This year, idol singers were told that not only would they have to perform well at their actual job but also that it was a requirement for them to branch out. 

The biggest change was that so many of them became actors and actresses and most of these transformations were incredibly successfully. Also, they began to branch out to other countries in Asia and in the world, rather than just be limited to Korea and Japan, which used to be the case. 

This year was a record year for the number of new idol groups that debuted at the same time. The market for them is close to its limitations and it's natural that idols are now looking towards other avenues in order to distinguish themselves from the others. Many idols are already aware that they will one day move into acting and many of them study acting even before debuting. It became a requirement and a necessity, and that's part of the reason why many viewers are now becoming more lenient when looking at actor-turned idols. They're just that much better at it.

Moving into international markets has also become a must. As the world starts to pay more attention to K-Pop and Korean singers in general, idols must fight to move into foreign countries in order to survive. They're studying foreign languages and already preparing to make a move into other countries. Psy and "Gangnam Style''s success have been very provocative for many idol groups.

- This year's most improved

miss A Suzy and ZE:A Im Si Wan. Suzy became the national symbol for people's first love and Si Wan made a very lasting impression in the MBC drama "The Moon Embracing the Sun," and continued onto other dramas like the sitcom "Stand By."

- This year's most notable rookie

"Respond 1997" cast Seo In Guk, Jung Eunji and INFINITE Hoya would be the obvious choice. The three of them made the drama incredibly successful despite being a cable channel drama. For Jung Eun Ji and Hoya, this was their first project but received incredibly positive reviews with their very trained and flawless acting. 

- Can't just have one acting idol in a group

Many times, there was only one member of a group who would be the best at acting and some were better at others. However, that's not the case anymore. For Girls Generation, Yuri was in SBS "Fashion King," Yoona in KBS "Love Rain," and Sooyoung currently stars in tvN's "The 3rd Hospital." T-ARA is much the same way with Eunjung, Jiyeon in "Dream High 2" and Soyeon was recently seen in KBS "Haeundae Lovers."

All of CNBLUE's members are now actors, having starred in projects like "Unexpected You," "A Gentleman's Dignity," and most recently "My Daughter Seo Young." FTISLAND's members are acting and also appearing in musicals and movies. 

- Dramas of the idols, by the idols and for the idols. 

JYP Entertainment produced both "Dream High," which featured almost exclusively JYP artists, and "Dream High 2," which then expanded out to other idols like T-ARA and SISTAR members. Then now SM C&C, a subsidiary of SM Entertainment, is currently producing "To the Beautiful You," of which the stars are SM members like Sulli and Minho. 

"Egged on my Psy's successes"

This year, many idols decided to take on the challenge of holding world tours, even stepping beyond the boundaries of Asia. Big Bang collaborated with Live Nation to start a world tour that will start on October 28th to December, titled "Big Bang Alive Galaxy Tour 2012," which inlcudes 5 Japanese cities, 3 Chinese cities, 2 American cities and countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia and others. 

TVXQ, which came back with a new album, will also have a world tour starting in November and going around to China, Thailand and many other Asian countries. JYJ Junsu will continue his tour in Europe in November, after having successfully completed 6 concerts in Asia. 

2NE1 was the first girl group to have a world tour and Girls Generation and Wonder Girls followed suit. T-ara was spotted at their own showcase in Hong Kong recently, signaling their expansion into Asia.

CNBLUE also experienced their very unexpected popularity at a concert in England, titled "CNBLUE Live in London." They're continuing in 6 cities in Japan. 

Many idol groups are starting to set their goals high after seeing Psy become a world star overnight. Many of them now feel empowered and encouraged to aim for the stars. FTISLAND said, "Looking at Psy, we realized that thanks to him, we may have more of an opportunity to expand to the world. We grew up on western pop music but it's amazing to even think that we could perform in America. Psy made that a closer dream for all of us."

Girl group SECRET said, "No one believed that K-Pop could make it on to the iTunes chart in the US but Psy paved the road for us and as idols, we can take after him. We're starting to become more ambitious artists after looking at Psy. He taught us that it's important to make the kind of music you want to make."