While a fan’s personal preference for which K-Pop groups and idols are the most popular of the last year are heavily subjective based on the person, there are still some trends for certain artists to be well-liked among the general public. And with BTS on a group hiatus due to their members’ military enlistments and promising rookie groups debuting over the last couple of years, 2023 was the year for new artists to really take center stage as they deserve!
Recently on an online forum, Korean netizens shared their choices for the most popular K-Pop girl group, boy group, and male and female idols from the past year. This gives us an opportunity to see which artists are genuinely well-liked in South Korea itself, rather than having the data impacted by international fans who oftentimes have quite different taste.
The girl group that came out on top in this survey is rookie girl group NewJeans! Though only a little over a year into their career, this five-member group has quickly become a powerful force in the K-Pop industry, and it’s not too surprising that they earned this title.
NewJeans | ADOR
As for boy groups, SEVENTEEN has been having the best period of their career recently in terms of album sales and overall success, including winning a Daesang at the 2023 MAMA Awards for their FML album. They definitely deserve the recognition of being the most popular boy group among Korean netizens this year!
SEVENTEEN | Pledis Entertainment
There were a lot of potential contenders for the most popular female K-Pop idol of 2023, given the massive success that girl groups have had in general recently. However, it was IVE‘s Wonyoung that took the title among Korean netizens, and it further solidifies the idea that she’s one of the “It Girls” of the fourth generation of K-Pop!
Wonyoung (IVE) | SBS
Finally, a most-popular K-Pop list wouldn’t be complete without BTS in some way. Making his solo debut this year was golden maknae Jungkook, with his highly anticipated Golden album taking the world by storm. He earned the title for most popular male idol of 2023, just as he’s about to start his military enlistment!
Jungkook (BTS) | SBS
Do you agree with Korean netizens’ choices? Who would you have picked as the biggest K-Pop artists of 2023?
