10 Things About K-Pop Boy Groups That Will Blow Your Mind Either A Little Or A Lot

My mind is blown!

1. More than half of the groups formed through survival programs have been male groups

BIGBANG, Wanna One, MONSTA X, WINNER, iKON, UNBSF9, 2AM, and 2PM are just a few of the groups that have debuted thanks to survival programs. And while both male and female groups have been formed through these programs, the vast majority of them have been boy groups.

 

2. BTS is the most popular K-Pop group on YouTube

In 2017 a study was conducted looking at different K-Pop groups and how they performed on YouTube. BTS came in on top with over 3 billion total global views and we all know that that number has gone up a lot since then!

 

3. Only 2 K-Pop groups have ever won awards at the MTV Italian Music Awards both of which are male groups

The first group to win an award was BIGBANG. They won the award for “Best Fans” in 2012 and won the “Best Artist of the World” in 2016. The other group to win was Super Junior in 2014 with the “Best Artist of the World.”

 

4. On Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list, there have been at least two boy bands each year in the top 10.

Okay so this isn’t strictly true since in both 2010 and 2015 only one group made it into the top 10 but in 2015, the group (EXO) was ranked at number 1!

 

5. V.I.Ps donated 12.7 tons of rice during one single show thanks to BIGBANG

The group encouraged their fans to bring rice to their concerts and boy, did they! During one show, the fans donated 12.7 tons of rice from 50 fan clubs over the world. This act of charity was the first major K-Pop related donation to catch the attention of TIME.

 

6. EXO is tied with BIGBANG for the most Daesang awards

The two groups have both won an impressive 5 Daesang awards at Mnet Asian Music Awards. The honor even comes with a feature in the Guinness World Records!

 

7. G-Dragon is the most famous K-Pop artist in Korea…

And perhaps the world! He got over 15 million Instagram followers, frequently gets invited to fashion events in Europe, and has taken pictures with many Western artists.

 

8. The longest running idol group in South Korea belongs to…you guessed it, a male group!

Although they did have a 10-year hiatus, SECHSKIES is often considered the longest running group since they were formed in 1997 and are still currently active. Because of the hiatus some people also consider Shinhwa the longest lasting group. They debuted in 1998 and have been promoting consistently for the past 20 years!

 

9. BTS was the first K-Pop act to have a comeback stage at the BBMAs

BTS have been smashing records left and right for the past couple of years but one of the biggest things was that they were the first ever K-Pop act to have a comeback stage at the Billboard Music Awards! To top it off they also won the award for “Top Social Artist” award 2 years in a row, which coincidentally was a first for a K-Pop group.

 

10. The “Gwiyomi” dance and song were made popular by BTOB’s Ilhoon

Everyone knows the “Gwiyomi Song” and the dance that goes with it but not everyone knows that it was all started because of BTOB‘s Ilhoon! Ilhoon first performed the dance on Weekly Idol and said he learned the dance from a Cube Entertainment trainee. He popularized the moves and inspired Hari to create the “Gyoyomi Song.”