The most-loved song in the K-pop scene during the first half of this year was singer-songwriter Hanroro's "I Will Love You," according to chart data. The best-selling album was BTS's "ARIRANG."
According to the Circle Chart, the pop music chart operated by the Korea Music Content Association, on the 10th, "I Will Love You," a track from Hanroro's first mini-album, took the No. 1 spot on both the digital chart and the streaming chart for the first half of this year. Released in August 2023, the song spread by word of mouth among the "MZ generation" and became Hanroro's signature track. Since late November last year (week 48), it has consistently ranked in the weekly digital chart's "Top 10," establishing itself as a defining song of the first half. Her distinctive dreamy tone resonated with the sensibilities of younger generations and spread through word of mouth, while the track "0+0" also settled at No. 2, proving strong mass appeal.
BTS's fifth full-length album "ARIRANG" sold 4,224,016 copies in the first half of this year, topping the album chart. Led by the title track "SWIM," many of the album's songs, including "Body to Body," "2.0," and "Hooligan," swept the top ranks. "ARIRANG" is the album BTS released as a complete group for the first time in three years and nine months, addressing their identity and the various emotions they encountered in their lives. Sibling duo AKMU topped the V Coloring chart for three consecutive weeks with "Paradise of Rumors," a track from their fourth full-length album. Lee Su-hyun's heartfelt music and comforting voice, capturing her process of overcoming a slump, reached listeners warmly, and combined with witty challenges on short-form channels, won wide-ranging love.
"Golden," sung by the fictional girl group HUNTR/X for the original soundtrack (OST) of the Netflix animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters," topped the global K-pop chart. The song held the No. 1 spot on that chart for 38 consecutive weeks. The group TOMORROW X TOGETHER took the top spot on the download chart with "Stick With You," the title track of their eighth mini-album.
