Exports of K-pop albums hit an all-time high last year. Shown here on Jan. 16 is the K-pop boy band Stray Kids performing at the event "Korea National Day" hosted by the Dubai Expo 2020's Al Wasl Plaza in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, with President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook attending. (Yonhap News) 

By Jung Joo-ri and Kim Hayeon 

K-pop album exports hit a record-high USD 220 million last year.

Data from the Korea Customs Service released on Jan. 16 said the export amount soared 62.1% from USD 136.2 million (KRW 161.8 billion) in 2020 to USD 220.83 million (KRW 262.4 billion) last year.

The volume of such exports showed steady growth until last year, rising from USD 44.18 million (KRW 52.5 billion) in 2017 to USD 64.39 million (KRW 76.6 billion) in 2018 and USD 74.59 million (KRW 88.6 billion) in 2019.

By country, Japan bought the most K-pop albums with USD 78.04 million (KRW 92.7 billion), followed by China with USD 42.47 million (KRW 50.5 billion), the U.S. USD 37.89 million (KRW 45 billion), Indonesia USD 9.58 million (KRW 11.4 billion) and Taiwan USD 9.3 million (KRW 11 billion).

Rounding out the top 10 were Thailand with USD 5.99 million (KRW 7.1 billion), the Netherlands USD 4.59 million (KRW 5.5 billion), France USD 4.55 million (KRW 5.4 billion), Hong Kong USD 4.33 million (KRW 5.1 billion) and Germany USD 3.32 million (KRW 3.9 billion).

K-pop album sales in China, which ranked second last year, surged 151.4%.

The list of export markets also expanded to countries with low demand for K-pop such as Bhutan, Belarus, the Maldives and Pakistan.

Yonhap News of Korea said this sales phenomenon was driven by the global popularity of K-pop superstar groups such as BTS and NCT.

etoilejr@korea.kr