K-pop album exports reach all-time high in 1st half

Exports of K-pop albums reached an all-time high in the first half of the year, with the United States surpassing China as the second-largest market for Korean music, data showed Tuesday.

According to the data from the Korea Customs Service, exports of K-pop albums in the first six months of the year reached US$132.93 million, up 17.1 percent from a year ago. This marks the highest figure for the first half of any year.

Japan was the largest market for exports of K-pop albums in the first half of 2023, with exports of $48.52 million. The United States was the second-largest market with $25.51 million, followed by China with $22.64 million.

Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Canada, Britain and France were the other top 10 markets for K-pop albums during the period.

The rise of the U.S. market is worth noting because China held the No. 2 position from 2012 until last year, except for 2020. The North American country is the world’s largest music market, and K-pop’s growing popularity in the country is a sign that the genre is becoming a global phenomenon.

In the first half of this year, K-pop stars achieved a number of notable successes in the U.S. despite the absence of BTS as a group, the most successful K-pop band in history.

BTS member Jimin became the first K-pop solo artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with his solo single “Like Crazy.”

Stray Kids and Tomorrow X Together also topped the Billboard 200 chart with their albums. BTS members Jimin and Suga, as well as groups Seventeen, Ateez and TWICE, all reached No. 2 on the same chart.

Fifty Fifty, a rookie K-pop girl group, also stayed high on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 16 consecutive weeks with its latest song, “Cupid.”