South Korean boy bands refer to South Korea's all-male idol groups who account for a large portion of the K-pop industry. Korean boy bands have aided in the global spread and promotion of Korean culture through their demonstrated prominence and popularity. The emergence of hip-hop music act Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 shifted the focus of the Korean music industry to teen-centred pop music.[1] Idol bands of young boys or girls were formed to cater to a growing teenage audience. In 1995, Lee Soo-man , the founder of SM Entertainment , brought the idol trainee system to South Korea, which further solidified the format for idol bands and modern Korean pop culture.[2]
Boy bands from the late 90s and early 2000s, such as H.O.T. , Sechs Kies , Shinhwa , and g.o.d , who were trained with the idol system, are cited to help build the foundations as the first successful all-male groups in Korea and as pioneers of the first Hallyu Wave .[3] From 2007 onward, second generation groups, such as BigBang , TVXQ , Super Junior , 2PM , Shinee , Beast , and Infinite , continued to grow the popularity of boy bands domestically in Korea, as well as globally through the second phase of Hallyu .[3] The rise of groups such as Exo and BTS in 2012 and 2013 launched the third generation of boy bands and introduced K-pop to mass global appeal.[3] BTS, in particular, has attained mainstream Western appeal with number-one hits on the Billboard charts and multiple collaborations with several global artists, including Coldplay , Nicki Minaj , and Halsey . Other major boy bands that debuted from 2012 onward include Seventeen , NCT , Tomorrow X Together , Stray Kids , Ateez , and Enhypen , all of whom continue to garner widespread attention and build K-pop's global appeal.[3]
Generation 1 [ edit ]
South Korean boy bands that debuted in the 90s to 2002, arranged in alphabetical order.
Best selling boy bands [ edit ]
Best-selling generation 1 South Korean boy bands
Group and years active
Notable singles
g.o.d (1999–2005, since 2014)
H.O.T. (1996–2001, 2018-19)
"Warrior's Descendant" (1996)
"Candy " (1996)
"We Are the Future" (1997)
"Hope" (1998)
"I Yah!" (1999)
"Outside Castle" (2000)
Sechs Kies (1997–2000, 2016-21)
"School Anthem" (1997)
"The Way This Guy Lives" (1997)
"Road Fighter" (1998)
"Couple" (1998)
"Three Words " (2016)[a]
"Be Well" (2017)[a]
"Something Special" (2017)[a]
"Don't Look Back" (2021)[b]
Shinhwa (since 1998)
"T.O.P (Twinkling of Paradise)" (1999)
"Only One" (2000)
"Wild Eyes" (2001)
"Perfect Man" (2002)
"Your Wedding" (2002)
"Brand New" (2004)
"Crazy" (2004)
"Once in a Lifetime" (2006)
"Venus" (2012)[b]
"This Love" (2013)[b]
"Memory" (2015)[b]
"Sniper" (2015)[b]
"Touch" (2017)[b]
Other notable groups [ edit ]
1TYM (1998–2006, 2008)
5tion (since 2001)
Black Beat (2002–2007)
Click-B (1999–2006, 2011, 2015)
Deux (1993–95)
DJ DOC (since 1994)
Every Single Day (since 1994)
Flower (1999–2006, since 2010)
F-iV (since 2002)
Fly to the Sky (1999–2009, since 2014)
Jinusean (1997–2004, 2015–20)
jtL (2001–03)
J-Walk (2002, since 2007)
K-pop (2001–03, 2018)
Noel (2002–06, since 2011)
NRG (1997–2005, 2017–18)
Sweet Sorrow (since 2002)
The Blue (1990s, 2009, 2014)
Turbo (1995–2001, 2015–17)
U-BeS (1997–99)
UN (2000–05)
Yurisangja (since 1997)
Generation 2 [ edit ]
South Korean boy bands that debuted in 2003 to 2011, arranged in alphabetical order.
Best selling boy bands [ edit ]
Best-selling generation 2 South Korean boy bands
Group and years active
Notable singles
2AM (2008–14, since 2021)
2PM (2008–2017, since 2021)
B1A4 (since 2011)
Beast / Highlight (since 2009)
"Bad Girl " (2009)[c]
"Shock " (2010)[e]
"Breath" (2010)[b]
"Beautiful" (2010)[b]
"On Rainy Days" (2010)[b]
"Fiction" (2011)[b]
"I Knew It" (2012)[a]
"Midnight " (2012)[e]
"Beautiful Night" (2012)[b]
"Will You Be Alright?" (2013)[a]
"I'm Sorry" (2013)[b]
"Shadow" (2013)[b]
"Sad Movie / Kurisumasu Kyaroru no Koro ni wa" (2013)[c]
"No More" (2014)[a]
"Good Luck " (2014)[a]
"12:30" (2014)[b]
"Adrenaline" (2015)[c]
"Kimi wa Dou?" (2015)[c]
"One" (2015)[c]
"Hands Up" (2015)[c]
"Can't Wait to Love You" (2015)[c]
"This Is My Life" (2015)[c]
"Gotta Go to Work" (2015)[b]
"YeY" (2015)[b]
"Saigo no Hitokoto" (2015)[f]
"Stay Forever Young" (2015)[c]
"Guess Who?" (2016)[f]
"Butterfly" (2016)[b]
"Ribbon" (2016)[b]
"Freaking Cute" (2016)[c]
"Whole Lotta Lovin'" (2016)[c]
"It's Still Beautiful" (2017)[b]
"Plz Don't Be Sad" (2017)[a]
"Calling You" (2017)[b]
"Can Be Better" (2017)[b]
BigBang (2006–2018, 2022)
Block B (2011–18) [A]
"I'll Close My Eyes" (2012)[b]
"Nillili Mambo" (2012)[b]
"Very Good" (2013)[b]
"Jackpot" (2014)[b]
"H.E.R" (2014)[b]
"A Few Years Later" (2016)[b]
"Toy" (2016)[b]
"Yesterday" (2017)[a]
CNBLUE (since 2009)
F.T. Island (since 2007)
"Lovesick" (2007)[a]
"Thunder" (2007)[a]
"Until You Come Back" (2007)[a]
"After Love (2007)[b]
"Love Love Love" (2010)[a]
"Hello Hello" (2010)[b]
"Severely " (2012)[b]
"I Wish" (2012)[b]
Infinite (2010–2019, since 2023)
MBLAQ (2009-15) [A]
"Ah Yeah" (2009)
"Y" (2010)[b]
"Your Luv" (2011)[c]
"Mona Lisa" (2011)[b]
"Baby U!" (2011)[c]
"Scribble" (2012)[b]
"This Is War" (2012)[b]
Shinee (since 2008)
SS501 (2005-10)
"Warning" (2005)
"Never Again" (2005)
"Snow Prince" (2005)
"4Chance" (2006)
"Kokoro " (2007)[c]
"Distance " (2007)[c]
"Deja Vu" (2008)
"Lucky Days " (2008)[c]
"U R Man" (2008)
"Love Like This" (2009)
"Love Ya" (2010)[b]
Super Junior (since 2005)
Teen Top (since 2010)
"Clap" (2010)
"Going Crazy" (2012)[b]
"Be Ma Girl" (2012)[b]
"Miss Right" (2013)[b]
"Rocking" (2013)[b]
"Missing " (2014)[b]
TVXQ (since 2003)
Other notable groups [ edit ]
Generation 3 [ edit ]
South Korean boy bands that debuted in 2012 to 2017, arranged in alphabetical order.
Best selling boy bands [ edit ]
Best-selling generation 3 South Korean boy bands
Group and years active
Notable singles
Platinum-certified albums[5]
Astro (since 2016)
"Baby" (2017)[j]
"After Midnight" (2021)[b]
"Candy Sugar Pop" (2022)[b]
B.A.P (2012–19)
"No Mercy" (2012)[c]
"Warrior " (2013)[c]
"One Shot" (2013)[c]
"1004 (Angel)" (2014)[b]
"Excuse Me" (2014)[c]
"Feel So Good" (2016)[c]
"Fly High" (2016)[c]
"Wake Me Up" (2017)[c]
"Honey Moon" (2017)[c]
"Hands Up" (2017)[c]
—
BtoB (since 2012)
—
BTS (since 2013)
Exo (since 2012)
Got7 (since 2014)
iKon (since 2015)
—
Monsta X (since 2015)
"Hero" (2015)[c]
"Beautiful" (2017)[c]
"Spotlight" (2018)[c] [d]
"Livin' It Up" (2018)[c] [d]
"Shoot Out" (2018)[c] [d]
"Alligator" (2019)[c] [d]
"Wish on the Sky" (2020)[c]
"Love Killa" (2020)[c]
"Wanted" (2021)[c]
NCT [B] (since 2016)
NU'EST (2012-22)
"Nanananamida" (2017)[c]
"I'm in Trouble" (2020)[b]
"Inside Out" (2021)[b]
Seventeen (since 2015)
The Boyz (since 2017)
"Maverick" (2021)[b]
"Roar" (2023)[b]
Chase (2020)
Thrill-ing (2021)
Be Aware (2022)
Phantasy Pt.1: Christmas in August (2023)
Phantasy Pt.2: Sixth Sense (2023)
Phantasy Pt.3: Love Letter (2024)
VIXX (since 2012)
"Voodoo Doll" (2013)[b]
"Eternity " (2014)[b]
"Error" (2014)[e]
"Love Equation" (2015)[b]
"Can't Say" (2015)[c]
"Chained Up" (2015)[b]
"Hana-Kaze" (2016)[c]
"The Closer" (2016)[b]
—
Wanna One (2017-19)
Winner (since 2013)
"Empty" (2014)[a]
"Color Ring" (2014)[b]
"Sentimental" (2016)[b]
"Baby Baby" (2016)[b]
"Really Really" (2017)[a]
"Fool" (2017)[b]
"Love Me Love Me" (2017)[b]
"Everyday" (2018)[b]
"Millions " (2018)[b]
"Ah Yeah" (2019)[b]
—
Other notable groups [ edit ]
Generation 4 [ edit ]
South Korean boy bands that debuted since 2018, arranged in alphabetical order.
Best selling boy bands [ edit ]
Best-selling generation 4 South Korean boy bands[C]
Group and years active
Notable singles
Platinum-certified albums[5]
Ateez (since 2018)
"Dreamers" (2019)[c]
"Limitless" (2023)[c]
"Not Okay" (2024)[c]
BoyNextDoor (since 2023)
—
Cravity (since 2020)
Enhypen (since 2020)
Plave (since 2023)
"The 6th Summer" (2023)[ah]
"Merry PLLIstmas" (2023)[b]
"Way 4 Luv" (2024)[b]
Asterum: The Shape of Things to Come (2023)
Asterum: 134-1 (2024)
Riize (since 2023)
Stray Kids (since 2018)
Tomorrow X Together (since 2019)
"9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)" (2019)[c] [d]
"Drama" (2020)[c] [d]
"Good Boy Gone Bad" (2022)[c] [h]
"Deja Vu" (2024)[ah]
Treasure (since 2020)
—
Zerobaseone (since 2023)
Other notable groups [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc Number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn Top-ten song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi Top-ten song on Japan's Oricon Singles Chart .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce The song is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Top-ten song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart and Japan's Oricon Singles Chart .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an Number-one song on Japan's Oricon Singles Chart .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n The song is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n The song is certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ a b c The song is certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Top-ten song on K-pop Hot 100 .
^ Circle Chart did not exist at that time. However, the song received 3,000,000 sales.[4]
^ Circle Chart did not exist at that time. However, the song peaked at #4 on the MIAK charts for the month of January 2004. It entered the Circle Album Chart in 2014 and peaked at #12 for the week of January 12–18, 2014.
^ Circle Chart did not exist at that time. However, the song received 4,173,225 sales.[4]
^ The song is certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan , and Platinum by Music Canada .
^ a b c d Number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart and Japan's Oricon Singles Chart .
^ The song is certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry , and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association ; Silver by the British Phonographic Industry ; Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America , and 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association ; Silver by the British Phonographic Industry ; Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America , and 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association ; Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association ; Silver by the British Phonographic Industry ; Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America , and 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association ; Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association ; Silver by the British Phonographic Industry ; Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America , and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified 3× Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association ; Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association ; Gold by the British Phonographic Industry ; Gold by Music Canada ; Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America , and Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association , and Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association ; Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association , and Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ a b Number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart and Billboard Hot 100 .
^ The song is certified 2× Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association ; 2× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association ; Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry ; 5× Platinum by Music Canada ; 5× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America ; 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan , and Platinum by Recorded Music NZ .
^ a b c Number-one song on Billboard Hot 100 .
^ The song is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America , and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association ; Gold by the British Phonographic Industry ; 3× Platinum by Music Canada ; 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America , and 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ The song is certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association ; Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry ; Gold by Music Canada ; Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America , and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
^ Top-ten song on Billboard Hot 100 .
^ a b c d e f Top-ten song on Billboard 's South Korea Songs chart.
^ The song is certified 2× Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association .
^ Number-one song on K-pop Hot 100 .
^ The song is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America .
^ a b The song is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America , and Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan .
References [ edit ]
^ K-Pop: A New Force in Pop Music . Korean Culture and Information Service . 2011. p. 63–66. ISBN 8973751662 .
^ "한국 최초 연습생 출신 가수 김완선 보아가 벤치마킹.(in korean)" . chosunilbo . April 5, 2016. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021 . [Lee Soo-man training system benchmarked Korean trainee singer Kim Wan-sun in the 1980s, and then the trainee system was introduced.]
^ a b c d Bell, Crystal (September 12, 2023). "K-Pop's Fifth Generation Is Coming. What Does That Mean?" . Nylon . Retrieved January 4, 2024 .
^ a b "What are the top-selling singles for these K-pop groups?" . SBS PopAsia . February 28, 2018. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022 .
^ a b "Circle Chart Album Certifications" . Retrieved June 9, 2024 .