In the first half of 2023, the export of K-POP albums will hit a record high! The fifth largest export country is Taiwan, Hong Kong is the sixth, and the United States surpasses China

(Cover image source: Twitter @Stray_Kids, Twitter @pledis_17, Twitter @ATEEZofficial, TWITTER @JYPETWICE)

According to various Korean media reports, according to the import and export trade statistics of the Korean Customs Service, the export value of Korean albums in the first half of 2023 will reach 132.934 million US dollars (about 168.5 billion won), an increase of 17.1% over the same period last year. Based on the first half of the year, it has reached a record high.

None — SEVENTEEN (Source: Twitter@pledis_17)

The top export destination for Korean albums is Japan, with an export value of 48.523 million US dollars (approximately 61.5 billion won), the second is the United States, with 2551.9 US dollars, and the third is China with 22.64 million US dollars. Followed by Germany 5.628 million US dollars, Taiwan 5.54 million US dollars, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom and France.

Hearing about this ranking, netizens from Korea’s ‎theqoo forum or from Taiwan’s social software such as Dcard were surprised that Germany ranked fourth, and that there were no Southeast Asian countries in the top ten. They expressed that they did not understand that Southeast Asian fans were very active in concerts, but they were not seen in the ranking of album purchases. It is also a surprise that Taiwan and Hong Kong ranked fifth and sixth respectively. From the population ratio of each region, it can be seen how much Taiwan and Hong Kong love K-POP, and their consumption power is amazing. It is no wonder that the Taiwan and Hong Kong markets have always been a link that Korean singers cannot give up.

In addition, this is the second time since 2012 that China has dropped out of second place in 2020, otherwise it has been closely following Japan. Sales in the U.S. surpassed China and jumped to the second place, becoming the focus of the record industry and Korean media. In the past, it was commented that during the period of Covid-19, everyone could not get out easily, but the spread of K-POP on social software expanded the European and American markets. Even Korean groups such as DKB and GHOST9, which struggled to debut during the epidemic, successfully entered the U.S. tour after the epidemic eased.

There is also a lot of media attention focused on “BTS BTS has no group activities, K-POP can still achieve good results in the US market”, mentioning that BTS Jimin’s solo can also top the US “Billboard”(Billboard) Hot 100 chart, making a new history for K-POP, and Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT), SEVENTEEN, ATEEZ, TWICE and other popular groups will also be on the B illboard ranking, and in the first half of this year, there is also a song FITTY FIFTY <Cupid> that hits all over the world.