With the rising popularity of K-pop all over the world, the sales of K-pop albums have risen as well. This extreme popularity of K-pop music and Korean culture among everyone around the world has undoubtedly helped the K-pop artists reach new milestones with their album sales. No matter the artist's age in the industry, be it a rookie star or a well-established artist, everyone is making numbers with their album sales. Here is a list of the top 10 bestselling K-pop albums of all time.
1. 'FML' By SEVENTEEN
'FML' is SEVENTEEN's 10th mini album. SEVENTEEN released 'FML' on April 24, 2023. The EP includes six songs: "FIRE," "I Don't Understand But I Love U," "Dust," and "April Shower," with "F*ck My Life" and "Super" as the lead singles. 'FML' focuses on the Hip-hop/Rap genre. According to South Korea's Hanteo chart, the EP sold 3.99 million copies on its first day. It has sold a total of 6.26 million copies to date, becoming the first K-Pop album to exceed 6 million sold copies. FML' is also the K-pop group's most-sold album.
2. '5-STAR' By Stray Kids
5-STAR' is Stray Kids' 3rd full-length album. Released on June 23, 2023, the album sold more than 2.3 million copies on the day of its release. This album contains 12 songs, with "S-class" as the title track. Some other popular songs on this album include "ITEM," "TOPLINE (Feat. Tiger JK), and "Youtiful." The songs of this album are a mix of the Hip-hop, Pop, and Electronica genres. '5-STAR' has sold a total of 5.25 million copies to date, making it Stray Kids' most-sold album.
3. 'Map Of The Soul: 7' By BTS
'Map of the Soul: 7' is the most famous K-pop boy band BTS' 7th studio album. BTS released the album on February 20, 2020. This album explores Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung's theories of persona, shadow, and ego through its songs. 'Map of the Soul: 7' consists of 20 songs, including the title track "ON." The pieces of this album fall under the category of various genres, including Rock, Pop, Trap, and R&B. 'Map of the Soul: 7' sold a total of 2.6 million copies on its first day of release, and to date, it has sold a total of 5.05 million copies.
4. 'Map Of The Soul: Persona' By BTS
Being the biggest boy band in the world right now, it is no wonder that there will be more than just one album in this list of top bestselling K-pop albums. 'Map of the Soul: Persona' is BTS' 6th EP. Released on April 12, 2019, with "Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)" as the lead single, this EP includes six more songs: "Intro: Persona," "Mikrokosmos," "Make It Right," "HOME," "Jamais Vu," and "Dionysus." The songs focus on Pop, Rap, and Contemporary R&B. The EP recorded 1.5 million sales on the first day and a total of 4.65 million sales till now.
5. 'ISTJ' By NCT DREAM
'ISTJ' is NCT DREAM's 3rd studio album, and was released on July 17, 2023, with "Broken Melodies" and "ISTJ" as the lead singles. The album includes 10 songs that focus on the R&B and Hip-hop genres. According to the Hanteo chart, NCT DREAM's 'ISTJ' sold 1.16 million copies on its release day alone. To date, the album has sold a total of 4.29 million copies, making it the 1st album from the boy group to sell over a million copies on its first day.
6. 'Face The Sun' By SEVENTEEN
SEVENTEEN's 4th studio album, 'Face The Sun' was released on May 27, 2022. This album consists of 9 songs, with "HOT" as the title track. The first song of the album, "Darl+ing'" was pre-released on April 15. The overall genre of the album is K-pop. 'Face The Sun' gained impressive numbers and sold 2.06 million copies on the first day alone. It has sold over 4.03 million copies to date.
7. 'BE' By BTS
During the lonely and cold days of the Covid-19 lockdown, BTS' 'BE' was like a warm hug to the fans, ARMY. The 9th studio album of the boy group 'BE' was released on November 20, 2020. It consists of eight tracks, "Fly To My Room," "Blue & Grey," "Skit," "Telepathy," "Dis-ease," "Stay," "Dynamite," with "Life Goes On" as the title track. The overall genre of this album is Pop. The album sold over 1.95 million copies on its release day. 'BE' has sold a total of 3.79 million copies to date.
8. 'MAXIDENT' by Stray Kids
'MAXIDENT' is Stray Kids' 7th mini album. It was released on October 7, 2022, with "CASE 143" as the lead single. The album contains seven more songs other than the lead single: "CHILL," "Give Me Your TMI," "SUPER BOARD," "3RACHA," "TASTE," "Can't Stop," and "CIRCUS (Korean Ver.)." MAXIDENT's songs mainly focus on the Hip-hop genre, but it also has pieces that fall under the Rock and R&B genres. The album sold 1.3 million copies on its release day alone and has sold 3.51 million copies thus far.
9. 'The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION' by TOMORROW X TOGETHER
'The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION' is the first installment of TOMORROW X TOGETHER (known as 'TXT' internationally)'s 'The Name Chapter' series. TXT released this album on January 27, 2023, with "Sugar Rush Ride" as the lead single. Other songs of this EP include "Devil by the Window," "Happy Fools (feat, Coi Leray)," "Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock)," and, a fan favorite, "Farewell, Neverland." 'The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION' sold 1.86 million copies on its first day and has sold over 3.22 million copies thus far, making it the most-sold album of TXT.
10. 'Love Yourself: Tear' By BTS
'Love Yourself: Tear' is BTS' 3rd studio album and was released on May 18, 2018. The album includes 11 tracks, with "FAKE LOVE" as the lead single. It consists of songs of various genres such as Hip-hop, Jazz, and R&B. 'Love Yourself: Tear' sold 1 million copies in the 1st week of its release and has sold over 3.14 million copies thus far.
