K-pop greenwashing betrayal: 6,667 tons of plastic waste driven by merchandising

Fans buy BTS' fifth album "ARIRANG" at the Gwanghwamun branch of Kyobo Book Centre in Jongno District, central Seoul, March 20. Yonhap

Major Korean K-pop agencies are accused of greenwashing when promoting digital "smart albums," while maintaining aggressive marketing tactics that force fans to bulk-buy physical CDs to access fan events.

Since 2021, the top four domestic entertainment companies — HYBE, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment — have produced 6,667 tons of disposable plastic. This volume equals the weight of roughly 4,445 mid-size cars.

The primary source of this waste is the traditional compact disc. Manufacturers use polycarbonate to press CDs, a material that takes about 100 years to decompose naturally. If the discs are landfilled or incinerated, they release greenhouse gases and pollutants.

In response to criticism, the industry introduced smart albums that allow listeners to access music via near field communication (NFC) technology or QR codes.

Physical albums containing CDs sit on the top shelf while smart albums accessible via NFC or QR codes occupy the bottom row at Kyobo Hottracks in Jongno District, central Seoul, March 30. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-yeon

However, an investigation by the Hankook Ilbo into 58 albums with CD-less options released by the four major agencies last year revealed a systemic reliance on physical media. With the sole exception of BTS member J-Hope's "Charm of Hope" — released exclusively as an NFC keychain — 57 of the albums required a physical CD as the basic purchase. The smart album was offered merely as an alternative.

The disconnect between eco-friendly marketing and actual sales tactics becomes apparent in merchandising, which often pressures fans into bulk purchasing to collect a specific member's promotional items.

The Hankook Ilbo analyzed 625 fansign event notices tied to those 58 albums. Only 60 events, or 9.7 percent, permitted entry via a smart album purchase. The vast majority — 491 events, or 78.4 percent — required the purchase of a physical CD.

SM Entertainment released 25 smart albums last year, the highest number among the top four. However, the agency limited entry to buyers of the physical photobook version for 22 of its events.

Data from the Korea Consumer Agency shows one in four K-pop fans purchases records specifically to apply for these events. Because each album purchase counts as one entry, fans routinely buy dozens of copies of the same album to increase their odds.

Thousands of unopened records received from K-pop fans fill the office of climate activist group Kpop4planet. Courtesy of Kpop4planet

"Leaving out the act of driving excessive purchases of physical albums and only informing people about 'eco-friendly marketing' is a problem," Park So-jeong, head of the Department of Cultural Contents at Hanyang University, said regarding the discrepancy.

Despite launching eco-friendly initiatives, the top agencies have seen their plastic output rise. SM Entertainment produced roughly 400 tons of plastic in 2022 when it introduced its NFC brand "SMini," but that figure grew to 647 tons by 2024, according to the Ministry of Environment.

HYBE produced 729 tons of plastic when it released its first eco-friendly "Weverse Album" in 2022, but the volume surged to 1,405 tons the following year.

"It is not easy to reduce the proportion of plastic records," an anonymous official affiliated with the four major agencies said.

Aggressive marketing tactics

The mass production of physical albums relies heavily on randomized collectible merchandise. Agencies release multiple versions of a single album featuring different designs and randomized photocards, driving fans to purchase hundreds of copies to complete a collection.

An unboxed "Ceremony" version of Stray Kids' fourth album "Karma" reveals 17 components, including plastic wrapping, a 112-page photobook and photocards. Korea Times photo by Lee Eu-gene

Stray Kids' fourth album "Karma" sold 3 million copies in its first week of release last year. The record was released in five designs: regular, limited, accordion, compact and NFC keyring.

The regular edition, which was required for fansign applications, featured two variants, "Ceremony" and "Hooray." Each album contained one of eight random photocards, forcing fans to buy in large quantities to obtain all eight.

One "Ceremony" album contains 17 separate components per CD. These include a thin plastic wrapper, paper box, 112-page photobook, postcard set, mini poster, paper CD case, sticker and photocard.

Similarly, Aespa's sixth mini album "Rich man" recorded 1.08 million first-week sales last year across five designs. The "Burst" and "Energy" versions, designated for fansign applications, featured five randomized covers each. The photocards and internal photos varied depending on the specific member featured on the cover, requiring multiple purchases to collect a specific member's merchandise.

"There is a need to encourage more events linked to waste-free smart albums," Yang Ji-hoon, an associate research fellow at the Korea Tourism Institute, said.

"Instead of leaning on the good intentions of some fans who worry about the climate, there must be careful policy design for eco-friendly consumption to take root," Yang said.

An image generated by artificial intelligence shows the volume of smart albums released in 2025.

Trivial penalties

Critics argue the government must levy heavier charges against agencies that profit from mass plastic consumption. Under the current system, companies pay fees for producing hard-to-recycle items to cover disposal costs. The standard rate for CDs is 150 won ($0.10) per kilogram.

HYBE, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment paid a combined 1.2 billion won in waste charges to the Ministry of Environment between 2021 and 2024.

This figure stands in stark contrast to their corporate earnings. Last year, the operating profits of the four companies were 49.9 billion won, 183 billion won, 71.3 billion won and 155.2 billion won, respectively.

"The waste charge should serve as a deterrent to producing waste that ends up in landfills or incinerators," Bae Jae-keun, an emeritus professor of environmental engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, said.

"If companies do not show improvement efforts, there is a need to increase the financial burden," Bae said.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.