From top: BTS, ATEEZ, Oh My Girl, and Blackpink From top: BTS, ATEEZ, Oh My Girl, and Blackpink Credit – Photo-Illustration by Sangsuk Sylvia Kang for TIME; Big Hit Entertainment (7); YG Entertainment; KQ Entertainment; WM Entertainment This year, K-pop accelerated its expansion into all sorts of mediums—novels, podcasts, documentaries. […]

This year, K-pop accelerated its expansion into all sorts of mediums—novels, podcasts, documentaries. And yet, for all the satisfaction these new forms brought with them, the music remains the heart of this global phenomenon. Despite the pandemic’s impact on the worldwide recording industry, releases from South Korea saw no decline […]