The whole world has been and is being influenced by the Kpop wave. K-pop is a term used for the music and culture surrounding the Korean language. They are usually from Korea, but many K-pop group members are from Japan, China, and Thailand. Most artists are established through companies.
Every year the popularity of artists changes as trends and tastes change. In addition, the popularity of artists varies depending on demographics and listeners’ age group. As the music industry develops, more and more groups are released.
Kpop idols are very talented; some people have all-around talent, which means they can sing, dance, and rap simultaneously. Every K-pop group has its unique style, and they’re not afraid to try new genres and achieve incredible milestones. Now let’s find out the 27 most famous K-pop groups worldwide.
Table of Contents
- 1. BTS – Symbol Of K-Pop’s Success
- 2. Blackpink – Top K-pop Girl Group In The World
- 3. EXO – “King of K-Pop”
- 4. TWICE – Korea’s Top Favorite Girl Group
- 5. Super Junior – K-Pop Legend
- 6. Big Bang – Korea’s Greatest Group
- 7. Ive – K-pop Monster Rookie
- 8. Aespa – SM’s Colorful Flower Garden
- 9. Red Velvet – The Group Of Talented Girls
- 10. Girls Generation – Kpop’s No. 1 Girl Group
- 11. Mamamoo – The Wild Muse Of K-pop
- 12. NCT – Special Youth Group In K-pop
- 13. Apink – Soft Pink In The Brilliant Picture Of Kpop
- 14. SHINee – SM Entertainment’s Top Boygroup
- 15. (G) I-dle – Blooming Flowers In The Garden Of K-pop
- 16. Stray Kids – The 4th Generation Leading K-pop Group In 2021
- 17. NU’EST – Symbol Of Miraculous Revival Of KPOP Group
- 18. TXT – Five Golden Boys Of K-Pop
- 19. Enhyphen – Rookie Boy Group Coming Out Of I-LAND
- 20. ITZY – Five Personality Puzzle Pieces
- 21. Weekly – Rookie Group 10X
- 22. Oh My Girl – The Hope Of The New Generation K-Pop
- 23. The Boyz – KPOP’s Outstanding Boy Group
- 24. Astro – The Group Of Handsome Idols In Kpop
- 25. Highlight – The Group Of Musical Talents
- 26. Seventeen – The Almighty Group Of The HYBE
- 27. T-ara – Korea’s Famous Girl Group
1. BTS – Symbol Of K-Pop’s Success
BTS is undoubtedly the most famous K-pop group of all time and also the most popular K-pop group in the world right now. The seven-member group has taken ARMY, their fandom, on an incredible journey with the group’s musical career. BTS is deeply involved in their musical activities, which makes fans love them more than ever. The group signed with HYBE Entertainment (formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment).
Seven people make up BTS: Kim Namjoon, the group’s leader, Kim Seokjin, the group’s eldest sibling, Min Yoongi, Jung Heosok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung (also known as V), and golden maknae Jeon Jungkook. During their active career, BTS has brought home many prestigious awards, such as nine awards at the Billboard Music Awards, 24 at the Golden Disk Awards, and one nomination at the Grammy Awards.
2. Blackpink – Top K-pop Girl Group In The World
After BTS, BLACKPINK is considered the world’s most famous Kpop girl group. Their BLINK fanbase is also quite large, second only to BTS’s ARMY fans. They include four talented members: the eldest sister Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and the youngest, Lisa. The members of Blackpink are all very talented because they can sing, rap, and dance, especially Jennie and Lisa.
They are recognized for their girl crush image, and fans are pleased to see that they are branching into new musical genres. They made their debut in 2016 and were signed to YG Entertainment. Blackpink has achieved many outstanding achievements and set many records.
BlackPink’s debut song “Boombayah” topped Billboard’s World Digital Songs chart right after its release. BlackPink is now recognized as a global group and the Korean girl group with the highest charting position on Billboard’s Social 50 chart.
3. EXO – “King of K-Pop”
EXO is another famous K-pop group. The group that debuted with twelve members was divided into two subgroups, Exo-K and Exo-M. Exo-K members are Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, DO, Kai, and Sehun. Exo-M members include Xiumin, Lay, Chen, and former members Kris, Luhan, and Tao. Their followers are Exo-L, and their extraordinary successes have earned them a spot on the list of the world’s most popular K-pop groups.
EXO is a Korean-Chinese boy group formed in 2012 under the management of SM Entertainment. Up to now, EXO has won many prestigious awards in the domestic and international music market. EXO is also the first group to win five times in a row at the MAMA Awards, four times in a row at the Golden Disk Awards, and 24 times won the Daesang and countless other big and small awards.
4. TWICE – Korea’s Top Favorite Girl Group
TWICE is currently under contract with JYP Entertainment. TWICE consists of 9 members, eldest sister Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, leader Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. TWICE’s fans are called ONCE. ONCE mainly come from Japan, China, and other Asian countries. TWICE is a girl group formed through the reality TV show Sixteen 2015. By 2016, the group quickly became famous with the hit Cheer Up, which became the highest charting single.
In just 19 months after their debut, TWICE sold more than 1.24 million copies, one unique album, and four expansion discs. Up to now, this 9-member girl group owns 13 MVs with more than 100 million views on Youtube and many other awards and titles.
5. Super Junior – K-Pop Legend
Super Junior debuted in 2005 with 13 members, but the group is active with nine members. It is known that the starting point of Super Junior is a project group selected by SM management company as a model, actor, MC, etc. However, Super Junior became famous and has been active until now.
This large group of members not only contributed to the explosion of the Hallyu wave internationally but also brought home countless awards, such as 13 times winning awards at the MAMA awards ceremony and 19 times winning at the Golden Disk awards ceremony. Awards. Super Junior also impressed fans around the world with eight official tours. Primarily among them are The World Tour, Super Show 5 tour starting in Seoul, China, Japan, South America, and finally Europe for a whole year.
6. Big Bang – Korea’s Greatest Group
Referring to the most popular K-pop groups, it is impossible not to mention Big Bang. The group consists of 5 members G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri. However, in March 2019, Seungri announced his retirement and withdrew from the Korean entertainment industry. Currently, the group is active with four members.
Big Bang is one of the rare Kpop boy groups with equal popularity in Korea and internationally. The group’s songs became hits, helping to put Kpop on the global map. So far, Big Bang has had two world tours, eight albums, and lots of popular songs.
In April 2022, Big Bang officially returned after a four-year hiatus, because of the members’ military service and unfortunate incidents, with the song Still Life. This is a song of the soft rock genre, with implicit content about the members’ past time.
7. Ive – K-pop Monster Rookie
Ive is a rookie group that just debuted in November 2021. However, the talent of the six girls in the group cannot be denied. They are increasingly breaking through to become the most popular group in Korea, even though they have only debuted for a few months.
Ive debut single album Eleven entered Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart at number 12. Eleven became the debut album by a girl group with the highest first-week sales in Korea. With this product, Ive also won a total of 13 wins on music shows. In April 2022, Ive released her second single album Love Dive. The album reached the top of the Gaon Album Chart.
8. Aespa – SM’s Colorful Flower Garden
Compared to the seniors, Aespa is just a “rookie”. SM Entertainment formed and managed the group comprising four members: Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning, in 2020. The group’s debut single, Black Mamba, has achieved much success. The work has topped the K-pop music video chart of China’s leading music streaming service, QQ Music, for three consecutive weeks.
In October, Aespa released her debut EP Savage. It was the group’s first and highest-charting album on the US Billboard 200 and the highest-charting album on the Gaon Album Chart. Although born not long ago, Aespa has achieved success far beyond Korea, becoming one of the world’s most famous Korean girl groups.
9. Red Velvet – The Group Of Talented Girls
The beautiful, talented and fantastic girl group – Red Velvet is one of the most famous groups on this list. They are signed to Sm Entertainment. Red Velvet consists of 5 members: the leader and the eldest sister Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, and the youngest Yeri.
RED VELVET is a girl group formed in 2104 with four members. In March 2015, the group added a 5th member. The group’s first mini album, Ice Cream Cake, topped the Gaon Album Chart. Following that success, the following albums and mini-albums of RED VELVET have achieved high achievements on all domestic music charts.
Besides, RED VELVET also topped Billboard World Albums with the first album, “The Red”. The group also received many awards at the MAMA Golden Disc Awards.
10. Girls Generation – Kpop’s No. 1 Girl Group
Girls’ Generation, also known as SNSD, is one of the most famous girl groups in Korea, founded and managed by SM Entertainment. They consisted of nine members but became eight when Jessica left the group. The group consists of leaders Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun.
The group officially debuted in 2007 and quickly succeeded, gaining worldwide popularity. Girls’ Generation has won critical acclaim and been dubbed the “National Girl Group” in Korea.
Girls’ Generation has been popular since early 2009 with the release of the single Gee. Gee was named Single of the Decade, breaking the record for consecutive No. 1 on KBS Music Bank. The group continued to release many MVs and albums with equally famous songs. Within five years, the group has won many major music awards in Korea.
11. Mamamoo – The Wild Muse Of K-pop
Mamamoo is one of the most prominent in the Korean music industry. The group debuted in 2014 with four members: Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein, and Hwasa. They signed with RBW Entertainment, and their fandom name is MooMoos, Moo means radish in Korean, so fans sometimes bring radishes to their fan meetings, and Mamamoo even did give their lightstick a radish shape.
The group’s debut single, Mr. Ambiguous, was chosen by music critics as one of the best K-pop debuts in 2014. After that, every year, Mamamoo releases quality songs enthusiastically received by the audience. Pursuing a charming image, personality, and fantastic songs, Mamamoo’s girls always make the audience “stand still” with excellent performances.
12. NCT – Special Youth Group In K-pop
NCT is a boy group founded and managed by SM Entertainment since 2016. NCT has no limit on the number of members and promotes by many subgroups in many parts of the world. They are divided into sub-units like NCT U, NCT 127, and NCT Dream. NCT translates to Neo Culture Technology. Citizens are the name of their loyal fans; The group also calls their fans Seasonies. The members say this to show that their fans are as precious as four seasons.
The group has three outstanding albums, NCT 2018 Empathy (2018), NCT 2020 Resonance (2020), and NCT 2021 Universe (2021). With unique and diverse music tastes, NCT conquers fans of different ages and interests.
13. Apink – Soft Pink In The Brilliant Picture Of Kpop
Apink was founded in 2011. The group initially consisted of 7 members but now only works with the remaining five: Chorong, Bomi, Eunji, Namjoo, and Hayoung.
Since their debut, Apink has released ten mini-albums, five studio albums, and numerous tours and concerts. The group has also won many awards for new groups, such as the 26th Golden Disc Awards, the 21st Seoul Music Awards, and the 13th Mnet Asian Music Awards. In 2021, the group was in danger of disbanding. However, in early 2022, Apink returned with five girls when releasing the album Horn with the song Dilemma.
14. SHINee – SM Entertainment’s Top Boygroup
SHINee is an R&B boy group founded by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group is active with four members: Onew, Key, Minho, and Taemin. In which the leader is Onew, and the youngest is Taemin.
SHINee’s successful products include Dream Girl, Why So Serious?, Everybody, I’m Your Boy, Don’t Call Me, Atlantis, etc. Many of the group’s works have achieved impressive achievements at home and on the international stage. SHINee is also known as the “group of records and awards”. In addition, the group also impressed fans with their fashion style, beautiful appearance, and ability to sing and dance very evenly.
15. (G) I-dle – Blooming Flowers In The Garden Of K-pop
(G) I-dle is a super unique girl group. Fans love their vocals, rap, and choreography. Their latest song, “Hwaa,” has achieved many achievements. The group comprises six members, the leader Soyeon, the eldest sister Miyeon, Minnie, Soojin, Yuqi, and the youngest member Shuhua. They confirmed themselves with their debut song, “Latata”. Many of their songs are composed and produced by leader Soyeon. They signed a contract with Cube Entertainment. Their fandom name is Neverland.
16. Stray Kids – The 4th Generation Leading K-pop Group In 2021
JYP Entertainment is responsible for the formation of the boy band Stray Kids through the use of a reality show. Stray Kids’ initial lineup consisted of 8 members; however, Woojin, a group member, announced his departure from the ensemble in October 2019 for personal reasons. They made a fantastic comeback last year with “God’s Menu” and “Back Door”. Their fandom’s name is STAY. Fans are eagerly awaiting their comeback this year.
The group’s first single consists of 7 songs composed by the members. It can be said that JYP’s rookie has succeeded when skillfully combining musical instruments with lyrics, making their music products become deeply in the hearts of the audience. Thanks to the excellent and well-invested performances, the rookie Stray Kids has quickly received love from the audience.
17. NU’EST – Symbol Of Miraculous Revival Of KPOP Group
NU’EST is one of the world’s most famous Korean boy groups, formed in 2012. NU’EST consists of 5 members: Aron, JR, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. The group officially debuted with their debut single, “FACE”.
During the first two years of operation, NU’EST achieved unquestionable success. This was also around the time the group debuted in Japan. Then, in 2015-2016, the group’s popularity declined quite a bit. Meanwhile, the members of NU’EST have decided to participate in Produce 101, a program for trainees who have not yet debuted.
Thanks to this contest, the group’s members proved their ability to the audience and received enthusiastic support from the viewers. Since then, NU’EST has been “reborn” with many popular songs and albums.
18. TXT – Five Golden Boys Of K-Pop
TXT stands for “Tomorrow By Together”. The group has super talented and handsome members. The group comprises five members: leader Soobin, eldest brother Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and youngest brother Huening Kai. The group is the junior of the most famous Kpop group BTS. But they are not only known through that. TXT is exceptionally hardworking. They debuted in 2019 with the song “Crown” and have since released two studio albums with great hits like “Run Away” and “Blue Hour.” Their loving fans are called MOAs; The name is an acronym for “Moment of Alwaysness”.
19. Enhyphen – Rookie Boy Group Coming Out Of I-LAND
Enhyphen is another rookie group that is gaining a lot of attention and has now entered the list of the most popular K-pop groups. They debuted last year in November, and the members were formed through the survival program I-Land. The group belongs to Belift Lab, a joint venture between the entertainment company Cj ENM and the HYBE group.
The group comprises seven members: the leader and maknae Ni-Ki, eldest brother Jungon, Heesung, Jay, Sunghoon, and Sunoo. They debuted with their debut song “Given-Taken” and recently planned a comeback and released the song “Drunk Dazed”. Their fandom’s name is ENGINE.
20. ITZY – Five Personality Puzzle Pieces
If you are wondering which group is the most famous in Korea, the name Itzy is indispensable. The group was born in February 2019 with the first single, “It’z Different”. In 2020, Itzy will conduct a tour in the US, starting from Los Angeles. In March, Itzy released the “WANNABE” MV. This work reached 100 million views on the group’s Youtube channel on April 21, 2020. This is also the group’s third MV to reach 100 million views.
In 2021, Itzy started the campaign to penetrate the global market by releasing the first English-language album in January, Not Shy. The audience well received the group’s album. With what has been achieved, Itzy proves they are the top artists in the fourth generation groups of the Korean music industry.
21. Weekly – Rookie Group 10X
Weekly is IST Entertainment’s second girl group, ten years of Apink’s debut. This rookie girl group debuted in June 2020 with their first mini-album, We Are. After that, the group continued to launch the products We Can; We Play, etc. With their talent and beauty, the girls of Weekly receive much attention from the Kpop fan community. Perhaps the name Weekly will continue to “explode” in the future, thanks to his talent.
22. Oh My Girl – The Hope Of The New Generation K-Pop
Oh My Girl consists of 7 members: Hyojung, Mimi, Yoon, Seunghee, Jiho, Yubin, and Arin. The group officially debuted in April 2015 with the mini-album Oh My Girl. In 2019, Oh My Girl debuted in Japan and was enthusiastically received by the public.
The first album in Oh My Girl’s career is called The Fifth Season. The album’s title track achieved positive results, such as being in the top 10 charts (real-time ranking No.1 on some sites like Bug, Naver, etc.).
The album sold over 10,000 copies in a week and had over 16 million views on YouTube after a week. After that, Oh My Girl won a series of consecutive victories on weekly music shows such as “The Show”, “Show Champion”, “M Countdown”, etc.
23. The Boyz – KPOP’s Outstanding Boy Group
The Boyz (also known as Cre.kerz) is a South Korean boy idol group that has been quite popular recently. The group was founded in December 2017. The Boyz has 11 members: Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Ju Haknyeon, Sunwoo, and Eric. In 2019, The Boyz released the single album “Bloom Bloom”. And this comeback of The Boyz brought home the group’s first trophy on The Show! Fans have praised The Boyz’s dancing and music skills. Therefore, the group’s songs are always enthusiastically received.
24. Astro – The Group Of Handsome Idols In Kpop
Astro was founded and managed by Fantagio company. The group has six members: Jin Jin, MJ, Cha Eun Woo, Moon Bin, Rocky, and Yoon San Ha. Astro officially debuted in February 2016 with the mini-album Spring Up.
Astro pursues K-pop, RnB, and Electropop music. Notable works of the group are the album All Light, One and the singles One & Only, Switch On. With an impressive style and idol-standard appearance, Astro has become one of the most popular groups in Korea today, making many female fans fascinated and passionate.
25. Highlight – The Group Of Musical Talents
Highlight was formerly known as Beast. The group is active with four members, Yoon Doo Joon, Yang Yo Seob, Lee Gi Kwang, and Son Dong Woon. The group first debuted with the mini-album Beast Is The B2ST in October 2009.
In 2011, Highlight released its first full album called Fiction and Fact. This product won three consecutive trophies on M! Mnet’s countdown for the single title Fiction. That same year, Highlight debuted in Japan with the single Shock (Japanese version).
After that, Highlight also won many music awards and released many works that resonated powerfully. The group’s latest album, Daydream, released this past March, contains ten tracks. During the week of promoting this album, the group won 3 trophies on music shows, including two trophies winning the Hostage award at Inkigayo.
26. Seventeen – The Almighty Group Of The HYBE
Seventeen is a 13-member group formed in 2015. Seventeen’s members are divided into three subgroups, each with a different area of expertise: Hip-Hop Team (S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, Vernon), Vocal Team (Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, DK, Seungkwan), and Performance Team (Hoshi, Jun, The8, Dino).
Seventeen made a strong impression on the public when possessing the incredibly majestic nickname “self-produced group”. Seventeen’s members all participated in the process of writing music, producing and building choreography for the group’s songs. Seventeen’s most notable recent albums and mini-albums include You Make My Day (2018), An Ode (2019), Heng:garae (2020), Attacca (2021), etc.
27. T-ara – Korea’s Famous Girl Group
T-Ara debuted in 2009 with the first song, Good Person, with a 5-member lineup of Jiae, Jiwon, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon. However, just two months later, two members, Jiwon and Jiae, left the group. In July 2009, Boram, Soyeon, and Qri joined the group’s lineup.
Soon after, the group started their official career with a 6-member lineup and released their debut single, “Lies”. In December 2009, T-Ara released their first album Absolute First Album. With this product, the group successfully spread the name everywhere.
T-Ara is the first foreign girl group in Oricon chart history to place one with their debut song. Following the success of their initial offering, the group went on to become one of the most popular Korean groups in Japan.
