Continuing on from yesterday’s article, we step straight into part six of our series of the best-selling albums in South Korean history.
Our list of the ninety-seven albums which have sold more than one million copies in South Korea - making them the best-selling albums in South Korean history - continues with the next ten entries: numbers forty through thirty-one.
The figures showcased in this series of articles were sourced from Wikipedia, and all album figures were correct at the time of writing.
40: Aespa - Girls (1,645,255 copies sold)
After very recently overtaking BLACKPINK’s “The Album”, Aespa’s album “Girls” has now been recognised as the best-selling K-pop girl group album in South Korean history.
“Girls” is spearheaded by a lead single of the same name, along with the earlier released singles of “Illusion” almost six weeks earlier, and “Life’s Too Short (English version)” about two weeks in advance.
Since its release last month, Aespa’s “Girls” has already reached sales of more than 1.6 million copies.
*Please note: As a popular recent release, figures for this album may drastically change, and the above figures were correct at the time of writing.
39: NCT - Resonance Pt. 1 (1,647,710 copies sold)
The other half of the NCT 2020 project we haven’t spoken of yet - “Resonance Pt. 1” - is next on the list.
Featuring songs from all of the sub-units, including a Korean version of “From Home” by NCT U and an English version of “Make a Wish (Birthday Song)”, also by NCT U, the NCT 2020 Resonance project was the second studio album from the supergroup as a whole, following on from NCT 2018 Empathy.
The thirteen-track, forty-seven minute long album was slightly more successful than the second part of the release, achieving a total of over 1.6 million copies, and topping its predecessor by almost 100,000 copies.
38: TXT - Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child (1,660,556 copies sold)
In, strangely enough, their only appearance on this list of the best-selling albums in South Korea, we welcome TXT, along with their recently released EP “Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child”.
Peaking at number one on Japan’s Oricon and Billboard Japan charts, as well as South Korea’s Gaon charts, and the US World Albums Billboard charts, TXT’s 2022 release “Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child” features five tracks, with members of the group working as writers on all of the tracks.
The EP was a commercially successful release for the group, surpassing 810,000 pre-ordered copies within six days of the announcement, which surpassed their previous career high of 520,000 pre-orders for “The Chaos Chapter: Freeze”. The release has reached almost 1.7 million copies to date.
*Please note: As a popular recent release, figures for this album may drastically change, and the above figures were correct at the time of writing.
37: Stray Kids - Oddinary (1,676,172 copies sold)
JYP Entertainment’s eight-member boy group Stray Kids returns to number thirty-seven in our list with their ninth EP “Oddinary”.
Topping charts on Suomen virallinen lista (Finland), ZPAV (Poland), Gaon (South Korea), the US Billboard 200 and Billboard’s US World Albums, “Oddinary” features seven tracks, including unit songs “Waiting for Us” (featuring members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Seungmin, and I.N), and “Muddy Water” (featuring members Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, and Felix).
In the five months since its initial release, “Oddinary” has sold just over 1.67 million copies in South Korea.
*Please note: As a popular recent release, figures for this album may drastically change, and the above figures were correct at the time of writing.
36: Shin Seung-hun - Because I Love You (1,700,000 copies sold)
Already being featured for a fourth time, “Emperor of Ballads” Shin Seung-hun returns.
Released under label Dukyun Industries, Shin Seung-hun’s third album - 1993’s “Because I Love You” was his best-selling release to date at that time.
“Because I Love You” has sold 1.7 million copies in the almost three decades since it was first released.
35: G.o.d - Chapter 4 (1,738,082 copies sold)
The iconic first generation K-pop boy group under SidusHQ - g.o.d - finally premieres on this list of the best-selling South Korean albums.
The group’s fourth album release in 2001, “Chapter 4”, featured thirteen tracks. JYP Entertainment’s founder and CEO, Park Jin-young, acted as a producer on the album, alongside Jung Hoon-tak and Jung Hae-ik.
“Chapter 4” was g.o.d’s second record to sell more than 1,000,000 copies. Over the last twenty years, “Chapter 4” has sold over 1.73 million copies nationwide.
34: Shin Seung-hun - After A Long Time (1,800,000 copies sold)
Already back for the fifth time, Shin Seung-hun’s 1994 album “After A Long Time” features as the thirty-fourth best-selling album.
The eleven-track album beats the soloists previous album sales by 100,000 copies, and at 1.8 million copies sold across South Korea, made it his best-selling album to date at that point.
33: Seo Taiji and Boys - Seo Taiji and Boys (1,800,000 copies sold)
Returning to the list with their 1992 debut album, it’s the original trend-setters - Seo Taiji and Boys.
In their second appearance at number thirty-three, Seo Taiji and Boy’s third-best performing album was their initial debut album, 1992’s self-titled “Seo Taiji and Boys”. The album helped to define a generation of South Korean youngsters, and also helped to define the way in which K-pop worked as a whole.
Selling a total of 1.8 million copies, it “Seo Taiji and Boys” makes it as one of the best-selling albums in South Korean history.
You can check out our review of “Seo Taiji and Boys” here.
32: Byun Jin-sub - To Be Alone (1,800,000 copies sold)
In his second appearance, it’s pop singer Byun Jin-sub’s return.
This time appearing with his debut album “To Be Alone” (released in June of 1988 under label Ssangyong), Byun Jin-sub saw the second-best performing album of his career, with a total of 1.8 million copies sold.
31: Kim Gun-mo - Exchange (1,810,000 copies sold)
Kim Gun-mo appears with the fourth of his albums to have sold more than 1,000,000 copies within South Korea.
Kim Gun-mo’s fourth studio album - 1996’s “Exchange” - was the first album that he released under the Geoneum label, whereas his three previous albums had been released under Line Production labels.
Although less successful than two of his previous three albums, it was still more successful than his original debut album, selling 1.81 million copies.
Have you listened to any of the albums listed above, or do you own any of them? Which of these ten albums are your favourite? Let us know by commenting on our socials @KpopWise. And make sure to tune in tomorrow as we showcase the albums from number thirty to twenty-one on our list of the best-selling albums in South Korean history.