BTS members perform on stage of "2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards" (MAMA) in Hong Kong on December 14, 2018.

Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind popular K-pop boy band BTS and Tomorrow X Together (TXT), has launched a global audition project, which will see it recruit new trainees in Beijing on Saturday and Shanghai on Sunday, a signal that it is expanding its influence in the industry.

Established in 2005, the company has only boy idol groups BTS and TXT as well as soloist Lee Hyun as its entertainers. Thanks to the great success its entertainers have obtained, especially the worldwide famous BTS, the company has developed rapidly. According to its financial reports, the company's sales volume tripled over the two years from 2016 to 2018, growing from 35.2 billion won ($30.2 million) to 214.2 billion won.

Accumulating successful experience in promoting boy bands like BTS, the once relative small Big Hit Entertainment has revealed ambitions for expansion. In 2020, it will move to a new building, which has seven underground floor levels and 19 aboveground floor levels, according to the English-language K-pop news site Allkpop.

The company has posted a message in Chinese on its official audition website, saying "we are looking for the talented and passionate stars of tomorrow. Big Hit Entertainment will be with you to help you achieve your dreams. Join us."

This global audition has stops in Asia and North America. Applicants can apply at the scene and choose from four performing categories, including singing and rap, dancing, acting and modeling. The trainees they are looking for are men born after 1999.

There are several Chinese pop stars who have become immensely popular after training in South Korea or debuting there, such as Lu Han, Wu Yifan (Kris Wu) and Zhang Yixing (Lay Zhang). But most of them received training and guidance at South Korean giant SM Entertainment, the agency that has produced the most successful idol groups, such as Super Junior, EXO, Red Velvet and NCT.

Another two big South Korean companies, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment, are considered the three entertainment industry giants alongside SM Entertainment. However, JYP Entertainment representatives announced it was closing its acting division on Tuesday, while YG Entertainment is currently dealing with scandals related to its entertainers and previous CEO. This seems to be an opportune time for Big Hit Entertainment to get ahead.

The Chinese market is a very important piece of the puzzle for South Korean entertainment companies' global business. Chinese fans are well known to be generous and devoted to their idols. Apart from arranging concert tours for their bands, South Korean entertainment companies have recruited Chinese members and also debuted new idol groups in China. For example, SM Entertainment debuted EXO-M in 2012 with three Chinese members and had WayV kick off their career in China at the end in January.

According to report from South Korea's English-language Korea Herald, the balance of payment for music, video and related services in the first quarter of 2019 had a surplus of $114.7 million, benefiting from K-pop's popularity in China.

If Big Hit Entertainment can make another boy band that is as successful as BTS made up of Chinese members remains to be seen, however.