BTS Is The First Korean Artist To Domestically Sell Over 1 Million Copies Of An Album In 16 Years
The 2017 Hallyu White Paper revealed that BTS is the only Korean singer to have domestically sold over 1 million copies of one album in the past 16 years. They achieved this feat when they sold over 1.6 million copies of “LOVE YOURSELF: Her” in Korea alone.
The Hallyu White Paper is an official report created by the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) that covers global Hallyu trends in various categories including film, music, performance, fashion, tourism among many more.
In the Hallyu music category, the report indicated that BTS was the first Korean singer to sell over 1,000,000 copies of a one-version album since g.o.d back in 2002.
“In particular, the no. 7 [Billboard] ranking of the ‘Love Yourself 承 Her’ album is the highest rank any K-Pop or Asian singer has ever reached. The album received much attention from before its release with 1,000,000 units sold in pre-orders alone. Within 2 weeks of its launch, sales reached up to 1,400,000 copies, making them the first Korean singer to domestically sell over 1,000,000 copies of a ‘single album’ in 16 years since the 1st generation idol group g.o.d” — 2017 Hallyu White Paper
The sidenote continued on to clarify that although EXO had also sold over 1 million copies of an album, it was not considered for the record because it contained multiple versions (Korean and Chinese), while “LOVE YOURSELF: Her” had one version.
EXO has also sold over 1,000,000 albums in the past but the sales figure includes albums that were released in various versions (Korean and Chinese version) rather than a single version. On the other hand, ‘Love Yourself 承 Her’ sold over 1,000,000 copies with a single version.” — 2017 Hallyu White Paper
The report also mentioned BTS as one of the most notable stars of 2017 in the Korean culture industry and went on to list the record achievements of the group both domestically and internationally.
“The group, who is known as ‘BTS’ internationally, was placed in the upper ranks of not only the ‘Hot 100’ but also Billboard’s record chart ranking ‘Billboard 200’ in 2017, 5 years after PSY ranked no. 2 on Billboard’s singles chart ranking ‘Hot 100’ with “Gangnam Style” in 2012.
BTS officially began gaining attention from the domestic/international media and general consumers in May 2017 when they won the Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards. Thereafter, they were included in the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet selected by Time, the world’s most influential weekly magazine.
Their fourth mini album ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.2’, which was released in November 2015 ranked no. 171 on the ‘Billboard 200′ and introduced BTS’ name to the American market. Their second special album ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever’ of May 2016 ranked no. 107 and their second full-length album ‘Wings’ of October 2016 no. 26, carving the path to their success in the U.S. market. Their re-package album ‘You Never Walk Alone’, which was launched in February 2017 after adding a new song to the ‘Wings’ album, ranked no. 61 on the ‘Billboard 200’ and their fifth mini-album ‘Love Yourself 承 Her’, which was released in September of the same year, ranked no. 7, placing BTS on the ‘Billboard 200’ for 5 consecutive albums.” — 2017 Hallyu White Paper
BTS continues to break records in Korea and all over the world, as excitement continues to build about which records they will break with their upcoming album, “LOVE YOURSELF: Tear”.
