Ahead of the 30th anniversary music awards, the Hanteo Chart revealed the best-selling albums and best-selling Korean artists from 1993 to 2020. Check out the list below!
Best Selling Albums on Hanteo From 1993 to 1999: Seo Taiji & Boys, More
On December 6, the Hanteo Music Awards 2022 went live on its official website to round up the albums and artists who achieved remarkable 30th anniversary album sales.
(Photo: Naver)
Top selling albums and artists on Hanteo From 1993 to 2020: Seo Taiji & Boys, More
While Hanteo announced the top 10 selling albums from 1993 to 1999 and the top 10 selling artists from 2000 to 2020, this article will only focus on the album or artist that tops the charts.
RELATED: Hanteo Chart honors 30th anniversary with Offline Music Awards
According to the 1993 list, the Korean album with the highest sales was Seo Taiji and Boys’ second studio album “Seo Taiji and Boys II”, which sold a total of 2.13 million copies. Hanteo noted that this album is “Korea’s first official album to sell 2 million copies.”
(Photo: Hanteo Music Awards 2022)
Top selling albums and artists on Hanteo From 1993 to 2020: Seo Taiji & Boys, More
In 1994, Shin Seung Hun’s “Shin Seung Hun Vol.2” ranked No. 1 with 1.83 million copies sold, while Kim Gun Mo’s “Wrongful Encounter” ranked No. 1 in 1995 with 2,860,000 copies sold. “Wrongful Encounter” was previously entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling album in South Korean history.
READ ALSO: BTS, SEVENTEEN, BLACKPINK and more: Hanteo Chart calculations reveal 2020 best-selling K-Pop albums
In 1996, Shin Seung Hun once again recorded the best-selling album in Korea with his studio album “Shin Seung Hun V”, which sold 2,480,000 copies. SM Entertainment’s first boy band H.O.T. topped the top 10 chart in 1997 with their second studio album “WOLF & SHEEP” which sold 1,520,000 copies.
(Image: Instagram: @seunghun_1101)
Top selling albums and artists on Hanteo From 1993 to 2020: Seo Taiji & Boys, More
Shin Seung Hun regained the number one spot on the 1998 chart with his studio album “Shin Seung Hun VI”, which recorded total sales of 1,310,000 copies. In 1999, Jo Sung Mo’s fourth album “NO MORE LOVE” was Hanteo’s best-selling Korean album, selling a total of 1,949,043 copies.
See the full list here.
Top selling Korean artists on Hanteo from 2000 to 2020: BTS, EXO, Girls’ Generation, more
From 2000 to 2020, the top-selling Korean artists on Hanteo varied, with some topping the Top 10 or Top 30 charts for several years.
(Photo: Facebook: SG Wannabe)
Top selling albums and artists on Hanteo From 1993 to 2020: Seo Taiji & Boys, More
SG Wannabe in particular had the No. 1 sales peak in 2000, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Omnibus (VA) was No. 1 in 2001 and Cool (co-ed) was No. 1 in 2002.
Singer Lee Soo Young was the best-selling Korean artist for two years in a row from 2003 to 2004. YG Entertainment’s first boy band BIGBANG topped the chart in 2008.
READ MORE: 2021 Hanteo Music Awards Announce Top 10 Winners of ‘First-Week Sales Record Award’
(Image: Instagram: @sooyoungchoi)
Top selling albums and artists on Hanteo From 1993 to 2020: Seo Taiji & Boys, More
The following years were dominated by SM Entertainment artists such as Girls Generation (who had the highest sales in 2009 and 2010) and Super Junior (who sold the most albums in 2011 and 2012).
(Photo: Facebook: EXO)
Top selling albums and artists on Hanteo From 1993 to 2020: Seo Taiji & Boys, More
EXO has recorded the highest album sales among Korean artists for three consecutive years, specifically in 2013, 2015 and 2016. The 2015 list is ruled by TVXQ.
(Photo credit: Facebook: BTS)
Top selling albums and artists on Hanteo From 1993 to 2020: Seo Taiji & Boys, More
Finally, the best-selling Korean artist as of 2017 is none other than BTS. Although the list of the best-selling artists in 2021 has not been revealed, it is said that BTS also secured the number one spot for five consecutive years (2017-2021).
Here is the timeline of Hanteo’s #1 best-selling Korean artists from 2000 to 2020:
- 2000 – SG Wannabe (487,868 copies)
- 2001 – Omnibus (VA) (2,505,981 units)
- 2002 – Cool (934,838 copies)
- 2003 – Lee Soo Young (660,429 copies)
- 2004 – Lee Soo Young (724,592 copies)
- 2005 – SG Wannabe (561,902 copies)
- 2006 – SG Wannabe (365,408 copies)
- 2007 – SG Wannabe (487,868 copies)
- 2008 – BIGBANG (911,898 copies)
- 2009 – Girls’ Generation (409,674 copies)
- 2010 – Girls’ Generation (238,789 copies)
- 2011 – Super Junior (349,976 copies)
- 2012 – Super Junior (348,053 copies)
- 2013 – EXO (975,230 copies)
- 2014 – TVXQ (273,438 copies)
- 2015 – EXO (1,230,710 copies)
- 2016 – EXO (1,394,305 copies)
- 2017 – BTS (1,758,109 copies)
- 2018 – BTS (2,602,687 copies)
- 2019 – BTS (3,375,919 copies)
- 2020 – BTS (7,226,632 copies)
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Written by Maria Scott
