List of South Korean boy bands explained

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. 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. 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.

Generation 1

South Korean boy bands that debuted in the 90s to 2002, arranged in alphabetical order.

Best selling boy bands

Group and years active! style="width:30%"
Notable singles
  • "Warrior's Descendant" (1996)
  • "Candy" (1996)
  • "We Are the Future" (1997)
  • "Hope" (1998)
  • "I Yah!" (1999)
  • "Outside Castle" (2000)
  • "School Anthem" (1997)
  • "The Way This Guy Lives" (1997)
  • "Road Fighter" (1998)
  • "Couple" (1998)
  • "Three Words" (2016)
  • "Be Well" (2017)
  • "Something Special" (2017)
  • "Don't Look Back" (2021)
  • "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)
  • "This Love" (2013)
  • "Memory" (2015)
  • "Sniper" (2015)
  • "Touch" (2017)

Other notable groups

Generation 2

South Korean boy bands that debuted in 2003 to 2011, arranged in alphabetical order.

Best selling boy bands

Group and years active! style="width:30%"
Notable singles
  • "Beautiful Target" (2011)
  • "Baby Good Night" (2012)
  • "Tried to Walk" (2012)
  • "What's Happening?" (2013)
  • "Lonely" (2014)
  • "Solo Day" (2014)
  • "White Miracle" (2015)
  • "Happy Days" (2015)
  • "A Lie" (2016)
  • "You and I" (2017)
  • "Do You Remember" (2018)
  • "Aerumade" (2018)
  • "Bad Girl" (2009)
  • "Shock" (2010)
  • "Breath" (2010)
  • "Beautiful" (2010)
  • "On Rainy Days" (2010)
  • "Fiction" (2011)
  • "I Knew It" (2012)
  • "Midnight" (2012)
  • "Beautiful Night" (2012)
  • "Will You Be Alright?" (2013)
  • "I'm Sorry" (2013)
  • "Shadow" (2013)
  • "Sad Movie / Kurisumasu Kyaroru no Koro ni wa" (2013)
  • "No More" (2014)
  • "Good Luck" (2014)
  • "12:30" (2014)
  • "Adrenaline" (2015)
  • "Kimi wa Dou?" (2015)
  • "One" (2015)
  • "Hands Up" (2015)
  • "Can't Wait to Love You" (2015)
  • "This Is My Life" (2015)
  • "Gotta Go to Work" (2015)
  • "YeY" (2015)
  • "Saigo no Hitokoto" (2015)
  • "Stay Forever Young" (2015)
  • "Guess Who?" (2016)
  • "Butterfly" (2016)
  • "Ribbon" (2016)
  • "Freaking Cute" (2016)
  • "Whole Lotta Lovin'" (2016)
  • "It's Still Beautiful" (2017)
  • "Plz Don't Be Sad" (2017)
  • "Calling You" (2017)
  • "Can Be Better" (2017)
  • "I'll Close My Eyes" (2012)
  • "Nillili Mambo" (2012)
  • "Very Good" (2013)
  • "Jackpot" (2014)
  • "H.E.R" (2014)
  • "A Few Years Later" (2016)
  • "Toy" (2016)
  • "Yesterday" (2017)
  • "Lovesick" (2007)
  • "Thunder" (2007)
  • "Until You Come Back" (2007)
  • "After Love (2007)
  • "Love Love Love" (2010)
  • "Hello Hello" (2010)
  • "Severely" (2012)
  • "I Wish" (2012)
  • "Come Back Again" (2010)
  • "She's Back" (2010)
  • "BTD (Before the Dawn)" (2011)
  • "Be Mine" (2011)
  • "Paradise" (2011)
  • "White Confession (Lately)" (2011)
  • "The Chaser" (2012)
  • "Man in Love" (2013)
  • "Destiny" (2013)
  • "Last Romeo" (2014)
  • "Back" (2014)
  • "Dilemma" (2014)
  • "24 Jikan" (2015)
  • "Bad" (2015)
  • "The Eye" (2016)
  • "Ah Yeah" (2009)
  • "Y" (2010)
  • "Your Luv" (2011)
  • "Mona Lisa" (2011)
  • "Baby U!" (2011)
  • "Scribble" (2012)
  • "This Is War" (2012)
  • "Warning" (2005)
  • "Never Again" (2005)
  • "Snow Prince" (2005)
  • "4Chance" (2006)
  • "Kokoro" (2007)
  • "Distance" (2007)
  • "Deja Vu" (2008)
  • "Lucky Days" (2008)
  • "U R Man" (2008)
  • "Love Like This" (2009)
  • "Love Ya" (2010)
  • "Clap" (2010)
  • "Going Crazy" (2012)
  • "Be Ma Girl" (2012)
  • "Miss Right" (2013)
  • "Rocking" (2013)
  • "Missing" (2014)

Other notable groups

Generation 3

South Korean boy bands that debuted in 2012 to 2017, arranged in alphabetical order.

Best selling boy bands

Group and years active! style="width:30%"
Notable singlesPlatinum-certified albums[4]
  • "Baby" (2017)
  • "After Midnight" (2021)
  • "Candy Sugar Pop" (2022)
  • "No Mercy" (2012)
  • "Warrior" (2013)
  • "One Shot" (2013)
  • "1004 (Angel)" (2014)
  • "Excuse Me" (2014)
  • "Feel So Good" (2016)
  • "Fly High" (2016)
  • "Wake Me Up" (2017)
  • "Honey Moon" (2017)
  • "Hands Up" (2017)
  • "WOW" (2012)
  • "The Winter's Tale" (2014)
  • "It's Okay" (2015)
  • "Mirai (Ashita)" (2015)
  • "Summer Color My Girl" (2015)
  • "Way Back Home" (2015)
  • "Dear Bride" (2016)
  • "L.U.V" (2016)
  • "Pray (I'll Be Your Man)" (2016)
  • "Movie" (2017)
  • "Brand New Days" (2017)
  • "Missing You" (2017)
  • "Only One for Me" (2018)
  • "Friend" (2018)
  • "Beautiful Pain" (2018)
  • "The Song" (2022)
  • (2018)
  • (2018)
  • (2019)
  • (2019)
  • (2020)
  • Be (2020)
  • Butter (Hotter, Sweeter, Cooler) (2021)
  • Proof (2023)
  • "Around the World"(2014)
  • "Love Train" (2015)
  • "Laugh Laugh Laugh" (2015)
  • "If You Do" (2015)
  • "Fly" (2016)
  • "Hard Carry" (2016)
  • "Never Ever" (2017)
  • "You Are" (2017)
  • "My Swagger" (2017)
  • "Look" (2018)
  • "THE New Era" (2018)
  • "Lullaby" (2018)
  • "Eclipse" (2019)
  • "My Type" (2015)
  • "Rhythm Ta" (2015)
  • "Apology" (2015)
  • "Dumb & Dumber" (2016)
  • "
    1. WYD
    " (2016)
  • "Love Scenario" (2018)
  • "Killing Me" (2018)
  • "Goodbye Road" (2018)
  • "Hero" (2015)
  • "Beautiful" (2017)
  • "Spotlight" (2018)
  • "Livin' It Up" (2018)
  • "Shoot Out" (2018)
  • "Alligator" (2019)
  • "Wish on the Sky" (2020)
  • "Love Killa" (2020)
  • "Wanted" (2021)
  • "Nanananamida" (2017)
  • "I'm in Trouble" (2020)
  • "Inside Out" (2021)
  • "Maverick" (2021)
  • "Roar" (2023)
  • 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)
  • "Voodoo Doll" (2013)
  • "Eternity" (2014)
  • "Error" (2014)
  • "Love Equation" (2015)
  • "Can't Say" (2015)
  • "Chained Up" (2015)
  • "Hana-Kaze" (2016)
  • "The Closer" (2016)
  • "Empty" (2014)
  • "Color Ring" (2014)
  • "Sentimental" (2016)
  • "Baby Baby" (2016)
  • "Really Really" (2017)
  • "Fool" (2017)
  • "Love Me Love Me" (2017)
  • "Everyday" (2018)
  • "Millions" (2018)
  • "Ah Yeah" (2019)

Other notable groups

Generation 4

South Korean boy bands that debuted since 2018, arranged in alphabetical order.

Best selling boy bands

Group and years active! style="width:30%"
Notable singlesPlatinum-certified albums
  • "Dreamers" (2019)
  • "Limitless" (2023)
  • "Not Okay" (2024)
  • (2020)
  • (2021)
  • (2021)
  • (2022)
  • (2022)
  • (2022)
  • (2023)
  • (2023)
  • (2024)
  • "Earth, Wind & Fire" (2024)
  • "Groovy" (2023)
  • "Show Off" (2024)
  • (2023)
  • Sun Seeker (2023)
  • Evershine (2024)
  • "Given-Taken" (2020)
  • "Let Me In (20 Cube)" (2020)
  • "Drunk-Dazed" (2021)
  • "Tamed-Dashed" (2021)
  • "Bite Me" (2023)
  • "Blossom" (2023)
  • "Bills" (2023)
  • "The 6th Summer" (2023)
  • "Merry PLLIstmas" (2023)
  • "Way 4 Luv" (2024)
  • Asterum: The Shape of Things to Come (2023)
  • Asterum: 134-1 (2024)
  • "Love 119" (2024)
  • "9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)" (2019)
  • "Drama" (2020)
  • "Good Boy Gone Bad" (2022)
  • "Deja Vu" (2024)
  • (2020)
  • (2020)
  • (2020)
  • (2021)
  • (2022)
  • (2022)
  • Reboot (2023)

Other notable groups

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: . 2011 . K-Pop: A New Force in Pop Music . . 63–66 . 8973751662.
  2. News: 한국 최초 연습생 출신 가수 김완선 보아가 벤치마킹.(in korean). [Lee Soo-man training system benchmarked Korean trainee singer Kim Wan-sun in the 1980s, and then the trainee system was introduced.]. chosunilbo. April 5, 2016. August 16, 2021. November 26, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211126164312/https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/04/05/2016040503359.html. live.
  3. K-Pop's Fifth Generation Is Coming. What Does That Mean?. Nylon. Bell. Crystal. September 12, 2023. January 4, 2024.
  4. Web site: Circle Chart Album Certifications. August 8, 2024.

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