BTS is the best-selling artist in South Korean history. Their Map of the Soul: 7 album is the first to sell over 4 and 5 million copies.Kim Gun-mo's Wrongful Meeting was the best-selling album in South Korea for 24 years, with an estimated 3.3 million copies sold.Shin Seung-hun was the best-selling artist in South Korea with 17 million cumulative album sales, until the record was broken by BTS in 2020.[1]Seo Taiji is the first artist to have a million-seller album both as a soloist and as part of a group.[2]
This is a list of the best-selling albums of recorded music in South Korea. 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 March 2021, Map of the Soul: 7 by South Korean boy band BTS is the best-selling album of all time in the country.[3][needs update]Kim Gun-mo'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[4]—until it was surpassed by BTS' Map of the Soul: Persona in 2019.[5][6]
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.[7] Between 1999 and 2007, the Music Industry Association of Korea (MIAK) published monthly charts, with fifty chart positions and detailed sales for each album.[8] Following the sharp decline of domestic music sales in the 21st century,[9] the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) introduced the Gaon Album Chart in February 2010, which included a detailed breakdown of online chart data.[10] The KMCA began awarding sales certifications for albums in April 2018—only albums released after January 1, 2018 are eligible.[10] 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's The Bodyguard (1992) and Mariah Carey's Music Box (1993). BTS is the act with the most million-selling albums, having twelve, followed by Seventeen, with eleven. In 2017, BTS' Love Yourself: Her became the first album released since 2001 to sell over 1 million copies,[11][12] while in 2018 the band's Love Yourself: Answer became the first to sell over 2 million copies since 2000.[13] In 2019, the band's Map of the Soul: Persona became the first album to sell over 3 million copies since 1997. This was followed by Map of the Soul: 7, which became the first album in chart history to surpass 4 and 5 million sales, in 2020 and 2022 respectively.[14][15] Seventeen's FML became the first album to sell over 6 million copies, in 2023.[16] In 2013, the combined sales of Exo's XOXO and its repackage exceeded 1 million copies,[17] while in 2019 BTS became the first act to sell 1 million copies of both an album and its repackage, when Wings and You Never Walk Alone each surpassed 1 million sales that year.
As of 2023, according to Circle Chart,[A] BTS is the best-selling artist in South Korean history, having sold more than 40 million albums.[19]
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.
^ abcdeEstimated sales data is based on "Gil Board Chart",[43] illegal copies sold from pirated CD's or cassettes. Though considered unofficial, some of these figures have been verified and used in official capacity, for example, by Guinness World Records and the Golden Disc Awards.[44]
^Wrongful Meeting is estimated[b] to have sold 3,300,000 copies.[6]
^Memory is estimated[b] to have sold 3,000,000 copies.[58]
^Back To You is estimated[b] to have sold 3,000,000 copies.[70]
^My Love by My Side is estimated[b] to have sold 2,000,000 copies.[44]
^For Love is estimated[b] to have sold 3,000,000 copies.[44]
^This figure includes sales up to August 1998 only.
^This figure includes repackage sales as only combined sales data was made available after the album's release.
^[뉴스파일] 음반 판매량 매달 공개 .. 한국영상음반협회 [[News File] Monthly release of album sales .. Korea Video Video & Record Distributors Association]. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). August 24, 1998. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
^1999년 2월 가요음반판매량 [February 1999 music album sales]. www.riak.or.kr (in Korean). July 20, 2018. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
^Kwon, Seok-jeong (December 30, 2013). 결과론적으로 말해서, 엑소의 100만장, 절대 팬덤의 도래 [As a result, Exo's 1 million copies, the arrival of absolute fandom]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2018 – via Hankyung.com.
^ abKim, Hyun-sik (April 20, 2018). '10억 스트리밍=다이아몬드' 음콘협, '가온 인증제' 도입 ['1 billion streaming = diamond' Korea Music Content Association introduces Gaon certification system]. No Cut News (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
^美빌보드 찍고 밀리언셀러…K팝 역사 새로 쓰는 방탄소년단 [US Billboard and Million Sellers...BTS writes a new chapter in K-pop history]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). October 13, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
^Kim, Eun-ae (October 13, 2017). 방탄소년단, 16년만에 단일앨범 120만장 돌파 대기록..가요계 대역사 [BTS, the first single album in 16 years to break through 1.2 million copies, a great record in the music industry]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 – via Naver.
^Jo, Gwang-hyung (November 11, 2018). 방탄소년단, 리패키지 앨범 LOVE YOURSELF 結 'Answer' 203만장 돌파 [BTS, repackaged album LOVE YOURSELF 結 'Answer' surpassed 2.03 million copies]. NewDaily (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
^Park, Jeong-seon (November 10, 2022). 블랙핑크·지코, 10월 써클차트서 나란히 2관왕. Dailian (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^엑소 1집 판매량 100만 장 돌파…밀리언셀러 등극 [Exo's first album has sold more than 1 million copies...Become a Million Seller]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). December 27, 2013. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
^Kim, Hyun-shik (June 9, 2023). 빌보드 석권·매출 1조…'K팝 선봉장' BTS가 일군 기적들[BTS 10주년]① [Sweeping Billboard, 1 trillion won in sales… The miracles accomplished by BTS, the leader of K-pop [BTS 10th anniversary]①]. EDaily (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
^Cumulative sales of FML (CD + Weverse Album + kit):
^ abcKim, Jin-suk (December 12, 2016). [31회 골든]故 김현식·김종환·변진섭의 사연있는 '대상' [[31st Golden] 'Grand Prize' with the stories of the late Kim Hyun-sik, Kim Jong-hwan, and Byeon Jin-sub]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
^ abcChoi, Seong-cheol (July 23, 2015). [8090 이 노래 이 명반] ４. 이문세 4집·5집 [[8090 This song is a masterpiece] 4. Lee Moon-se's 4th and 5th albums]. Busan Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
^Cumulative sales of The Name Chapter: Freefall (CD + Weverse Album):
^Kwon, Jin-guk (August 6, 2017). 김종환, 딸 리아킴과 아내 애틋한 사연 눈길...'1집 실패로 가족 흩어져' [Kim Jong-hwan, daughter Lia Kim, and his wife's affectionate eyes...'Failed first album, family split up']. Kookje Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
^ abEom, Dong-jin (October 28, 2015). '안듣고는 못 배길걸' 신승훈 컴백, 관전포인트4 ['You can't help but listen' Shin Seung-hoon's comeback, watching point 4]. JTBC News (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
^ abcLee, Seung-ryun (January 31, 2018). 이주노와 양현석...이들 활동했던 '서태지와 아이들'에 관심 집중 [Lee Ju-no and Yang Hyun-suk...Attention is focused on Seo Taiji and Boys]. Kookje Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
^Cumulative sales of Layover (CD + Weverse Album + LP):
^ abcYang, Eun-kyeong (March 30, 2001). 6집 '연'으로 돌아온 조관우 / 'R&B에 한국적情恨 담았어요' [Jo Kwan-woo, who returned with the 6th album 'Yeon' / 'I put Korean love in R&B']. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
^Lee, Jae-hoon (February 20, 2019). 가수 조관우, 다녀와 보니 더욱 절절합니다···'평양에게' [Singer Jo Kwan-woo, now that I've been there, I'm even more desperate....'To Pyongyang']. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
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^2000년 3월 가요음반판매량 [March 2000 Album Sales Figures] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
^Kang, Hye-ran (June 28, 2011). 유재하 '사랑하기 때문에' 비화 [Yoo Jae-ha's 'Because I Love You' story] (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
^ abEom, Dong-jin (December 28, 2015). [30th 골든★열전②] '응답하라 1988'이 소환한 변진섭 편 [[30th Golden★Hot War②] Byeon Jin-sub summoned by 'Reply 1988']. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
^ abKim, Mi-yeong (March 8, 2018). [ESC] 발라드 전설 변진섭···세대 공감 아이콘으로 날갯짓 [[ESC] Ballad legend Byun Jin-sub…flaps its wings as an icon of sympathy for generations]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
^Cumulative sales of Minisode 2: Thursday's Child:
^ abLee, Ji-hyeon (August 17, 2015). '런닝맨' 박준형-김건모-DJ DOC, 90년대 레전드의 음반판매량은? ['Running Man' Park Joon-hyung-Kim Gun-mo-DJ DOC, how much did the '90s legends sell?]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
^Cumulative sales of Fact Check (CD + SMC + Nemo):
^ ab2000년 가요음반판매량 [2000 Album Sales Figures] (in Korean). Music Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
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^ abcChoi, Jun-yong (September 27, 2011). 국민가수 벗은 김건모 "또 다른 시작을 위한 앨범"(인터뷰) [National singer Kim Gun-mo "An album for a new beginning" (Interview)]. The Korea Herald (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
2001년 12월 가요음반판매량 [December 2001 Album Sales Figures] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
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^Cumulative sales of Dark Blood (CD + Weverse Album):
^ abc신승훈 '심신부터 동방신기까지 동료' [Shin Seung-hun, 'From Mind and Body to TVXQ']. SBS News (in Korean). October 2, 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
^Cumulative sales of The World EP.Fin: Will (CD + Minirecord):
2001년 12월 가요음반판매량 [December 2001 Album Sales Figures] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. January 2002. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
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^98년 국내 음반시장 결산 [1998 Domestic Music Market Roundup]. Imaeil. December 14, 1998. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
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^2002.02월 - 가요 음반 판매량 [February 2002 Album Sales Figures] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on March 31, 2005. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
^ ab1999년 12월 가요음반판매량 [December 1999 Album Sales Figures] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
^Lee, Unhyuk (January 7, 2010). 휘트니휴스턴 첫 내한공연 '10년만의 정규 월드투어 한국서 시작' [Whitney Houston's first concert in Korea 'The first regular world tour in 10 years begins in Korea']. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
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^Cumulative sales of Jack in the Box (Weverse Album + LP + CD):
^1999년 2월 가요음반판매량 [February 1999 K-pop Sales Figures] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
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^Ye, Young-joon (December 26, 1996). 머라이어 캐리 '뮤직박스' 100만장 돌파 [Mariah Carey's 'Music Box' sold over 1 million copies]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
^Kim, Youn-ha (September 13, 2007). [대중음악 100대 명반]7위 신중현과 엽전들 '신중현과 엽전들' [[Popular music 100 best albums] 7th place Shin Jung-hyun and Yup Juns 'Shin Jung Hyun & Yup Juns']. The Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
^Oh, Kwang-soo (March 25, 2018). [노래의 탄생]조용필 '창밖의 여자' [[Birth of a Song] Cho Yong-pil's 'Woman Outside the Window']. The Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
^Im, Seon-yeong (February 2, 2017). 예능서 다시 뜨는 김완선 "알아요, 제 가창력 별로였죠" [Kim Wan-sun, who re-appears in variety shows, "I know, my singing ability was not good"]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
^ abcKang, Seung-a (October 13, 2016). [대중음악가 열전]29. 015B (공일오비) [[Popular Musician]29. 015B]. Busan Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
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^DJ DOC의 굴욕…MOMO X '중고나라 체험기' 공개 [The humiliation of DJ DOC… MOMO X 'Junggo Nara Experience' Released]. The Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). August 5, 2016. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
^Choi, Han-seung (April 26, 2013). 마성(魔聲) 조관우 LA 온다 [Jo Kwan-woo is coming to LA]. Korea Herald Business (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
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