Over the last two decades, the K-Pop music industry has expanded tremendously, going from a fairly unknown genre to most international music listeners to being a worldwide-renowned phenomenon. Throughout those 20 years, different K-Pop artists have come and gone, with different performers peaking at different times and one generation leading into the next.
Recently, a user on the online forum The Qoo gathered data on Google Trends about the most-searched K-Pop artists from 2004 until this year, specifically searches in South Korea. Based on this data, they calculated which artists had the highest number of searches during this 20-year period, and some of the results might surprise you! Here are the top 20 results.
20. Apink
Apink debuted in 2011, and since then, they’ve made 830k album sales and are the 20th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
19. 2PM
2PM debuted in 2008, and since then, they’ve made 897k album sales and are the 19th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
18. Red Velvet
Red Velvet debuted in 2014, and since then, they’ve made 4.83 million album sales and are the 18th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
17. SEVENTEEN
SEVENTEEN debuted in 2015, and since then, they’ve made 32.9 million album sales and are the 17th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
16. AOA
AOA debuted in 2012, and since then, they’ve made 223k album sales and are the 16th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
15. BoA
BoA debuted in 2000, and since then, she’s made 2.05 million album sales and is the 15th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
14. SHINee
SHINee debuted in 2008, and since then, they’ve made 2.94 million album sales and are the 14th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
13. BLACKPINK
BLACKPINK debuted in 2016, and since then, they’ve made 6.00 million album sales and are the 13th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
12. 2NE1
2NE1 debuted in 2009, and since then, they’ve made 681k album sales and are the 12th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
11. T-ara
T-ara debuted in 2009, and since then, they’ve made 643k album sales and are the 11th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
10. BIGBANG
BIGBANG debuted in 2006, and since then, they’ve made 3.50 million album sales and are the 10th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
9. Girl’s Day
Girl’s Day debuted in 2010, and since then, they’ve made 127k album sales and are the 9th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
8. TVXQ
TVXQ debuted in 2003, and since then, they’ve made 3.30 million album sales and are the 8th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
7. Wonder Girls
Wonder Girls debuted in 2007, and since then, they’ve made 309k album sales and are the 7th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
6. EXO
EXO debuted in 2012, and since then, they’ve made 13.7 million album sales and are the 6th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
5. TWICE
TWICE debuted in 2015, and since then, they’ve made 11.1 million album sales and are the 5th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
4. Girls’ Generation
Girls’ Generation debuted in 2007, and since then, they’ve made 3.63 million album sales and are the 4th-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
3. Lee Hyori
Lee Hyori debuted in 1998, and since then, she’s made 406k album sales and is the 3rd-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
2. BTS
BTS debuted in 2013, and since then, they’ve made 39.7 million album sales and are the 2nd-most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
1. IU
IU debuted in 2008, and since then, she’s made 1.57 million album sales and is the most-searched K-Pop artist since 2004!
Here’s a look at the data gathered to make this list.
| The Qoo
