on December 30th, 1995.
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But he grows up mostly in Gyeongchang, a quiet county in the countryside raised by his grandmother.
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And grandma has plans.
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A famous movie star is from Gyeongchang 2.
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So when his face shows up on a banner in town, she points at it and tells little Taehyung, that's who you're going to be.
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He says he just accepted it.
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His dad once had that dream too.
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He trained as an actor and worked at a TV station.
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It didn't work out, so he ran a clothing business, driving to Seoul before dawn to buy stock.
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V puts it simply, his dad was the one who didn't make it
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and he was the one who did his first paid gig give him 5001
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and he'd dance for three minutes fair rate in sixth grade
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he tells his dad he wants to be a singer his dad doesn't laugh he makes a plan
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if you want to sing learn an instrument it could help you get into an arts high school
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so how does a 12 year old pick his instrument
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the way an investor would he checks
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the odds three to one sold the saxophone
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it is he practices for four years
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then he fails the entrance exam anyway four years of saxophone plan a gone
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so he goes back to Daegu and takes after school dance classes
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and in the summer of 2011 a small company from Seoul holds a closed audition at
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that academy taehyung isn't on the list he's just there to watch
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he figured anyone from seoul must be a big success
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so he went to have a look but a staff member spots him
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and says i want to see this kid too
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so he goes for it he dances he sings he beat boxes
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he raps he plays the saxophone
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he keeps going until he runs out of things to show how did it look from the judge's side
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he has a pretty good guess about a month later the phone rings of everyone at
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that audition in tegu he's the only one who passed grandma's verdict it's a scam
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so he and his dad go to seoul to check they take the express bus then hop in
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that taxi so how bad was the ride really.
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Four tunnels?
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Back in 2020, he said three.
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Even the tunnels are compounding.
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Anyway, the taxi drops them at a company called Bigfoot.
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And grandma wasn't totally wrong to worry.
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Its founder later said the company owed more than $10 billion won.
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It was nearly broke.
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For about two years, Taehyung trains there.
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His future bandmates start appearing in little online videos.
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Fans learn their names.
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Taehyung?
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Not in a single one.
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He's a secret.
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So secret that when he heard he was the hidden member, he thought he'd been cut.
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The founder's explanation?
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He had so much charm that revealing him last would make the biggest impact.
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V has also heard they were afraid another company would snatch him.
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Either way, it's a classic launch move.
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Save your best product for last, June 2nd, 2013.
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he's finally revealed 11 days later bts debuts he's 17.
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stage name v their first album sells 760 copies in its
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first week the hidden card is finally on the table
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and our meter still 32 801 so here's a question
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when a k -pop idol finally gets his first real payout what does he buy a sports car a watch
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because the payouts are coming bts grind
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and the world notices big hits revenue goes from about 32
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billion won in 2016 to 587 billion in 2019 18 times bigger in three years
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and v he buys his dad a car remember those dawn
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drives to seoul his dad's car had 500 000 kilometers on it.
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That's more than 12 trips around the earth.
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He thinks his dad may have cried in secret.
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He just doesn't like showing tears.
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He's replaced that car twice since.
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So what does his dad drive now?
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So the first thing V's money bought was a ride for his dad.
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And then V did something that sounds like terrible business.
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He started giving his work away.
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January 30th, 2019.
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V uploads a song he wrote himself called Scenery.
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Not to a store. To SoundCloud.
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Free. For anyone.
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In 15 days, it hits 100 million plays.
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The fastest any song had ever done that on SoundCloud.
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Money he makes from it directly?
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Basically zero.
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So he does it again. That August?
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Winter Bear.
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Free.
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The next Christmas?
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Another one.
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Also free.
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Those songs stay free for 1 ,671 days.
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More than four and a half years.
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Sounds like a terrible deal, right?
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Here's the trick.
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Free songs don't get paid.
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They get priced.
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Every free play is a tiny ad for one product, him.
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And the money is starting to notice.
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In July 2019, Korean media reported that a 23 -year -old V had bought an apartment in Seoul's Gangnam district,
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about 5 .1 billion won, around $4 .4 million.
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No loan on record.
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In 2020, he writes a song for a TV drama starring his friend, the actor Park Seo -jun.
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It's called Sweet Night.
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Within a day, it's number one on iTunes in 77 countries.
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By that July, 105.
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That beat Adele's Hello.
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Not bad for a favor.
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Stop number two on the meter.
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A piece of paper.
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August 2020.
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Big Hit's founder gives each of the seven members 68 ,385 shares of the company for free.
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10 weeks later, the company goes public.
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At the offer price, V's gift is worth about $9 .2 billion.
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At one point that day, it hits $24 billion.
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It closes at around $17 .6 billion, nearly $15 million.
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We told that whole wild ride in our Jungkook video.
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Here's the V version in one line.
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As far as public filings ever showed, he never sold a single share.
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December 6th, 2021, V opens an Instagram account.
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One million followers in 43 minutes.
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That's almost 400 new followers every second.
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10 million in under five hours.
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Two Guinness World Records.
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Most of us take years to get our first thousand, and half of them are our aunts.
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18 days later, on Christmas Eve, he releases a song for another drama christmas tree
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it lands on the billboard hot 100 the first korean drama soundtrack ever to get
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there now you can see what all
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that free music was doing every play was building an audience
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and an audience is something companies will pay to borrow
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and they line up 2023 the french fashion house celine the
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jeweler cartier even an indonesian stock trading app hoping he'd get young people to start investing honestly great choice
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that same year he joins a reality show
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and works as the intern at a little korean restaurant abroad
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one of the most famous faces on the planet taking orders
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and washing dishes and he has one very reasonable question for the boss fair question
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that september his first solo album layover sells 2 .1 million copies in its first week
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Number two on the Billboard 200.
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The kid who gave his songs away for free is now a face luxury brands pay for.
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And then, on December 11th, 2023, he puts it all on hold.
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He joins the army.
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Pay?
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About 640 ,000 won a month.
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His shares that day?
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About 16 billion won.
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That's roughly 25 ,000 months of army pay.
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A bit over 2 ,000 years.
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And nine days after he enlists, a coffee chain announces its brand new face.
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a private in boot camp.
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Stop number three, a cup of coffee.
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Compose Coffee is a Korean budget chain.
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In 2024, a hot Americano there cost 1 ,501, about $1 .10.
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And this budget chain picks one of the most famous faces on the planet
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who happens to be earning 640 ,000 won a month.
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The first year's ad budget, 6 billion won, about $4 .4 million.
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And the shop owners chip in, about 72 ,000 won per store every month.
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That's roughly 48 Americanos a month from every single shop.
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Some owners weren't thrilled about paying for a superstar. And then?
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Six months later, the Philippine fast food giant Jollibee buys 70 % of composed coffee for $238 million.
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That values the whole chain at about $340 million.
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So V just got rich off coffee, right?
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Nope.
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As far as anyone has reported, he didn't own a single share.
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The founder owned all of it.
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V was paid for his face, a fee that's never been made public.
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The founder was paid for owning the company.
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Same coffee, two completely different kinds of money.
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Hold on to that one.
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It's the most important idea in this video.
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Because that's the V effect!
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His face moves money, often for somebody else.
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October 2025.
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A Japanese skincare brand announces him as its new ambassador.
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That day, its parent company's stock closes 7 .5 % higher.
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Then Coca -Cola Zero, a soju brand, a sportswear label, a tech company making headphones.
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At this point, a toaster might be next.
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In 2026, Compose wanted a third year, with a budget of $7 .35 billion and and the shop owners covering 40%.
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Some of them pushed back.
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Both sides have a point.
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That's what happens when everyone is trying to work out what one face is worth.
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Meanwhile, the man himself is still in uniform.
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An elite military police unit.
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Same army pay as everyone else.
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In March 2025, wildfires tear through Southern Korea.
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He hears the news at evening roll call and donates 200 million won to help residents and firefighters.
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He also spends a lot of time in the gym.
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A lot.
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When BTS later visited an American talk show, his bandmate RM summed it up.
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He became like 86 kilograms in the military.
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And in early May, still a soldier, he signs a contract for a penthouse.
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A month later, he's discharged.
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And in September 2025, the penthouse is his.
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$14 .2 billion won.
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About $10 million.
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No mortgage on record.
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And that's where our meter stops.
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From $32 ,801 to $14 .2 billion.
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That's over 400 ,000 taxi rides.
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Grandma thought the whole thing was a scam.
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She was half right.
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It was just the taxi.
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So how rich is V today?
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Honestly, nobody outside knows for sure.
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If he still holds all those shares, they're worth about $12 .5 billion won,
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roughly $9 million, less than half of what they were worth in February.
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As for his total fortune, the guesses run from $35 to $70 million.
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One website lists both $50 and $70 million on the same page.
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Pick one.
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What we do know?
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His songs have passed 6 billion streams on Spotify, more More than 75 million people follow him on Instagram,
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and right now, BTS is on a world tour that has grossed over 500 million dollars, and this week, it's playing stadiums in Argentina.
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And back in Gyeongchang, where grandma once pointed at a movie star's banner?
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He has an update.
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Well, grandma called it.
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So what can you borrow from V?
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Three moves.
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1. Go and watch.
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He wasn't even on the list.
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He was just in the room when somebody said, I want to see this kid too.
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You can't get picked from your couch.
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2. Give before you get.
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Three free songs built an audience that luxury brands later paid for.
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Your free work, your help, your portfolio, that's your marketing budget.
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3. A fee is not a stake.
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A coffee chain he advertised sold for $340 million, dollars and none of it was his but the shares he was given
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and the homes he bought without loans those are his get paid for your work
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and try to own something and
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when the money finally shows up start with the people who
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drove the long way for you 500 000 kilometers of it
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if you learned something subscribe to wealth hero it costs less than a sole taxi
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and we never take the long way through three tunnels. Or four.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “The V Effect: Why Brands Pay Millions for BTS V's Face”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: billion, won, dad, song, coffee. This video has 254 sentences and 2165 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:01. The speaker talks at a steady 144 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| metre noun | /ˈmiːtəɹ/ | The basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités), equal to the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in… |
| taxi noun | /ˈtæksi/ | A vehicle that may be hired for single journeys by members of the public, particularly one with an automated meter to calculate the fare. |
| grandma noun | /ˈɡɹænmɑː/ | Grandmother. |
| founder noun | /ˈfaʊ̯n.dəː/ | One who founds or establishes (a company, project, organisation, state, etc.). |
| tunnel noun | /ˈtʌn(ə)l/ | An underground or underwater passage. |
| scam noun | /ˈskæm/ | A fraudulent or dishonest deal. A swindle. |
| roughly adverb | /ˈɹʌf.li/ | In a rough manner; without kindness, softness, or gentleness. |
| grandmother noun | /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/ | A mother of someone's parent. |
| banner noun | /ˈbænɚ/ | A flag or standard used by a military commander, monarch or nation. |
| borrow verb | /ˈbɑɹ.oʊ/ | To receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it. |
| audition noun | /ɑˈdɪʃən/ | A performance, by an aspiring performer, to demonstrate suitability or talent. |
| reveal verb | /ɹɪˈviːl/ | To uncover; to show and display that which was hidden. |
| mortgage noun | /ˈmoɹ.ɡɪd͡ʒ/ | A legal agreement in which a borrower pledges real property as collateral for a loan used to purchase or refinance that property. |
| luxury noun | /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/ | Very wealthy and comfortable surroundings; the state of being that they create. |
| tear verb | /tɛɹ/ | To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
| give away verb | To make a gift of (something). | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| line up verb | /laɪnˈʌp/ | To align; to put in alignment; to put in correct adjustment for smooth running. |
| push back verb | To refute or argue against a position or an accusation; to express one's own view on a situation. | |
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. | |
| step off verb | To measure by steps or paces; hence, to divide (a space), or to form a series of marks, by successive measurements, as with dividers. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has also heard · has reported · that's never been made |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is born · been cut · was paid |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | kid who came · one who didn · one who did |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 20 contractions and reduced forms, such as he'd, didn't, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: grandmother /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/, clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, sixth /sɪksθ/, thrill /θɹɪl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: audition /ɑˈdɪʃən/, luxury /ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi/, wash /wɑʃ/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, ambassador /æmˈbæs.ə.dɚ/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, portfolio /pɔːtˈfəʊ.liˌəʊ/, firefighter /ˈfaɪ.ɚˌfaɪ.tɚ/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like metre, taxi, grandma.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.