List Of Best-selling Albums In South Korea
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This is a list of the best-selling albums of recorded 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 ...
. 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 2022, '' Map of the Soul: 7'' by South Korean boy band
BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...
is the best-selling album of all time in the country. Released in February 2020, the studio album claimed the record with over 4.1 million copies sold in less than a month.
Kim Gun-mo Kim Gun-mo (; born January 13, 1968) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, who is considered the country's most successful musical artist of the 1990s. His 1995 album, '' Wrongful Meeting,'' previously held the Guinness World Record for the bes ...
'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—until it was surpassed by BTS' '' Map of the Soul: Persona'' in 2019. 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. Between 1999 and 2007, the Music Industry Association of Korea (MIAK) published monthly charts, with fifty chart positions and detailed sales for each album. Following the sharp decline of domestic music sales in the 21st century, the
Korea Music Content Association The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. It is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored by South Korea's ...
(KMCA) introduced the
Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their Record sales, pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, pr ...
in February 2010, which included a detailed breakdown of online chart data. The KMCA began awarding sales certifications for albums in April 2018—only albums released after January 1, 2018 are eligible. 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 Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
's '' The Bodyguard'' (1992) and
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
's ''
Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...
'' (1993). BTS is the act with the most million-selling albums, having eleven, followed by
Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
, with seven. BTS' '' Love Yourself: Her'' became the first album released since 2001 to sell over 1 million copies in 2017, and BTS' '' Love Yourself: Answer'' became the first album to sell over 2 million copies since 2000 in 2018. BTS' ''Map of the Soul: Persona'' became the first album to sell over 3 million copies since 1997 in 2019. This was followed by ''Map of the Soul: 7,'' which became the first album ever to surpass 4 million sales in 2020, and later 5 million sales in 2022. In 2013, the combined sales of
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 ...
's '' XOXO'' and its repackage exceeded 1 million copies, and in 2019 BTS became the first act to sell 1 million copies of both an album and its repackage, with ''Wings'' and ''
You Never Walk Alone ''Wings'' is the second Korean studio album by South Korean boy band BTS. The album was released on October 10, 2016, by Big Hit Entertainment. It is available in four versions and contains fifteen tracks, with " Blood Sweat & Tears" serving as ...
'' each surpassing 1 million sales.


Legend


2 million or more copies


1 million–1.9 million copies

, - , H.O.T. , ''I Yah!'' , 1999 , 1,383,985
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NCT Dream NCT Dream () is the third sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed by SM Entertainment in 2016. They were initially intended to be the teenaged unit of NCT with an admission-and-graduation system, in which members would leave after rea ...
, '' Hello Future'' , 2021 , 1,382,783
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Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
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An Ode ''An Ode'' is the third studio album by South Korean boy band Seventeen. It was released on September 16, 2019, through Pledis Entertainment. The album spawned two singles, "Hit" was released as the album's lead single on August 5, 2019, followed ...
'' , 2019 , 1,327,745
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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 ...
, '' Don't Fight the Feeling'' , 2021 , 1,326,189
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Enhypen Enhypen (; ja, エンハイプン; ''Enhaipun''; stylized as ENHYPEN) is a South Korean boy band formed by Belift Lab, a joint venture between CJ ENM and Hybe Corporation, through the 2020 survival competition show ''I-Land''. The group is com ...
, '' Dimension: Dilemma'' , 2021 , 1,321,441
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Shin Seung-hun Shin Seung-hun (; born 21 March 1966) is a South Korean singer-songwriter who was known in the 1990s as the "Emperor of Ballads." He debuted in 1990 with the hit song, "Reflection of You in Your Smile," and has since released 12 studio albums. B ...
, ''Shin Seung Hun VI'' , 1998 , 1,310,000
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Jo Kwan-woo Jo Kwan-woo (; born August 3, 1965) is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a singer in 1994 and experienced great success with his second album, 1995's ''Memory'', which sold 3 million copies and is considered one of the best albums o ...
, ''My Third Story About...'' , 1996 , 1,300,000
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Seo Taiji Jeong Hyeon-cheol (Korean: 정현철; born February 21, 1972), better known as Seo Taiji or Seo Tae-ji (서태지), is a South Korean singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, ...
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Ultramania ''Ultramania'' is the second studio album by Korean musician Seo Taiji. Although it is the second solo album by Seo, some refer to it as his sixth counting the four albums released by Seo Taiji and Boys. The album, with its nu metal sound, has sold ...
'' , 2000 , 1,300,000
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Kim Gun-mo Kim Gun-mo (; born January 13, 1968) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, who is considered the country's most successful musical artist of the 1990s. His 1995 album, '' Wrongful Meeting,'' previously held the Guinness World Record for the bes ...
, ''Myself'' , 1997 , 1,210,000
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Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
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Semicolon The semicolon or semi-colon is a symbol commonly used as orthographic punctuation. In the English language, a semicolon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought. When a ...
'' , 2020 , 1,206,112
, , - , Byun Jin-sub , ''Farewell'' , 1990 , 1,200,000 , , - style="background:#FDE6F8" ,
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
/various artists , '' The Bodyguard Original Soundtrack Album'' , 1992 , 1,200,000
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NCT 127 NCT 127 () is the first fixed and second overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment. The current lineup consists of nine active members: Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo ...
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Favorite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...
'' , 2021 , 1,165,336
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Lim Young-woong Lim Young-woong (; born June 16, 1991) is a South Korean trot, ballad and pop singer, entertainer and YouTuber. He signed with Mulgogi Music in 2016 and debuted as a singer with his first single "Hate You". Four years later, he rose to stardom ...
, '' Im Hero'' , 2022 , 1,138,876
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Seo Taiji Jeong Hyeon-cheol (Korean: 정현철; born February 21, 1972), better known as Seo Taiji or Seo Tae-ji (서태지), is a South Korean singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, ...
, '' Seo Tai Ji'' , 1998 , 1,133,736
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BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...
, '' The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever'' , 2016 , 1,122,025
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Twice Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaey ...
, '' Between 1&2'' , 2022 , 1,121,134
, , - , Clon , ''Are You Ready?'' , 1996 , 1,120,000
, , - , H.O.T. , ''Resurrection'' , 1998 , 1,103,439
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Kim Hyun-sik Kim Hyun-sik (7 January 1958 – 1 November 1990) was a South Korean musician, active during the 1980s. He debuted in 1980, releasing his first album, ''Spring Summer Fall Winter'', along with his band of the same name. He died at the age of 32 f ...
, ''My Love by My Side'' , 1991 , 1,100,000
, , - , Kim Jong-hwan , ''For Love'' , 1997 , 1,100,000
, , - ,
NCT 127 NCT 127 () is the first fixed and second overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment. The current lineup consists of nine active members: Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo ...
, ''
Neo Zone ''Neo Zone'' (also known as ''NCT #127: Neo Zone'') is the second Korean studio album (third overall) by the South Korean boy band NCT 127. Preceded by the music video release for "Dreams Come True" on NCT 127 Day, January 27 (1/27), the 13-trac ...
'' , 2020 , 1,064,647
, , - style="background:#D0F2FF" , TXT , '' The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape'' , 2021 , 1,082,182
, , - style="background:#E6FFE6" , Jin , '' The Astronaut'' , 2022 , 1,035,369
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Baekhyun Byun Baek-hyun (; born May 6, 1992), better known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. Baekhyun began training under SM Entertainment in 2011. A few months later, he made his debut in 2012 as a member of the ...
, '' Delight'' , 2020 , 1,031,993
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Itzy Itzy (stylized in all caps; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment and consisting of members Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna. They debuted on February 12, 2019, with the release of their single album ''It'z Different'' ...
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Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...
'' , 2022 , 1,025,434
, , - , TXT , '' The Chaos Chapter: Freeze'' , 2021 , 1,020,279
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Baekhyun Byun Baek-hyun (; born May 6, 1992), better known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. Baekhyun began training under SM Entertainment in 2011. A few months later, he made his debut in 2012 as a member of the ...
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Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. ...
'' , 2021 , 1,007,625
, , - , Ateez , '' The World EP.1: Movement'' , 2022 , 1,002,031
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Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
, ''
Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...
'' , 1993 , 1,000,682
, , - , The Pearl Sisters , ''My Dear'' , 1968 , 1,000,000
, , - , Shin Jung Hyun & Yup Juns , ''Shin Jung Hyun & Yup Juns Vol. 1'' , 1974 , 1,000,000
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Cho Yong-pil Cho Yong-pil (; born March 21, 1950) is a South Korean singer who is considered one of the most influential figures in Korean popular music. He debuted as a member of the rock band Atkins in 1968 and made his solo debut with the hit single "Co ...
, ''Woman Outside the Window'' , 1980 , 1,000,000
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Joo Hyun-mi Joo Hyun Mi (Hangul: 주현미, born September 27, 1961) also known as Choo Hyun-mi, Ju Hyun-mi, Zhou Xuanmei or Chow Shiuan-mei, is a South Korean legendary singer, who is one of the nation's most successful trot singers. She debuted in 1984, ...
, ''Couple's Party'' , 1984 , 1,000,000
, , - , Kim Wan-sun , ''Pierrot Smiles at Us'' , 1990 , 1,000,000
, , - ,
015B 015B () is a South Korean music duo that debuted in 1990 and went on to become one of the country's most popular acts of the early 1990s. The group name which means literally "A crow flies across the sky" and it consists of brothers Jeong Seok-won ...
, ''The Third Wave'' , 1992 , 1,000,000
, , - ,
Kim Gun-mo Kim Gun-mo (; born January 13, 1968) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, who is considered the country's most successful musical artist of the 1990s. His 1995 album, '' Wrongful Meeting,'' previously held the Guinness World Record for the bes ...
, ''Sleepless Rainy Night'' , 1992 , 1,000,000
, , - ,
015B 015B () is a South Korean music duo that debuted in 1990 and went on to become one of the country's most popular acts of the early 1990s. The group name which means literally "A crow flies across the sky" and it consists of brothers Jeong Seok-won ...
, ''The Fourth Movement'' , 1993 , 1,000,000
, , - ,
Jo Kwan-woo Jo Kwan-woo (; born August 3, 1965) is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a singer in 1994 and experienced great success with his second album, 1995's ''Memory'', which sold 3 million copies and is considered one of the best albums o ...
, ''My First Story'' , 1994 , 1,000,000
, , - ,
015B 015B () is a South Korean music duo that debuted in 1990 and went on to become one of the country's most popular acts of the early 1990s. The group name which means literally "A crow flies across the sky" and it consists of brothers Jeong Seok-won ...
, ''Big 5'' , 1994 , 1,000,000
, , - ,
DJ DOC DJ D.O.C. is a South Korean hip-hop trio consisting of members Kim Chang-yeol, Lee Ha-neul and Jung Jae-yong. DJ D.O.C. stands for Dream Of Children. DJ DOC released their first album, ''Sorrow of Superman'', in 1994. During a time when Korean h ...
, ''4th Album'' , 1997 , 1,000,000
, , - ,
Jo Kwan-woo Jo Kwan-woo (; born August 3, 1965) is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a singer in 1994 and experienced great success with his second album, 1995's ''Memory'', which sold 3 million copies and is considered one of the best albums o ...
, ''Waiting'' , 1997 , 1,000,000
,


Best-selling album by year

Sales of standard release and reissue albums in a year. This list does not include sales of the same album in other years apart from the specified calendar year. For a list of total sales, see sections above.


See also

*
List of best-selling singles in South Korea This is an incomplete list of best-selling singles in South Korea. All singles listed here have officially sold at least three million copies. Unless otherwise specified, all sales figures are digital downloads compiled by the Korea Music Conte ...
*
List of certified albums in South Korea The Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) was established in 2008, with the purpose of promoting the professional interests of its members, as well as being involved in anti-piracy. It introduced the first official South Korean music cha ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best-selling albums in South Korea
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 ...
South Korean music-related lists