Money. K-pop doesn't have the same mass audience as other genres of music. Also, people who are into k-pop are generally really into k-pop (at least in the States). Its an audience that stays informed by themselves
>>> K-pop doesn't have the same mass audience as other genres of music.
As a VERY casual consumer of either genre, I find that baffling. My personal assessment is that K-pop is heavier on "sexy" style[1][2][3] vs J-pop's "cute" style[4][5]. Sex sells, and IMO K-pop girl groups sell it better than J-pop. So it's strange that they don't attract the same sort of universal fanbase as other international female entertainers.[6][7]
I am more a fan of jpop but also enjoy kpop, and I have looked into this.
Japan is the second largest music market in the world. They don't need to export their music to sustain itself and through a combination of region locked music and less focus on worldwide appeal it hasn't had the same global reach as south korea's music industry, which is smaller and relies on worldwide consumption