| Hyukoh | |
| Origin: | Seoul, South Korea |
| Genre: |
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| Years Active: | 2014–present |
| Current Members: |
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Hyukoh (Korean: 혁오) is a South Korean indie band signed to DooRooDooRoo Artist Company. The band was formed in May 2014 and consists of leader, singer, and guitarist Oh Hyuk, bassist Im Dong-geon, guitarist Lim Hyun-jae, and drummer Lee In-woo.[1]
Frontman Oh Hyuk was raised in several cities across northern China (Jilin, Shenyang and Beijing) for the first twenty years of his life due his parents' profession as university professors. Upon graduating high school in 2012, Oh moved to South Korea on his own to pursue music full-time despite his parents' strong opposition. Oh speaks Mandarin Chinese, Korean and English and his diverse cultural influences are directly reflected in Hyukoh's music, in which he infuses a mix of Korean, Mandarin Chinese and English lyrics.
Im, Lim and Lee joined Oh to form Hyukoh in 2014. Oh was previously producing music as a one-man band under the name Hyukoh, and the members eventually came together and took on the name as the current four-piece band. The members came together largely by chance: Oh had already worked with Lee in the past, and Lim attended high school with Lee. Oh was introduced to Im through a mutual acquaintance.[2] [3]
On September 18, 2014, Hyukoh released their debut EP 20, named after the band members' age at the time.[4] The band experienced moderate success in South Korea, often selling out small-scale venues and gaining a strong following in Hongdae, an area in Seoul known for being the epicenter of South Korea's indie music scene.[5]
In 2015, the band gained mainstream popularity after participating in the popular Korean variety program Infinite Challenge, performing "Wonderful Barn" in collaboration with Jung Hyung-don at Yeongdong Expressway Song Festival.[6] The band received positive responses from critics and the public, charting in the top ten of the Billboard World Albums Chart two months after the release of their second EP 22, also named after the band members' age at the time.
On July 21, 2015, Hyukoh became the first act to sign with independent label HIGHGRND, a subsidiary of Korean media conglomerate YG Entertainment.[7]
On April 30 and May 2, 2016, the band performed at Strawberry Music Festival in Shanghai and Beijing, representing Korean indie bands.[8] They also performed at the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan in August 2016.[9]
The band released their first studio album, 23, on April 24, 2017. The title track, "Tomboy", placed second on the Melon digital chart and first on Genie, Bugs, and Olleh digital charts not long after its release. The album also placed sixth on Billboard's World Albums Chart in May 2017. Following the release of 23, the band went on their first world tour.
Music by the band featured on a TV commercial released in June 2018 by Apple Inc. for the iPhone X smartphone. The song featured was Citizen Kane.[10]
Hyukoh planned to kick off their tour in February 2020, visiting places such as Seoul, making their way around Asia, Europe, and North America.[11] [12]
However the majority of the tour was cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, with the group only being able to fulfil the Seoul and Japan dates before the pandemic struck.[13]
Im Dong-geon enlisted for his mandatory military service on April 20, 2021. He was seen off by family, friends and the members. The location and time were private.[14]
Hyukoh has also been recognized for their attention to the band's visual aesthetic, ranging from their music videos to wardrobe choices. The band frequently works with photographer Han Dasom and videographer Jung Dawoon (DQM), who are members of the creative group Dadaism Club. They met in 2014.[2]
Oh has cited The Beatles and The Whitest Boy Alive as major influences in the band's musical style.[15]
Following their rise to fame, Hyukoh has faced multiple accusations of plagiarism. In 2015, internet users suggested that their song "Lonely" was derived from "1517" by German-Norwegian band The Whitest Boy Alive, while "Panda Bear" was compared to Yumi Zouma's "Dodi".[17] On July 24, HIGHGRND released a statement addressing these rumors, stating Hyukoh had received compliments on "Lonely" from The Whitest Boy Alive frontman Erlend Øye after performing the track as an opener for him while he visited Korea. The label also clarified that "Panda Bear" was released months before Yumi Zouma's "Dodi", making the suspected plagiarism impossible.[18]
"Panda Bear" faced accusations again as a copy of American indie band Beach Fossils's "Golden Age". These suspicions were furthered by a now-deleted tweet from Beach Fossils suggesting Hyukoh had mixed "Golden Age" to create "Panda Bear". Hyukoh leader Oh Hyuk later posted a screenshot of this Tweet to his Instagram account refuting the claims.[19]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [20] | JPN [21] | US World [22] | ||||
| 23 |
| 5 | 106 | 6 | ||
| AAA |
| 18 | — | — |
| |
| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR | JPN | US World | ||||
| 20 |
| — | 130 | — |
| |
| 22 |
| 9 | 112 | 4 |
| |
| 24 |
| 12 | — | — |
| |
| Through Love |
| 8 | — | — |
| |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||||
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Sales | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [30] | ||||
| "Wi Ing Wi Ing" (위잉위잉) | 2014 | 1 |
| 20 |
| "Panda Bear" | 2015 | 95 |
| |
| "Comes and Goes (와리가리)" | 1 |
| 22 | |
| "Tomboy" | 2017 | 2 |
| 23 |
| "Leather Jacket" (가죽자켓) | 16 |
| ||
| "Love Ya | " | 2018 | 46 | 24 |
| "Help" | 2020 | 117 | Through Love | |
| "Young Man" | 2024 | 140 | AAA |
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Sales | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR | ||||
| "Ohio" | 2014 | 29 |
| 20 |
| "Lonely" | 91 |
| ||
| "I Have No Hometown" | — |
| ||
| "Feels Like Roller Coaster Ride" | — |
| ||
| "Our Place" | — |
| ||
| "Bamboo" | 2015 | — |
| |
| "Hooka" | 10 |
| 22 | |
| "Big Bird (큰새)" | 37 |
| ||
| "Gondry (공드리)" | 41 |
| ||
| "Settled Down" | 83 |
| ||
| "Mer" | 86 |
| ||
| "Die Alone" | 2017 | 36 |
| 23 |
| "Tokyo Inn" | 41 |
| ||
| "Paul" | 61 |
| ||
| "Burning Youth" | 64 |
| ||
| "2002WorldCup" | 65 |
| ||
| "Jesus Lived In A Motel Room" | 68 |
| ||
| "Wanli" (Wanli万里) | 79 |
| ||
| "Surf Boy" | 80 |
| ||
| "Reserved Seat" (지정석) | 84 |
| ||
| "Simon" | 86 |
|
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Wi Ing Wi Ing (위잉위잉)" | 2014 | 20 |
| "Panda Bear" | 2015 | 22 |
| "Comes and Goes (와리가리)" | ||
| "Hooka" | ||
| "Gondry" | ||
| "Leather Jacket (가죽자켓)" | 2017 | 23 |
| "Tomboy" | ||
| "Wanli (Wanli万里)" |
From February 26, 2019 to March 15, 2019 : European Tour《24: how to find true love and happiness》
| Award | Category | Recipient/Nominated work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 7th Melon Music Awards | Top 10 Artists | Hyukoh | |
| Artist of the Year | ||||
| Album of the Year | ||||
| Song of the Year | "Comes and Goes" | |||
| 17th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | Hyukoh | ||
| UnionPay Song of the Year | "Comes and Goes" | |||
| Naver Yearly Ranking | Most Downloaded Song | "Wi ing Wi ing" | ||
| 2016 | 25th Seoul Music Awards | Performance Culture Award | Hyukoh | |
| 30th Golden Disc Awards | Best Rock Band Award | |||
| 5th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards | Discovery of the Year (Indie) | |||
| Popular Singer of the Year[36] | ||||
| 13th Korean Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Comes and Goes" | ||
| Artist of the Year | Hyukoh | |||
| Newcomer of the Year | ||||
| Best Modern Rock Album | 22 | |||
| Best Modern Rock Song | "Comes and Goes" | |||
| Netizen's Artist of the Year | Hyukoh | |||
| 2017 | Top 10 Artists | |||
| Best Band Performance | ||||
| 2018 | Best Rock Band Award | |||
| 15th Korean Music Awards | Musician of the Year | |||
| Song of the Year | "Tomboy" | |||
| Album of the Year | 23 | |||
| Best Modern Rock Album | ||||
| Best Modern Rock Song | "Tomboy" | |||
| MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards[37] [38] | Song of the Year | "Love Ya | " | |
| Band Music Award | ||||
| Genie Music Popularity Award | Hyukoh | |||
| 2020 | Mnet Asian Music Awards[39] | Best Band Performance | ||
| Song of the Year | "Help" | |||
| Worldwide Fans’ Choice | ||||