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By Kim Hyelin

K-pop album exports last year soared to a record-high KRW 300 billion.

The Korea Customs Service on Jan. 16 released statistics on exports and imports saying exports of music albums last year reached USD 233.11 million (KRW 289.5 billion), up 5.6% from 2021.

The export volume eclipsed USD 40 million for the first time in 2017 and has since shown rapid growth every year.

As in-person activities like K-pop concerts abroad ceased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign fans of the genre focused more on albums. Exports of albums in 2020 surpassed USD 100 million in revenue and USD 200 million in 2021.

The biggest market for K-pop albums last year was Japan with USD 85.74 million (KRW 106.5 billion), followed by China with USD 51.32 million (KRW 63.7 billion) and the U.S. USD 38.87 million (KRW 48.3 billion).

Japan, China and the U.S. accounted for 71.7% of Korean album exports in 2021 and 75.5% last year.

The top 10 export markets also included Taiwan, the Netherlands, Thailand, Hong Kong, Germany, Indonesia and France.

kimhyelin211@korea.kr