Korean pop music (or K-pop) has taken over the music industry. Japan and the United States are the two countries that love K-pop the most, with 9.7 billion stream downloads in Japan and 9.2 billion in the U.S. The love of K-pop music has propelled its stars, who have become social media icons, especially on TikTok. Searching K-pop on TikTok brings up thousands of videos: The hashtag #kpop on TikTok has 529B views and 60M posts. Other popular hashtags to search on TikTok are:
- #BTS: 90M posts
- #kpopdance: 609K posts
- #blackpink: 31M posts
- #twice: 12.6M posts
Top 10 K-pop music artists on TikTok
BLACKPINK
With 47.8M followers, BLACKPINK is a female K-pop group from South Korea made up of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa. The four singers were brought together by YG Entertainment, and their TikTok is filled with their performances.
@bp_tiktok BLACKPINK: A VR Encore – Official Trailer THE GIRLS are back! ...this time, in VR with exclusive content in @Horizon‘s new concert venue - MUSIC VALLEY! Don't miss a moment of the action. RSVP NOW using the link in bio. #MetaQuest #MetaHorizonWorlds
♬ 뚜두뚜두 DDU-DU DDU-DU - BLACKPINK
Twice
Formed by JYP Entertainment, the K-pop group Twice has nine female members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. The group tours all over the world and their TikTok has almost 24M followers. The women are active on TikTok and share plenty of videos of their lives beyond their shows or new music.
@twice_tiktok_official Our #TWINFLAME moment❤🔥 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 #TWICE #트와이스 #WithYOUth❤🔥 #ONESPARK💥 #Newmusic
♬ ONE SPARK - TWICE
Red Velvet
The four women in Red Velvet are Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy. They are a group formed by SM Entertainment and have 3.1M followers on TikTok. They share music videos, performances and other fun videos with their followers.
@redvelvet_smtown WENDY 웬디 'Wish You Hell' MV Teaser https://youtu.be/WmmxJ7Cpn8Y #WENDY #웬디 #Wish_You_Hell #RedVelvet #레드벨벳
♬ 오리지널 사운드 - Red Velvet - Red Velvet
IVE
The K-pop group IVE has 6.7M followers on TikTok. Starship Entertainment put this group together, comprising six female members, Gaeul, Yujin, Rei, Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo. You’ll find behind-the-scenes videos on their TikTok, silly videos and all kinds of K-pop goodness.
@ive.official TAIPEI, YOU ARE SO CHERISH♥ #IVE #아이브 #アイヴ #SHOW_WHAT_I_HAVE #IVE_WORLD_TOUR
♬ 오리지널 사운드 - IVE.official - IVE.official
WEi
WEi is an all-male Korean pop group made up of Daehyeon, Donghan, Yongha, Yohan, Seokhwa, and Junseo. Their TikTok has 2.4M followers and shares TikTok trends, silly sounds and, of course, singing and dancing.
@wei__official [🎥] 2024 WEi Japan Concert THE WAVE🌊 IN TOKYO 우리의 빛나는 모든 순간에 항상 함께이길✨ #위아이 #WEi #ウィーアイ #WAVE #WITHOUT_U #THE_WAVE
♬ WITHOUT U - WEi
Fifty Fifty
This K-pop group of four was just founded in late 2022 and consists of singers Keena, Aran, Sio and Saena. Their TikTok has 1.7M followers and the girls show fun, behind-the-scenes videos where you can get to know them or they jump on to trends. They share more dancing videos on TikTok vs. singing.
BTS
BTS is a male K-pop band formed in 2010. The group is made up of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. The group works together to co-write and produce most of their songs. On TikTok, you’ll find them sharing dancing, having fun together, and even moving with Usher.
ENHYPEN
The male K-pop group ENHYPEN has just under 22M followers on TikTok, where they share their raw talent with the world. They were brought together by the 2020 survival competition show “I-Land.” The band has seven members: Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki.
@enhypen My first love, ENGENE JAY ENHYPEN
♬ 오리지널 사운드 - enhypen - enhypen
New Jeans
The group New Jeans is known for their songs and styles that mimic 1990s and 2000s pop music. The female group has five talented performers: Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. They have just over 11M followers on TikTok, where they love using trending sounds, being silly together and dancing.
@newjeans_official Double stacked Double fun 🫧👟💕 #광고 #AirMax90LV8 #NewJeans #뉴진스
♬ 오리지널 사운드 - NewJeans - NewJeans
NMIXX
NMIXX has 5M followers on TikTok and is made up of six members: Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo, and Kyujin. The women are talented dancers and singers, of course, but they also love using TikTok as a fun outlet.
@nmixx_official Like Magic Dance Challenge!🥤 #JYP #JYPark #StrayKids #ITZY #NMIXX #Likemagic #Kwave #CocaCola #CocaColaCreations #코카콜라 #크리에이션 #코카콜라제로한류
♬ Like Magic - J.Y. Park & Stray Kids & ITZY & NMIXX
How brands can leverage the popularity of K-Pop
Here are a few ways you can incorporate K-pop into your strategy.
Collab with K-pop stars
Working with a famous K-pop star is one way to get your brand in front of millions of people. There are also smaller K-pop groups rising to fame that can also make ideal partners.
Limited-edition beauty collabs
Beauty, clothing or lifestyle brands can create a limited-edition piece with a K-pop influencer. For example, Jisoo of BLACKPINK is a global ambassador for DIOR. She even inspired DIOR’s Adapt Lip Glow in Shade #031 Strawberry.
Jumping on K-pop trends
If your brand doesn’t have the budget for some of these more extensive collaborations, you can still jump on the K-pop trends or let K-pop inspire some of your content. Some influencers make up their boyfriends to look like K-pop stars, or your brand could create makeup looks inspired by your favorite K-pop band. Another option within this is using K-pop music or trending sounds on TikTok.
K-pop is around to stay and continues to pick up steam worldwide and on TikTok. Expect to see more K-pop collaborations as brands start leveraging their popularity.
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IZEA MANAGED SERVICES
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Managed Services offerings

IZEA MANAGED SERVICES
Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.
Learn more about our Managed Services offerings
IZEA MANAGED SERVICES
Strategy and execution from the company that launched the industry.
Learn more about our Managed Services offerings