The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in 2012 in music in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Notable events and achievements

* January 11–12 – the 26th

Golden Disc Awards The Golden Disc Awards (, formerly spelled the Golden Disk Awards before 2015) is an annual South Korean major music awards ceremony that honors achievements in the local music industry. The awards ceremony was founded with the purpose to promo ...

take place, the first time it was held in January.

Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent ...

and

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

win the grand prizes. * January 31 – Girls' Generation become the first K-pop group to appear on an American late night talk show, performing the English version of "

The Boys Boys are young male humans. Boys or The Boys may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''The Boys'' (1962 British film), a courtroom drama by Sidney J. Furie * ''The Boys'' (1962 Finnish film), a war drama by Mikko Niskanen * ''Boys'' ( ...

" on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

''. *February 1 – Girls' Generation similarly appear on ''

Live! with Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

'', the first U.S. morning talk show appearance from a K-pop artist. *February 29 –

Kiha & The Faces Kiha & The Faces (Korean: 장기하와 얼굴들) was a South Korean indie rock band lead by singer Chang Kiha. The band debuted in 2008 with the single, "Cheap Coffee," and have since become one of South Korea's most popular and commercially succ ...

and IU win the grand prizes at the 18th

Korean Music Awards The Korean Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards show that honors both mainstream and underground musical artists from a variety of genres. Unlike other major South Korean music awards, which largely rely on record sales to det ...

. *June – The Korean music industry grosses nearly $3.4 billion in the first half of 2012, according to ''Billboard'' estimates, a 27.8% increase from the same period a year prior. *June 22 – '' Show Me the Money'' airs its first season, which is considered a pivotal work in making hip hop a mainstream genre in South Korea. *July 28 –

2NE1 2NE1 (, ) was a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, which was active between 2009 and 2016. The group was composed of four members: Bom, CL, Dara, and Minzy. Known for breaking typical stereotypes of K-pop, musical experiment ...

embark on their

New Evolution Global Tour New Evolution Global Tour was the first world tour and second concert tour overall by South Korean girl group 2NE1. It saw shows in 11 cities across 7 countries in Asia and North America spanning from July to December 2012, and marked the first w ...

, considered the first world tour by a K-pop girl group. *September 10 –

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

announces their three concert dome tour in Japan, making them the first Korean artist to perform at three dome stadiums in a single tour. *September 26 – Psy's "Gangnam Style" attains a peak of number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the highest for a K-pop song on the chart. *October 16 –

KCON 2012 KCON is an annual convention held in locations across the world, created by Koreaboo and organized by CJ E&M. It was first held in Southern California in 2012 and has since expanded to ten countries as of 2022. In 2015, KCON expanded to Japan an ...

takes place at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine, California, the first K-pop dedicated convention in the United States. *November 18 – Psy becomes the first Korean artist to perform at the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...

. *November 19 – The third annual

Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards The Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards () is an annual South Korean government-run awards ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Korea Creative Content Agency. The ceremony, which was first held in 2010, "honor those ...

take place.

Psy Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage perf ...

Song Chang-sik Song Chang-sik (Hangul: 송창식; born 2 February 1947) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, who is considered one of the country's most important and influential musicians of the 1960s and 1970s. He debuted in 1968 as a member of the folk d ...

and Geum Sa-hyang are awarded the Order of Cultural Merit; Park Seong-yeon and

Kim Chang-wan Kim Chang Wan (born February 22, 1954) is a South Korean singer, composer, musician, actor, host, radio DJ and writer. Career Sanulrim Kim Chang-wan, along with his younger brothers Kim Chang-hoon and Kim Chang-ik, began composing music d ...

receive the Presidential Commendation; and

Na Yoon-sun Na Yoon-sun ( ko, 나윤선; born August 28, 1969), also known as Youn Sun Nah, is a South Korean jazz musician. Life and career Na Yoon-sun was born on August 28, 1969, in Seoul. Her parents are musical: her father, Na Young-soo (나영수) ...

, 2NE1 and Lee Eun-ha receive the Prime Minister's Commendation. *November 24 – "Gangnam Style" becomes the most viewed video on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

with 805 million views, surpassing

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

's "

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

". *November 30 – Psy, BigBang, and Super Junior win the grand prizes at the 2012 MAMA. *December 14 –

Busker Busker Busker Busker () is a South Korean indie band who rose to fame through their runner-up performance in the South Korean music audition television program ''Superstar K3'' on Mnet. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Jang Beom-june, bas ...

, Beast and Psy win the grand prizes at the annual Melon Music Awards. *December 18 – "Gangnam Style" is ranked number one on YouTube's list of top trending video of 2012. *December 21 – The music video for Gangnam Style" becomes the first video in YouTube history to surpass 1 billion views.

Award shows and festivals

Award ceremonies

Festivals

Debuting and disbanded in 2012

Debuted groups

* 100% * 15& * 24K *

2BiC 2BiC (Hangul: 투빅; short for To Be Continued) is a South Korean duo formed by Nextar Entertainment in Seoul, South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of ...

A.cian A.cian (Hangul: 에이션; pronounced Asian) is a South Korean boy band formed by Wings Entertainment (formerly ISS Entertainment) in Seoul, South Korea. The group currently consists of four members: Jungsang, Hyeokjin, Sanghyun and Jino. They ...

* A-Jax * A-Prince * AOA *

B.A.P B.A.P (; an acronym for Best Absolute Perfect) was a South Korean boy band formed in 2012 under TS Entertainment. B.A.P made their musical debut with the single "Warrior" on January 26, 2012, followed by the release of their debut EP ''Warrio ...

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a new l ...

BTOB } BtoB ( ; ; acronym for Born to Beat; often stylized as BTOB) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2012 by Cube Entertainment. The group consists of Seo Eun-kwang, Lee Min-hyuk, Lee Chang-sub, Im Hyun-sik, Peniel Shin and Yook Sung-jae. Or ...

C-Clown C-Clown ( ko, 씨클라운; short for Crown Clown) was a South Korean boy band under Yedang Entertainment. It had six members: Rome, Siwoo, Ray, Kang Jun, T.K, and Maru. They disbanded on October 5, 2015 after being together for three years. Hi ...

Crayon Pop Crayon Pop (Hangul: 크레용팝) is a South Korean girl group formed under Chrome Entertainment in 2012. The group consisted of four members: Geummi, Ellin, Choa, and Way. Their fifth member, Soyul, left the group in 2017. Crayon Pop officiall ...

Cross Gene Cross Gene (Korean: 크로스진; stylized as CROSS GENE) is a 6 member boy band based in South Korea which debuted on June 11, 2012. Signed under Amuse Korea, the group consists of South Korean member: Shin is the only member still under their ...

D-Unit D-Unit (Korean: ) was a South Korean girl group under the label D-Business Entertainment. The groups concept includes the addition of a new member with every promotion cycle. The group debuted as a trio consisting of Ram, UJin and Zin with a full ...

EvoL Evol may refer to: * ''Evol'' (Sonic Youth album), 1986 * ''Evol'' (Future album), 2016 * EvoL, South Korean girl group * "E.V.O.L.", a song by Marina and the Diamonds * ' Kamen Rider Evol', the main antagonist of a Japanese tokusatsu series, Ka ...

EXID EXID (; ; short for "Exceed in Dreaming") is a South Korean girl group formed in 2012. The group currently consists of five members: Heo Sol-ji, Solji, Elly (rapper), Elly, Hani (singer), Hani, Seo Hye-lin, Hyelin and Park Jeong-hwa, Jeonghwa. ...

EXO Exo ( ko, 엑소; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai ...

Fiestar Fiestar ( ko, 피에스타) was a South Korean girl group formed by Kakao M. Before the group's debut, they released a duet with label mate IU titled “Sea of Moonlight” for LOEN Entertainment's collective label album. The track ended up be ...

From the Airport From The Airport (Hangul: 프럼 디 에어포트) is a South Korean indie duo formed in 2012. The band consists of Milo and Zee. History Formation From The Airport came together in early 2012 when Milo (Producing, Guitar, Bass, Keys, Vocals) an ...

Gangkiz Gangkiz (Hangul: ) was a South Korean girl group formed by Core Contents Media. Consisting of members Jihyun, Sooeun, Hae-in, Somin, Eunbyul, Esther, and Hyeji, the group debuted in May 2012, with their first extended play, ''We Became Gang' ...

Girls' Generation-TTS Girls' Generation-TTS (, also known as TTS, TaeTiSeo, or Girls' Generation-TaeTiSeo) is the first sub-unit of South Korean girl group Girls' Generation, formed by SM Entertainment in 2012. It is composed of three Girls' Generation members: Taey ...

* GLAM *

Hello Venus Hello Venus (; often stylized as HELLOVENUS) was a South Korean girl group formed by Tricell Media (formerly a joint venture between Pledis Entertainment and Fantagio). The group originally consisted of: Alice, Nara, Lime, Yooara, Yoonjo and Yo ...

Hyungdon and Daejun Hyungdon and Daejun (Hangul: 형돈이와 대준이) is a South Korean duo under D.I. Music consisting of comedic television personalities Jung Hyung-don Jung Hyung-don (; born February 7, 1978) is a South Korean comedian and television host ...

JJ Project JJ Project () is a South Korean duo, consisting of Jay B and Park Jin-young (entertainer, born 1994), Jinyoung. They were formed by JYP Entertainment and released their debut single "Bounce" in May 2012. They later debuted as a part of Got7 in J ...

Lunafly Lunafly (Hangul: 루나플라이; sometimes stylized as LUNAFLY) is a South Korean 2-member group under Nega Network. The members are Yun and Sam. Their fans are called Lukies. They officially debuted on 27 September 2012 with their self-composed ...

* Mr. Mr. *

NU'EST NU'EST (; short for New Establish Style Tempo) was a South Korean boy band formed and managed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consisted of five members: JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. They debuted on March 15, 2012, with the single t ...

Puretty Puretty ( ko, 퓨리티) was a South Korean girl group formed by DSP Media. The group debuted in Japan in 2012 through the anime series '' Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future'', where fictionalized versions of the members appeared as the secondary cas ...

* Rainbow Pixie *

She'z She'z () was a South Korean girl group formed by independent company Line Entertainment in 2012. The group consists of Jinah, Taeyeon, Seyeon and Jiyoung. They made their official debut on May 17, 2012 with the song "My Way" ().Skarf Skarf ( ko, 스카프; stylized as SKarf) was a South Korean girl group formed by Alpha Entertainment. The meaning behind the group's name is based on the word "scarf". The S stands for Singapore while the C was switched out with the K for Korea. ...

* Skull & Haha *

Spica Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation α Virginis, which is Latinised to Alpha Virginis and abbreviated Alpha Vir or α Vir. Analys ...

* Sunny Days *

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

* Tasty *

The Barberettes The Barberettes () is a South Korean retro, doo-wop female group that debuted in 2014 as a trio, and is based in Seoul. With their covers and original music, they reproduce the sound of the 50s-60s music, and are referred to as a time slip girl g ...

The SeeYa The SeeYa ( ko, 더 씨야; stylized as "The SEEYA") was a South Korean R&B girl group that consisted of Minkyung, Youngjoo, Yoojin and Yeonkyung. They debuted on November 12, 2012 with the single album ''Good To Seeya'' featuring the title tr ...

The Solutions The Solutions () is a South Korean indie rock band under the label Happy Robot Records. They originally debuted as a duo with Naru and Park Sol in June 2012 with the digital single "Sounds of the Universe" from their self-titled album ''The Solut ...

Tiny-G Tiny-G (Korean: ) was a Korean group based in South Korea, formed in 2012 by GNG Production and disbanded in 2015. The group's last known line-up was the duo of J.Min and Dohee, but originally consisted of J.Min, Dohee, Mint and Myungji. Histo ...

Two X Two X ( ko, 투엑스) was a South Korean girl group from J. Tune Entertainment that debuted in 2012. The group's initial line-up consisted of five members: Jiu, Minjoo, Eun, Surin, and Eunyoung. The group released three singles: "Double Up" (2 ...

VIXX VIXX ( ko, 빅스 pronounced "vicks"; acronym for "voice, visual, value in excelsis") is a South Korean boy band formed by Jellyfish Entertainment through the 2012 reality show ''MyDOL''. Originally a sextet, the group is presently composed of fi ...

* Wonder Boyz * ZE:A Five

Solo debuts

Ailee Amy Lee (born May 30, 1989), known professionally as Ailee, is an American singer and songwriter based in South Korea. Amassing digital sales success in South Korea, she has released four studio albums, six extended plays, and twenty one singles, ...

Allen Kim Kim Ki-bum ( ko, 김기범 ; born December 29, 1990), now better known by his stage name in Japan Allen Kim, is a South Korean idol singer, actor, dancer and television host, best known for being a former member of South Korean boy band U-KISS. ...

Anda Anda or ANDA may refer to: Places China *Anda, Heilongjiang, a city in Heilongjiang, China *Anda railway station, a railway station in Anda, China Iran *Anda, Iran, a village in Fars Province, Iran Norway *Anda, Norway, an island in Øksnes mun ...

Baek A-yeon Baek A-yeon (; born March 11, 1993) is a South Korean singer and songwriter signed under Eden Entertainment. She is best known as the second runner-up contestant of ''K-pop Star.'' As a soloist, she has released a total of five extended plays ...

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

Han Seung-yeon Han Seung-yeon (born July 24, 1988), better known mononymously as Seungyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as the main vocalist of the South Korean girl group Kara and for her role in ''Hello, My Twenties!''. Early li ...

* John Park *

Juniel Choi Seo-ah (Korean: 최서아; born Choi Jun-hee on 3 September 1993), better known by her stage name Juniel, (Hangul: 주니엘, often stylized as JUNIEL) is a South Korean singer-songwriter. She began her career in Japan before eventually ...

Kim Sung-kyu Kim Sung-kyu (born April 28, 1989), referred to as Sunggyu or Sungkyu, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is the leader and main vocalist of South Korean boy band Infinite. In November 2012, Kim began his solo career with his first extend ...

Lee Hi Lee Ha-yi (; born September 23, 1996), known by her stage name Lee Hi, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. She first garnered attention as the runner-up of ''K-pop Star 1''. She debuted with single "1, 2, 3, 4" on October 28, 2012 and reac ...

Loco Loco or El Loco may refer to: Places United States * Loco, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Loco, Oklahoma, a village * Loco, Texas, an unincorporated community * Loco Mountain (Labinero, Montana), a mountain peak of the Crazy Mountains i ...

Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Polish, and Russian "St ...

Yong Jun-hyung Yong Jun-hyung (Hangul: 용준형; born Yong Jae-soon on December 19, 1989), commonly known as Junhyung, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. Junhyung rose to fame as a member of South Korean boy band Highli ...

Disbanded groups

* 2NB *

Big Mama Big mama () is a Chinese language neologism for an Internet censor on web bulletin board systems in the People's Republic of China. Big mamas are human censors and moderators on different online platforms who remove politically sensitive inform ...

Black Pearl The ''Black Pearl'' (formerly known as the ''Wicked Wench'') is a fictional ship in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. In the screenplay, the ''Black Pearl'' is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captained by ...

Broken Valentine Broken Valentine is a Korean alternative rock band notable for their 2011 appearance on the Korean television program ''Top Band''. History Broken Valentine was formed in 2002 under the name "6. August", but renamed themselves "B. August" in 200 ...

* JQT *

Loveholics Loveholics (Hangul: 러브홀릭스; previously known as Loveholic (Hangul: 러브홀릭)) was a South Korean modern rock group founded in April 2002 who released their first album in 2003. The band successfully released six albums, including a s ...

T-max T-Max (), stylized T-MAX or T.max, was a South Korean pop music group formed in 2007 under the label 2Step Entertainment (later Planet 905). The group began as a trio, where the "T" in its name was derived from the words "triple" and "trinity". ...

Releases in 2012

First quarter

January

February

March

Second quarter

April

May

June

Third quarter

July

August

September

Fourth quarter

October

November

December

Charts

* List of number-one hits of 2012 (South Korea) *

List of number-one albums of 2012 (South Korea) The Gaon Album Chart is a record chart that ranks the best-selling albums and EPs in South Korea. It is part of the Gaon Music Chart which launched in February 2010. The data for the chart is compiled by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tour ...

References

{{reflist South Korean music K-pop