K-pop exports H1, the highest ever at $168.5 billion

As the K-pop craze continued, record exports increased by more than 17% for the first six months of the year, reaching a new record high. The topography of the Korean wave is changing as well, with the United States overtaking China to become the second-largest exporter of K-pop records.

According to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday, album exports in the first half of this year stood at 132.93 million U.S. dollars, up 17.1% from a year ago. This is the highest amount ever recorded for the first half of the year. K-pop exports reached a record high of 233.11 million dollars in 2022, and this trend also continued this year.

In the first half of this year, K-pop stars were also prominent in the global market. BTS Jimin (pictured) became the first K-pop solo singer to enter the US Billboard main single chart “Hot 100” with her solo album title song “Like Crazy,” and ranked first at the same time. Suga's solo album "D-DAY" ranked second on the Billboard main album chart "Billboard 200" in May.


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