This year, the K-pop music industry showed no signs of stopping, both in quantity and quality, as a slew of artists produced their best work to date despite the pandemic.
K-pop also expanded into all sorts of mediums to reach their wide audiences -- from novels to documentaries -- but music remained the center of this industry as more and more groups release their albums and singles.
Some even celebrated a monumental mark in their careers, including BTS with their first Grammy nomination and Super Junior reaching their 15th year in the industry.
The year 2020 also did not stop a few K-pop groups from making their debut year as they mark a new generation of idols. This includes SM Entertainment's aespa, YG Entertainment's TREASURE, and Big Hit Entertainment's ENHYPEN.
Meanwhile, this year also marked the time for a few K-pop idols to experiment with their sound and add the title of soloist to their list of achievements.
Some even collaborated with the music industry's biggest stars, like BLACKPINK, who had a back-to-back collaboration with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez.
While we could go on and on about the many things that happened, we list down the biggest news that defined K-pop's year in 2020 in this gallery.
The year 2020 is definitely the year of BTS as the Korean pop boy group continues to break global records following their single “Dynamite.” They are also the only K-pop boy group to be first nominated at the Grammy Awards in 2021.
To find a complete list of BTS's achievements for 2020, you can find them here.
On November 6, 2020, legendary K-pop boy group Super Junior celebrated their 15th debut anniversary by releasing the single “The Melody,” which is all about their shared memories with their fans as a group. Super Junior also held a special 3-hour fan meeting for their enthusiasts, called Everlasting Friends or ELFs, the day after their anniversary.
Get to know Super Junior and how they reached their 15-year-mark in this gallery.
After four years since their debut in August, K-pop girl group BLACKPINK released their first full-length album, titled 'THE ALBUM' on October 2, 2020. The release was hyped by several song collaborations with international pop stars like Lady Gaga for “Sour Candy” and Selena Gomez for “Ice Cream.”
The year 2020 is also the year that SHINee members Onew, Key, and Minho got discharged from their military enlistment. With the return of Minho in November, SHINee's 18-month military hiatus has finally ended.
The group's maknae, Taemin, sustained a thriving solo career in the K-pop industry during their hiatus. In 2020, he released two mini-albums: 'Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 1' and 'Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 2.'
Get to know SHINee before their much-awaited comeback here.
international K-pop boy group SuperM released their first studio album titled 'Super One' in September 2020. The album contained a total of 15 songs and was preceded by the singles “With You,” “100,” and Tiger Inside.” Alongside the album release, the supergroup released the music video for “One (Monster & Infinity),” which dominated the charts.
Do you know the names of all the members of SuperM? Here's a quick guide.
In April, TWICE showed their fans a glimpse of their lives behind the camera in 'Twice: Seize the Light' that premiered in YouTube Originals. Following the docu-series, the group released back-to-back albums titled “More & More” and “Eyes Wide Open.”
On Valentine's Day, K-pop boy group MONSTA X released their first all-English album titled 'All About Luv,' which debuted at number 5 at the US Billboard 200. Months later, they had their first Korean comeback of the year with their EP 'Fantasia X' and studio album titled 'Fatal Love.'
Former MONSTA X member Wonho made his solo debut in 2020 under Highline Entertainment with his EP, 'Love Synonym Pt. 1: Right for Me.' He released a pre-release single titled “Losing You,” which gained praise for his all-around musicality, including his vocals, participation in writing, composing, and producing the song.
WINNER member Mino makes a beautiful comeback when he dropped a trippy music video for his new song “Run Away,” which happens to be the title track of his second full solo album 'Take.'
South Korean girl group Red Velvet debuted their first sub-unit with Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi. Their first EP titled 'Monster' was released on July 6, 2020, with the title track of the same name and a follow-up single titled “Naughty.”
JYP Entertainment's flagship boy group GOT7 had two comebacks this year with their EP 'Dye' and their fourth studio album 'Breath of Love: Last Piece.' But what made this boy group standout is that each member could shine in their own right as JB announces his first exhibition, Jackson releasing three singles under his label Team Wang, Jinyoung starring in his 8th TV series, and so much more.
Singer Lee Hi made a huge comeback by releasing her digital single titled 'Holo.' This marks her new single under her new label AOMG, after leaving YG Entertainment in December 2019.
In May, IU released the single 'Eight' featuring and produced by BTS's Suga. The song follows IU's previous singles, 'Twenty-three' and 'Palette,' which together comprise her “coming of age” series.
K-pop duo TVXQ proves that they are the legendary kings of K-pop as they celebrate their 17th anniversary this year. The group held its first online concert in May 2020, as part of the world's first online-dedicated series “Beyond Live.”
Fans of NCT were in awe as the group was able to bring together their 23 different artists to work on their albums 'NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1' and 'NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 2.' On November 23, their single “Resonance” marked the finale for their full album, which combines the singles 'Make a Wish (Birthday Song),' '90s Love,' 'Work It,' and 'Raise the Roof,' which features all 23 members in one video.
Boy group Stray Kids released their first studio album called 'Go Live' with the title track 'Gods Menu.'
In June and July, K-pop singer and Chinese EXO member Lay Zhang released his album 'Lit' that was divided into two parts, which represented a new birth and a new era in his music. His entire album consisted of 12 songs that are co-written and co-produced by Lay himself.
The pandemic didn't hinder K-pop groups from coming up with ways of meeting their fans. Several acts, including BTS, Super Junior, SuperM, MONSTA X, have all held online concerts and fan meetings throughout 2020.