Find Out Which K-Pop Idol Groups Have Sold Million Copies!
Since the early days of K-Pop in the early 90s, K-Pop became a mainstream culture of Korean youth. Korean K-Pop groups are extremely popular since the early days and have reached even worldwide popularity recently. From the pioneers of Korean K-Pop, Seo Taiji and Boys until the most successful K-Pop group in recent years, BTS, K-Pop has managed to entice and entertain fans from all around the world. Seo Taiji and Boys are even considered the fathers of Korean culture within the Korean entertainment community. K-Pop can take credit for exporting Korean culture to the global audience and the global community.
Seo Taiji and Boys and a selected few of the K-Pop groups have sold over million copies of their music albums. Their popularity, especially in Asian countries is widely spread and their music is widely accepted. In this article, Byeol Korea will provide you with details about the list of best-selling albums in K-Pop history. So, stay tuned!
BTS Wings
BTS is the youngest group to enter the elite groups of Korean entertainers who have produced best-selling albums. BTS is a boy band formed by Star Hit Entertainment in 2013. BTS released Wings, their second studio album, on October 10th, 2016. The lead single for the album was “Blood Sweat and Tears.” The album consisted of 4 versions and 15 tracks. On February 13th, 2017, three new songs were added to Wings and the album was reissued as a repackage album titled You Never Walk Alone. The lead track from the repackage album was “Spring Day and Today.” Both Wings and You Never Walk Alone sold a total of 1.8 million copies worldwide. The Gaon Chart reckoned Wings as the best-selling album of 2016 in Korea.
Tracklist
Wings
| No. |
Title |
Writer(s) |
Producer(s) |
Length |
| 1. | “Intro: Boy Meets Evil” |
|
Pdogg |
2:01 |
| 2. | ” Blood Sweat & Tears” |
|
Pdogg |
3:37 |
| 3. | “Begin” (solo by Jungkook) |
|
Tony Esterly |
3:49 |
| 4. | “Lie” (solo by Jimin) |
|
DOCSKIM |
3:35 |
| 5. | “Stigma” (solo by V) |
|
Philtre |
3:36 |
| 6. | “First Love” (solo by Suga) |
|
|
3:09 |
| 7. | “Reflection” (solo by RM) |
|
|
3:53 |
| 8. | “MAMA” (solo by J-Hope) |
|
|
3:32 |
| 9. | “Awake” (solo by Jin) |
|
Slow Rabbit |
3:46 |
| 10. | “Lost” (song by Jungkook, V, Jimin, Jin) |
|
Pdogg |
4:01 |
| 11. | “BTS Cypher Pt. 4” (song by RM, J-Hope, Suga) |
|
|
4:54 |
| 12. | “Am I Wrong” (Keb’ Mo’s “Am I Wrong’s” sample) |
|
|
3:33 |
| 13. | “21st Century Girls” |
|
Pdogg |
3:12 |
| 14. | ” Two! Three! [Still Wishing For Better Days]) |
|
|
4:32 |
| 15. | “Interlude: Wings” |
|
Pdogg |
2:24 |
| Total length: |
53:34 |
|||
You Never Walk Alone
|
Title |
Writer(s) |
Producer(s) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Seo Taiji and Boys – Seo Taiji and Boys II
Seo Taiji and Boys was a legendary music group. Its members were Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk, and Lee Juno. They started a new wave of Korean hip-hop music and introduced rap in pop songs. Seo Taiji and Boys was formed in 1992 but disbanded in 1996. The group debuted on April 11th, 1992, by performing their debut song “I Know” on an MBC talent show. Seo Taiji and Boys produced 4 albums and each sold more than 1 million copies.
Seo Taiji and Boys II is their second studio album. It was released on June 21st, 1993. The album sold more than 2.2 million copies. The leading track “Anyhow” became a very popular song.
Tracklist
Seo Taiji and Boys II
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | “Yo! Taiji” | 0:51 |
| 2. | “Anyhow Song” | 5:15 |
| 3. | “Our Own Memories” | 3:52 |
| 4. | “Swamp of Death” | 3:28 |
| 5. | “To You” | 4:36 |
| 6. | “Who Am I” | 4:05 |
| 7. | “Last Festival” | 4:38 |
| 8. | “Our Own Memories (Instrumental)” | 3:52 |
EXO – Don’t Mess Up My Tempo (Full & RG)
EXO is a Korean boy band, though some of its members are Chinese. It was formed by SM Entertainment in 2011. EXO started as a 12-member boy band but three of its members left. EXO is a highly influential Korean boy band and has released its albums in Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese.
EXO’s sixth album, Don’t Mess Up My Tempo was released on November 2nd, 2018. Uniquely, the album is available in 4 different types of tempo. It reached number one on the Korean music chart. The album sold more than 1.2 million copies. EXO is considered as one of the elite boy bands for being able to sell a total of over 10 million copies of their albums.
Tracklist
Don’t Mess Up My Tempo
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
| 1. | “Tempo” |
|
|
Jamil “Digi” Chammas | 3:44 |
| 2. | “Sign” |
|
|
|
3:13 |
| 3. | “Ooh La La La” | Hwang Yoo-bin |
|
|
3:07 |
| 4. | “Gravity” |
|
|
LDN Noise | 3:54 |
| 5. | “With You” |
|
|
Sons of Sonix | 3:08 |
| 6. | “24/7” | Kenzie |
|
|
4:03 |
| 7. | “Bad Dream” | Seo Ji-eum |
|
|
3:56 |
| 8. | “Damage” | Shin Jin-hye (Jam Factory) |
|
LDN Noise | 3:29 |
| 9. | “Smile On My Face” |
|
|
Brian Kennedy | 3:38 |
| 10. | “Oasis” | Jo Yoon-kyung |
|
Rice n’ Peas | 3:14 |
| 11. | “Tempo” (Chinese version) | Arys Chien |
|
Jamil “Digi” Chammas | 3:44 |
| Total length: |
39:17 |
||||
g.o.d – Chapter 4: Road
g.o.d is a Korean pop music group that was formed in 1999 and became hugely popular in early 2000. g.o.d stands for Groove Over Dose and consists of 4 members. One of its members departed in 2005 causing a long hiatus in g.o.d’s activity. g.o.d is considered as the most legendary K-Pop group for successfully producing various hit songs and selling over a million copies of their music albums.
g.o.d released their fourth album, Chapter 4: Road, on November 15th, 2001. It was their second album to reach a record selling of over 1 million copies. The leading track of the fourth album is “Road.” The album received three awards for album of the year.
Tracklist
Chapter 4: Road
|
No. |
Title |
Length |
|
|
1. |
“Intro” |
1:17 |
|
|
2. |
“Road” |
3:46 |
|
|
3. |
“Again” |
4:43 |
|
|
4. |
“Fool” |
3:57 |
|
|
5. |
“The Place Where You Should Be” |
3:40 |
|
|
6. |
“Sad Love” |
3:46 |
|
|
7. |
“I Know” |
4:05 |
|
|
8. |
“You Don’t Know” |
4:20 |
|
|
9. |
“I’m a Man (narration by Kim Jung-eun)” |
4:05 |
|
|
10. |
“Let’s Go (featuring Lim Jeong-hee |
4:10 |
|
|
11. |
“134-14” |
3:28 |
|
|
12. |
“The Reason Why I Can’t Leave” |
4:10 |
|
|
13. |
“Road” (instrumental) |
3:46 |
|
Wanna One – IXI=1 (To Be One) (EP&RG)
Wanna One is a Korean Boy band formed by CJ E&M through an idol survival show. 101 idol trainees from various label companies competed against each other. In the end, only eleven trainees were selected as finalists. The group of eleven members debuted on August 7th, 2017. They released their EP titled 1×1-1 (To Be One) on August 8th, 2017. The EP reached no 1 position on the Korean music chart.
Wanna One released their repackaged album, 1-1-0 (Nothing Without You) with the leading track titled “Beautiful” on November 13th, 2017. Sale combination of Wanna One’s EP and repackage album reached over 1.4 million copies in Korea and 1.7 million copies worldwide. Wanna One is recorded as the third Korean group to successfully sell over 1 million copies of their debut album.
Tracklist
1×1-1 (To Be One)
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length | |
| 1. | “To Be One” (Intro) | Galactika | Galactika | Galactika | 1:06 | |
| 2. | “Burn It Up” |
|
|
|
3:34 | |
| 3. | “Energetic” |
(PENTAGON) |
|
Flow Blow | 3:09 | |
| 4. | “Wanna Be (My baby)” |
|
|
|
3:21 | |
| 5. | “Always” (Acoustic version) |
|
|
Real Men | 4:21 | |
-
- (Nothing Without You)
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
| 1. | “Nothing Without You” (Intro) |
|
|
|
1:23 |
| 2. | “Beautiful” |
|
|
Wooziq | 3:17 |
| 3. | “Wanna” |
|
e.one | e.one | 3:40 |
| 4. | “Twilight” |
|
|
|
3:14 |
| 5. | “Burn It Up” (Prequel Remix) |
|
|
|
3:37 |
| 6. | “Energetic” (Prequel Remix) |
(PENTAGON) |
|
TAK | 4:16 |
| 7. | “Wanna Be (My baby)” |
|
|
|
3:21 |
| 8. | “Energetic” |
(PENTAGON) |
|
Flow Blow | 3:09 |
| 9. | “Burn It Up” |
|
|
|
3:34 |
| 10. | “To Be One” (Outro) | 1:21 |
Seo Taiji as the pioneer and BTS as the current leader in Korean wave successfully produced best-selling albums of all time in Korea. Let’s hope that BTS will continue its current form and even produce more best-selling albums in the future. That was all the information about the best selling albums of K-Pop groups. Don’t forget to kindly share your thoughts in the section below!
