K-pop album exports, sales likely to hit new high this year

K-pop boy band BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit Music

By Dong Sun-hwa

The global popularity of K-pop is showing no signs of waning, with album exports and sales expected to reach a new high this year.

According to the Korea Customs Service's latest data, K-pop album exports from January to November this year stood at $215.7 million (282.5 billion won), up 5.6 percent from the same period last year. In 2021, the total amount of exports was $220.9 million ― the highest figure ever.

If exports exceed $5.16 million this month, it will shatter 2021's record and hit a new high. Given that monthly K-pop album exports have been consistently surpassing $5.2 million since May 2020, experts predict that this December will be no exception. In December, a crop of high-profile stars including RM of K-pop juggernaut BTS and boy group Super Junior rolled out new albums.

Japan imported the most K-pop albums this year, totaling $77.5 million. Trailing behind were China and the U.S., which imported $50.9 million and $35.3 million, respectively. Taiwan, Thailand, the Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia and France were also major export destinations.

K-pop act Stray Kids / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment

The Korea Customs Service took note of the fact that the exports to China have seen a rise despite the country's unofficial ban on Korean content. The restrictions were imposed in 2016 when Korea decided to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense battery system on its soil despite Beijing's opposition.

“K-pop stars were unable to stage any concerts in China this year, but K-pop album exports from January to November still jumped by 22.5 percent compared to the same period last year,” it said.

Two of the best-selling acts were BTS and Stray Kids. The former sold more than 3 million copies of its June release “Proof,” and the latter reached the same milestone with its seventh mini-album “MAXIDENT” that came out in October.

BLACKPINK, NCT DREAM and SEVENTEEN sold 2 million copies of their albums, while NCT 127, Tomorrow X Together (TXT), TWICE, IVE, ATEEZ, ENHYPEN, aespa and BTS' Jin surpassed the 1 million mark.

The sales of the 400 most popular K-pop albums around the world are also projected to hit a record high of 80 million, according to sales tracker Circle Chart. The sales began to skyrocket since 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic set a trend of “revenge spending” among K-pop followers, who could not attend in-person concerts and took part in various fan activities.