This is a list of best-selling singles in South Korea since the Korea Music Content Industry Association (KMCA) began tracking sales figures for digital downloads in 2010. All singles listed here have sold at least three million copies.
Indie pop band Busker Busker's 2012 single "Cherry Blossom Ending" is the best-selling song in South Korea since 2010, with eight million copies sold as of 2021. [1] Pop soloist IU has six songs on the list, the most of any artist.
In 2010, the Korea Music Content Industry Association (KMCA) established the Gaon Chart, a weekly record chart that tabulates both physical and digital music sales. [2] Gaon first published digital download figures for songs in February 2011, when it released a list of the best-selling songs of 2010. [3] On March 11, 2011, Gaon began publishing the weekly Gaon Download Chart, which included sales figures for songs. [4] Gaon stopped releasing weekly sales figures for songs in 2018 and introduced a certification system that recognizes songs that reach at least 2.5 million downloads. [5] The chart (renamed the Circle Chart in 2022 [6] ) also periodically reports sales figures for songs released before the introduction of the certification system.
Below is a list of the best-selling singles by year, since 2010, based on the Circle Download Chart. As of 2018, the chart does not publish yearly sales figures, but it continues to rank songs based on downloads.
| Year | Song | Artist | Yearly sales (million) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Can't Let You Go Even If I Die" | 2AM | 3.35 | [59] |
| 2011 | "Roly-Poly" | T-ara | 4.08 | [60] |
| 2012 | "Gangnam Style" | Psy | 3.84 | [61] |
| 2013 | "Shower of Tears" | Baechigi ft. Ailee | 1.88 | [62] |
| 2014 | "Some" | Soyou and Junggigo ft. Lil Boi | 2.21 | [63] |
| 2015 | "Bang Bang Bang" | BigBang | 1.58 | [64] |
| 2016 | "Rough" | GFriend | 1.9 | [65] |
| 2017 | "I Will Go to You Like the First Snow" | Ailee | 2.49 | [66] |
| 2018 | "Love Scenario" | iKon | — | [67] |
| 2019 | "2002" | Anne-Marie | [68] | |
| 2020 | "Any Song" | Zico | [69] | |
| 2021 | "My Starry Love" | Lim Young-woong | [70] | |
| 2022 | "If We Ever Meet Again" | [71] | ||
| 2023 | "Grain of Sand" | [72] |
| # | Artist | Count | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | IU | 6 songs | "You & I" "Through the Night" "Good Day" "Nagging" "Every End of the Day" "Friday" |
| 2nd | Busker Busker | 4 songs | "Cherry Blossom Ending" "Yeosu Night Sea" "Dream Girl" "If You Really Love Me" |
| T-ara | "Roly-Poly" "Lovey-Dovey" "Cry Cry" "I Go Crazy Because of You" | ||
| 3rd | Sistar | 3 songs | "So Cool" "Loving U" "Alone" |
| 2NE1 | "I Am the Best" "Ugly" "Lonely" | ||
| 4th | Beast | 2 songs | "On Rainy Days" "Fiction" |
| Big Bang | "Fantastic Baby" "Blue" | ||
| Maroon 5 | "Moves like Jagger" "Payphone" | ||
| Miss A | "Good Bye Baby" "Bad Girl Good Girl" | ||
| Girls' Generation | "The Boys" "Oh!" | ||
| Ailee | "Heaven" "I Will Go To You Like the First Snow" | ||
South Korean boy band Big Bang have released eight studio albums, eight extended plays, two reissues, eight compilation albums, ten live albums, seven single albums, and 36 singles. As of May 2017, the group has sold over 4.3 million physical albums in South Korea and Japan alone.
South Korean boy group Shinee, produced and managed by SM Entertainment, have released thirteen studio albums, four live albums, six extended plays (EPs) and forty singles. They have also participated in singing ten soundtracks for various Korean dramas and have been a part of SM Town's winter vacation album 2011 Winter SMTown – The Warmest Gift and summer vacation album 2009 Summer SMTown – We Are Shining with other SM artists.
South Korea-based girl group Girls' Generation have released ten studio albums, two live albums, four extended plays (EPs), and twenty-eight singles. As of November 2012, Girls' Generation has sold over 4.4 million albums and 30 million digital singles. The group has sold over 1.74 million albums in South Korea as of December 2014, and 3.48 million records, including over 945,000 physical singles and 1.9 million albums in Japan as of January 2017.
The discography of the South Korean multinational girl group f(x) consists of four studio albums, two extended plays, one reissue album, one video album, fifteen singles, two promotional single and four soundtrack appearances.
South Korean rapper G-Dragon began his career as a member of South Korean boy band Big Bang. His discography as a solo artist began in 2009, and includes three studio albums, two extended plays, one collaboration album, four live albums and several other singles.
This is the discography of the South Korean idol boy group Highlight formerly known as Beast. Beast have been in the music business ever since making their live debut on KBS Music Bank with their debut track, "Bad Girl" on October 16, 2009. They have released six studio albums and thirteen extended plays and have also participated in singing OSTs of various Korean dramas.
The discography of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls, consists of three studio albums, four extended plays, one single album, two greatest hits albums and eighteen singles.
South Korean boy group Infinite has released six studio albums, two compilation albums, two live albums, two reissues, six extended plays, two single albums, and twenty-nine singles. The group debuted in South Korea in June 2010 with the mini album First Invasion and in Japan in November 2011 with a Japanese version of the song "BTD " released as single.
Busker Busker is a South Korean indie band who rose to fame through their runner-up performance in the South Korean music audition television program Superstar K3 on Mnet. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Jang Beom-june, bassist Kim Hyung-tae and drummer Brad Moore.
Huh Gak is a South Korean singer. He rose to fame after winning the 2010 Mnet talent competition series Superstar K 2, during which he became known as "the Korean Paul Potts."
South Korean singer-songwriter IU has released five studio albums, eleven extended plays (EPs), 47 singles, five single albums, two remake albums and two compilation albums. In addition, the singer has collaborations and soundtracks for television series, films, and online games.
The discography of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo consists of eight studio albums, seven extended plays, four live albums and twenty-eight singles. Exo was formed by the Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment in 2011, and formerly consisted of twelve members separated into two sub-groups, Exo-K and Exo-M, releasing the same music simultaneously in both Korean and Mandarin in South Korea and China, respectively. The group's first release, the extended play Mama, was released in April 2012. The album topped Korean music charts on its release. With the release of Don't Mess Up My Tempo in November 2018, Exo became the first South Korean artist who debuted in the 21st century to sell 10 million albums cumulatively.
The discography of the South Korean girl group Sistar consists of two studio albums, four extended plays, three single albums, two compilation album, seventeen singles and one soundtrack contribution. The group debuted with the song "Push Push" on June 3, 2010.
South Korean girl group Apink have released seven studio albums, nine extended plays, three compilation albums, one single album, and thirty-eight singles. Formed by A Cube Entertainment, they debuted on April 19, 2011, with the extended play Seven Springs of Apink.
The discography of the South Korean duo Davichi consists of three studio albums, seven extended plays, thirty four singles, eight collaborations and twenty one soundtrack appearances.
South Korean boy group Boyfriend have released four studio albums, seven extended plays, two compilation albums, and twenty-four singles. Formed in 2011 by Starship Entertainment, they debuted on Mnet's M!Countdown on May 26, 2011 with their debut single "Boyfriend".
South Korean boy group BtoB has released four studio albums, two compilation albums, fourteen extended plays, and thirty-one singles. The group was formed by Korean entertainment company Cube Entertainment in 2012, and originally consists of seven members. The group's first major release, the EP Born to Beat, was released on March 21, 2012.
The discography of South Korean boy band VIXX, formed by Jellyfish Entertainment consists of five studio albums, five extended plays (EPs), ten single albums and twenty-six singles.
South Korean singer-songwriter Roy Kim has released three studio albums, 10 singles, and 19 music videos. He has additionally released four soundtracks for television series. Since his first appearance on Mnet's talent competition series Superstar K4, the artist has sold over 12 million digital downloads in South Korea.
