Several K-pop artists have debuted in Japan. However, only some make it big. Here are the top ten K-pop artists that made the most money in Japan in 2017 and 2021.
10. BLACKPINK
From 2017 to 2021, BLACKPINK made 17.6 billion won in Japan.
BLACKPINK made their Japanese debut on August 30, 2017, with their self-titled Japanese mini-album. The said album included Japanese versions of their past singles.
They re-released the mini-album under the name "Re:BLACKPINK." This version included a DVD with all their music videos and six songs in Korean. The following year, BLACKPINK released their first Japanese studio album, "BLACKPINK In Your Area."
In 2018, BLACKPINK went on their first Japan tour, "BLACKPINK Arena Tour 2018," to promote their Japanese mini-album.
In total, BLACKPINK released one mini-album, one studio album, and one compilation album in Japan. They also released two DVD concerts.
9. Kim Jaejoong
From 2017 to 2021, Kim Jaejoong earned 17.7 billion won in Japan.
In June 2018, Kim Jaejoong released his first Japanese single, "Sing / Your Love." He released his second single, "Defiance / Lavender," in October of that year. In April 2019, he released his first Japanese album, "Flawless Love."
In 2019, he released the Japanese album "Love Covers."The album won the "Planning Award" at the61stJapanese Record Awards and one "Best 3 Albums (Asia)" at the 34th Gold Disc Award.
In 2020, he released the single "Brava!! Brava!! Brava!!" He released the Japanese album "Love Covers II."
8. IZ*ONE
IZ*ONE earned 20.7 billion won from 2017 to 2021.
IZ*ONE debuted in Japan in January 2019 with the single "Suki to Iwasetai." They released their second Japanese single, "Bueno Aires," in June of that year. In September, they released their third Japanese single, "Vampire."
In October 2020, IZ*ONE released their first Japanese studio album, "Twelve."
7. TXT
From 2017 to 2021, TXT garnered 21.6 billion won in Japan.
In January 2020, TXT made their Japanese debut with the single album "Magic Hour," which includes Japanese versions of their past singles. In August that year, TXT released their second Japanese single album, "Drama."
They also released the single "Everlasting Shine," which became the theme song for the anime "Black Clover."
In January 2021, they released the Japanese studio album, "Still Dreaming." Then, in November, they released the first Japanese mini-album, "Chaotic Wonderland."
In 2022, TXT released their third single album, "Good Boy Gone Bad." In addition, they released the song "Kimi Janai Dareko no (Ring)," which became the theme song for "Heart Signal Japan."
6. SHINee
From 2017 to 2021, SHINee earned 24 billion won in Japan.
In January 2017, SHINee released their fifth Japanese-language studio album, "Five." In addition, they went on the fifth Japan tour, "SHINee World 2017," to promote the album.
In 2018, they went on another Japan tour as four members. In March 2018, they released the single "From Now On," and shortly after, the Japanese compilation album, "SHINee The Best From Now On."
In August 2018, SHINee released their 15th Japanese single album, "Sunny Side," as well as Japanese versions of "Good Evening," and "I Want You."
In May 2021, SHINee released the Japanese single, "Superstar." Then, in June, they released the same-name Japanese mini-album.
5. BIGBANG
From 2017 to 2021, BIGBANG earned 34 billion won in Japan.
In November 2017, BIGBANG held their Japan dome tour, "Last Dance Tour." The tour included 14 concerts in four cities, with over 696,000 fans.
Besides their tour, BIGBANG had no activities in Japan from 2017 to 2021. Instead, they earned their profit by selling past albums, singles, and DVDs.
4. TVXQ
TVXQ earned 63.4 billion won in Japan from 2017 to 2021.
In October 2017, TVXQ released the Japanese compilation album, "Fine Collection ~Begin Again~." In line with this, the duo embarked on a Japan tour, "Begin Again Tour." In December 2017, they released the single "Reboot."
In September 2018, TVXQ released the Japanese single album "Tomorrow." In addition, they embarked on a nationwide tour, "Tomorrow Tour." In November, they released the single "Jealous" as the lead single of the album "XV." The album was released in October 2019.
3. SEVENTEEN
SEVENTEEN earned 105.8 billion won in Japan from 2017 to 2021.
In February 2017, SEVENTEEN held "17 Japan Concert: Say The Name #SEVENTEEN." They made their Japanese debut in May 2018 with the mini-album "We Make You."
In May 2019, they released their first Japanese single, "Happy Ending." Then, in April 2020, they released the single "Fallin' Flower."
In September 2020, they released their second Japanese mini-album, "24H." In April 2021, they released the Japanese single, "Not Alone." In December, they released the Japanese single "Power of Love."
2. TWICE
From 2017 to 2021, TWICE earned 170 billion won in Japan.
In June 2017, TWICE debuted in Japan with the compilation album "#TWICE." The album included Japanese versions of their past singles, such as "SIGNAL" and "TT." In October, they released their first Japanese single, "One More Time."
In February 2018, TWICE released their second Japanese single, "Candy Pop." In line with this, they embarked on the tour "TWICE Showcase Live Tour 2018 'Candy Pop.'" They released their third Japanese single in May, "Wake Me Up."
TWICE released a cover of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" as the theme song of the film "Sensei Kunshu" in June 2018. In September, they released their first Japanese album, "BDZ." A repackaged version was released in December.
In 2019, they released the compilation album "#TWICE2." They went on a dome tour, "TWICEDome Tour 2019 '#Dreamday." In June, they released two singles, "Happy Happy" and "Breakthrough." They released their second studio album, "&TWICE."
In 2020, TWICE released "#TWICE3." They released their seventh Japanese single, "Better' in November. In May 2021, they released the single "Kura Kura." In July, they released "Perfect World." In December, they released "Doughnut."
1. BTS
From 2017 to 2021, BTS earned a whopping 416 billion won in Japan.
In December 2017, BTS released "Crystal Snow." In April 2018, BTS released their third Japanese studio album, "Face Yourself." In 2019, they released the single "Lights."
In 2020, BTS released the single "Stay Gold" and their fourth Japanese album, "Map of the Soul: 7 - The Journey."
In 2021, BTS released their first Japanese compilation album, "Film Out."
For more K-pop news, follow and subscribe to KpopStarz.
KpopStarz owns This
Written by Alexa Lewis
