List of South Korean boy bands


South Korean boy bands refer to South Korea's all-male idol groups who account for a large portion of the K-pop industry. Korean boy bands have aided in the global spread and promotion of Korean culture through their demonstrated prominence and popularity. The emergence of hip-hop music act Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 shifted the focus of the Korean music industry to teen-centred pop music. Idol bands of young boys or girls were formed to cater to a growing teenage audience. In 1995, Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment, brought the idol trainee system to South Korea, which further solidified the format for idol bands and modern Korean pop culture.
Major boy bands from the late 90s and early 2000s, such as H.O.T., Sechs Kies, Shinhwa, and g.o.d, who were trained with the idol system, are cited to help build the foundations as the first successful all-male groups in Korea and as pioneers of the first Hallyu Wave. From 2007 onward, second generation groups, such as BigBang, TVXQ, Super Junior, 2PM, Shinee, Beast, and Infinite, continued to grow the popularity of boy bands domestically in Korea, as well as globally through the second phase of Hallyu. The rise of groups such as Exo and BTS in 2012 and 2013 launched the third generation of boy bands and introduced K-pop to mass global appeal. BTS, in particular, has attained mainstream Western appeal with number-one hits on the Billboard charts and multiple collaborations with several global artists, including Coldplay, Nicki Minaj, and Halsey. Other major boy bands that debuted from 2012 onward include Seventeen, NCT, Stray Kids, Tomorrow X Together, Ateez, and Enhypen, all of whom continue to garner widespread attention and build K-pop's global appeal.

Generation one

South Korean boy bands that debuted in the 90s to 2002, arranged in alphabetical order.

Generation two

South Korean boy bands that debuted in 2003 to 2011, arranged in alphabetical order.

Other notable groups

Generation three

South Korean boy bands that debuted in 2012 to 2017, arranged in alphabetical order.

Other notable groups

Generation four

South Korean boy bands that debuted since 2018, arranged in alphabetical order.

Best-selling boy bands

Generation four South Korean boy bands that have multiple platinum-certified albums, including one double platinum-selling album, from Korea Music Content Association.
Group and years activeNotable singlesPlatinum-certified albums
Ateez
BoyNextDoor
Enhypen
Plave
Riize
Stray Kids
Tomorrow X Together
Treasure
TWS
Zerobaseone

Other notable groups