List of best-selling albums in South Korea

For albums with certifications, see List of certified albums in South Korea.

BTS is the best-selling artist in South Korean history. Their Map of the Soul: 7 album is the first to sell over 4 and 5 million copies.
Kim Gun-mo's Wrongful Meeting was the best-selling album in South Korea for 24 years, with an estimated 3.3 million copies sold.
Shin Seung-hun was the best-selling artist in South Korea with 17 million cumulative album sales, until the record was broken by BTS in 2020.[1]
Seo Taiji is the first artist to have a million-seller album both as a soloist and as part of a group.[2]

This is a list of the best-selling albums of recorded music in South Korea. To appear on the list, the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have sold at least 1 million copies. As of March 2021, Map of the Soul: 7 by South Korean boy band BTS is the best-selling album of all time in the country.[3][needs update] Kim Gun-mo's 1995 studio album Wrongful Meeting previously held the record as the best-selling South Korean album for 24 years, with an estimated 3.3 million copies sold—this includes figures based on illegal sales[4]—until it was surpassed by BTS' Map of the Soul: Persona in 2019.[5][6]

The Korea Video & Record Distributors Association (KVRDA) published the first South Korean sales charts, tallying album sales figures for the month of August and the March–August semester, on September 10, 1998.[7] Between 1999 and 2007, the Music Industry Association of Korea (MIAK) published monthly charts, with fifty chart positions and detailed sales for each album.[8] Following the sharp decline of domestic music sales in the 21st century,[9] the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) introduced the Gaon Album Chart in February 2010, which included a detailed breakdown of online chart data.[10] The KMCA began awarding sales certifications for albums in April 2018—only albums released after January 1, 2018 are eligible.[10] Certifications are not included in this list, because the Gaon Music Chart publishes detailed album sales.

All albums that have sold over one million copies in South Korea are by Korean artists, with the exception of Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard (1992) and Mariah Carey's Music Box (1993). BTS is the act with the most million-selling albums, having twelve, followed by Seventeen, with eleven. In 2017, BTS' Love Yourself: Her became the first album released since 2001 to sell over 1 million copies,[11][12] while in 2018 the band's Love Yourself: Answer became the first to sell over 2 million copies since 2000.[13] In 2019, the band's Map of the Soul: Persona became the first album to sell over 3 million copies since 1997. This was followed by Map of the Soul: 7, which became the first album in chart history to surpass 4 and 5 million sales, in 2020 and 2022 respectively.[14][15] Seventeen's FML became the first album to sell over 6 million copies, in 2023.[16] In 2013, the combined sales of Exo's XOXO and its repackage exceeded 1 million copies,[17] while in 2019 BTS became the first act to sell 1 million copies of both an album and its repackage, when Wings and You Never Walk Alone each surpassed 1 million sales that year.

As of 2023, according to Circle Chart,[A] BTS is the best-selling artist in South Korean history, having sold more than 40 million albums.[19]

  1. ^ "BTS breaks 20 million album sales record in S. Korea". The Dong-a Ilbo. April 10, 2020. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  2. ^ Lee, Min-ji (April 6, 2021). "EXO's Baekhyun sells most albums in first week for K-pop soloist'" (in Korean). Yonhap News. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  3. ^ Bowenbank, Starr (December 14, 2021). "Every Time BTS Has Set a Guinness World Record". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  4. ^ Chung, Jin-hong (November 9, 2016). "Kim Gun-mo readies a new record". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  5. ^ Herman, Tamar (June 25, 2019). "BTS' 'Map of the Soul: Persona' Confirmed as Best-Selling Album in South Korean History: Guinness World Records". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Park Si-soo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ [뉴스파일] 음반 판매량 매달 공개 .. 한국영상음반협회 [[News File] Monthly release of album sales .. Korea Video Video & Record Distributors Association]. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). August 24, 1998. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  8. ^ 1999년 2월 가요음반판매량 [February 1999 music album sales]. www.riak.or.kr (in Korean). July 20, 2018. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Kwon, Seok-jeong (December 30, 2013). 결과론적으로 말해서, 엑소의 100만장, 절대 팬덤의 도래 [As a result, Exo's 1 million copies, the arrival of absolute fandom]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via Hankyung.com.
  10. ^ a b Kim, Hyun-sik (April 20, 2018). '10억 스트리밍=다이아몬드' 음콘협, '가온 인증제' 도입 ['1 billion streaming = diamond' Korea Music Content Association introduces Gaon certification system]. No Cut News (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  11. ^ 美빌보드 찍고 밀리언셀러…K팝 역사 새로 쓰는 방탄소년단 [US Billboard and Million Sellers...BTS writes a new chapter in K-pop history]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). October 13, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Kim, Eun-ae (October 13, 2017). 방탄소년단, 16년만에 단일앨범 120만장 돌파 대기록..가요계 대역사 [BTS, the first single album in 16 years to break through 1.2 million copies, a great record in the music industry]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via Naver.
  13. ^ Jo, Gwang-hyung (November 11, 2018). 방탄소년단, 리패키지 앨범 LOVE YOURSELF 結 'Answer' 203만장 돌파 [BTS, repackaged album LOVE YOURSELF 結 'Answer' surpassed 2.03 million copies]. NewDaily (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  14. ^ Rolli, Bryan. "BTS's 'Map of the Soul: 7' Makes Gaon Chart History With 4 Million Certified Sales". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  15. ^ Park, Jeong-seon (November 10, 2022). 블랙핑크·지코, 10월 써클차트서 나란히 2관왕. Dailian (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "Seventeen breaks records with over 6 million album sales. See why is it special". The Economic Times. July 6, 2023. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  17. ^ 엑소 1집 판매량 100만 장 돌파…밀리언셀러 등극 [Exo's first album has sold more than 1 million copies...Become a Million Seller]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). December 27, 2013. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  18. ^ Jie, Ye-eun (July 2, 2022). "Gaon Chart aims to become global K-pop chart with new name". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Kim, Hyun-shik (June 9, 2023). 빌보드 석권·매출 1조…'K팝 선봉장' BTS가 일군 기적들[BTS 10주년]① [Sweeping Billboard, 1 trillion won in sales… The miracles accomplished by BTS, the leader of K-pop [BTS 10th anniversary]①]. EDaily (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2022.


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