In 2023, K-Pop witnessed a series of events that helped expand the influence of uniquely Korean pop music globally.

2023 is a successful year for K-pop, marked by events such as the solo activities of BTS members before enlisting, the rise of K-pop groups without Korean members, and The rise of fifth generation K-pop bands, or tours in many countries by groups… continue to help K-pop develop and attract international audiences.

The poster has an image of BTS members in front of a cafe in Seoul – Photo: AFP-Yonhap

BTS members flourish in their solo careers

BTS – the globally famous K-pop group, known for its pivotal role in the globalization of K-pop, saw all of its members enlist this year. However, before enlisting, each member participated in many different solo activities and left their mark.

Eldest brother Jin begins his military enlistment in 2022, followed by J-hope in April this year and SUGA begins his social service work in September 2023. RM and V enlisted on December 11, while Jimin and Jungkook also enlisted a day later, December 12. It is expected that BTS will reunite for group activities in 2025, which is after 18 months of members performing mandatory service in Korea.

During the group’s hiatus, each member of BTS pursued solo activities, with a number of highly rated music products and quickly achieved great success on a global scale.

J-hope released “on the street” in March 2023, while Jin released the single “The Astronaut” right before enlisting in the army. RM released his first solo album “Indigo” and Jimin also surprised fans with his first solo album “FACE” in March.

The members of the BTS group have all had success as solo singers in 2023 – Photo: K-pop

SUGA continued his solo journey with “D-DAY” in April 2023, completing the trilogy including the mixtapes “August D” and “D-2”. He made history as the first member of BTS to conduct a world tour as a solo singer, performing a total of 25 times in 10 cities from April to June 2023.

Jungkook’s solo song “Seven” became a global phenomenon in July 2023, topping Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and setting many records. He continued his solo journey with consecutive releases such as “3D” and “Standing Next to You”.

Finally, V also embarked on his solo career and released his first album “Layover” in November 2023. The title song “Slow Dancing” received acclaim from fans.

The rise of K-pop groups without Koreans

One of the most notable phenomena in the K-pop scene this year is the appearance of groups consisting entirely of non-Korean members. Although some have argued that they do not fit neatly into the K-pop genre, many still see them as novel acts that showcase a wider range of cultural diversity.

Girl group BLACKSWAN does not have any Korean members.

At the forefront of the new trend is the girl group BLACKSWAN, consisting of Senegalese-Belgian Fatou, German-Brazilian Gabi, American NVee and Sriya from India. The group had Korean members when it first appeared on the music scene in 2020, but they have all left the activities. After rebranding as a quartet in 2022, BLACKSWAN has been hitting one high note after another, with the music video for their May release “Karma,” racking up more than 7 million views on YouTube as of December 20.

“We are very excited to form the K-pop girl group of our dreams,” BLACKSWAN said through its management company DR Music.

Besides BLACKSWAN, many groups like NiziU and HORI7ON are also carving out their own niche in the K-pop industry, mesmerizing fans with their international flavor. The former is an all-Japanese group formed by JYP Entertainment, while the latter is a rookie boy band consisting of 7 Filipinos.

Fifth generation K-pop boy band debuts

After fourth generation K-pop groups reached their peak, 2023 marked the arrival of fifth generation idols, with many boy bands debuting and revitalizing the K-pop industry.

SM Entertainment, the giant K-pop powerhouse, introduced the 7-member boy band RIIZE in September. Their debut single, “Get A Guitar”, has surpassed 1.03 million pre-orders, brought the group the million-selling title right from their debut. RIIZE’s success extended to awards, winning the “Favorite New Artist” award at the 2023 Mama Awards held at Tokyo Dome, Japan, and receiving the “Rookie of the Year” award at Melon Music Awards.

The group ZEROBASEONE (left) and RIIZE are representatives of the 5th generation K-pop boy band – Photo: Yonhap

KOZ Entertainment, affiliated with BTS’s management company HYBE, unveiled BOYNEXTDOOR, a six-man sextet produced by Korean rapper Zico, in May. Their first mini album, “WHY..,” hit the charts. international recognition by ranking at number 162 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Mnet’s 2023 survival audition show “Boys Planet” led to the formation of ZEROBASEONE with nine top trainees. Launched this summer, they quickly attracted over 1 million followers on their official Instagram account within six days, and within five months of their launch, they’ve won nine awards.

The mark of the girl group

In 2023, the K-pop industry marks a global expansion with the girl group craze continuing the trend from last year. While superstar BTS went on a temporary hiatus due to the members’ mandatory military service, posing a new challenge, their solo efforts and the huge success of their young groups helped the K phenomenon. -pop exists and develops.

Girl group NewJeans has achieved much success in 2023 – Photo: Yonhap

The growth of new girl groups, especially led by NewJeans and Ive, has been especially notable this year. NewJeans attracted attention with their first single album “OMG” and second EP “Get Up”, which broke domestic and foreign charts when released in January and July 2023, respectively.

Achieving the milestone of topping the Billboard 200 within a year of their debut, the K-pop group solidified their global status by winning Top Global K-Pop Artist. first at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards last month. In addition, the group also won 19th place on Apple Music’s year-end chart with the hit “Ditto”.

The group then emerged as the biggest winners at South Korea’s two major annual K-pop music awards – the MAMA Awards and the Melon Music Awards – winning two of the four coveted grand prizes at each event.

Meanwhile, Ive’s group attracted widespread media attention when they won both the rookie and grand prizes at many local annual K-pop awards last year. Continuing their hot streak, the group made a mark this year with “Kitsch” and “I Am”, along with songs from their first EP “I’ve Mine”, based on the achievements of ” Eleven”, “Love Dive” and “After Like”.

Several others representing 4th generation girl groups such as Le Sserafim, aespa, and (G)I-dle also led the golden age of girl groups this year, dominating one after another. many domestic music charts.