List of South Korean girl groups
K-pop girl groups refer to South Korea's all-female idol groups who account for a large portion of the K-pop industry. Korean girl groups have aided in the global spread and promotion of Korean culture through their demonstrated prominence and popularity. Generally, they are known for their interesting concepts, catchy lyrics, point-choreography and fresh visuals. First Generation groups from the late 90s and early 2000s such as S.E.S., Fin.K.L, and Baby Vox are cited as building these foundations as the first successful all-female girl groups in Korea and through their participation in the first Hallyu Wave. In 2003 and onward, Second Generation groups such as Girls' Generation, Kara, T-ara Wonder Girls, 2NE1, 4Minute, f(x) (group), Sistar, Miss A, Girl's Day and Apink revived the popularity and consumption of girls domestically in Korea as well as globally through the second phase of Hallyu. Groups that began the generation transitional shift in the early 2012s, such as AOA and EXID helped propel that for the Third Generation with groups that debuted in 2012 onward such as Blackpink, Twice, Red Velvet, GFriend, Mamamoo, Momoland, and I.O.I that have risen to distinction in recent years and helped contribute to the widespread attention and appreciation of K-pop. Although the groups have been allocated into their respective generations based on the year that they debuted, this method of organisation is arbitrary and does not reflect the individual group's period of popularity, activity and perceived cultural impact.
Profiles
Generation 1 (1994–2002)
First generation of K-pop began with the birth of the idol industry after the debut of H.O.T. in 1996 and follows the early years of K-pop with fresh, feminine girl groups debuting, and includes idol groups debuting from 1994 to 2002.
| Group name | Duration | (Former) Members | Sub-unit groups | Debut single | Breakthrough single | Notable singles | Best-selling Korean album | Notable awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.E.S. | 1997-2002 | Eugene,
Bada, |
N/A | "I'm Your Girl" (1997) | "I'm Your Girl" (1997) | "Dreams Come True" (1998)
"Twilight Zone" (1999) "Just in Love" (2001) "U" (2002)
|
Love (1999 Studio Album) | see also: List of awards and nominations received by S.E.S.
|
| Fin.K.L | 1998-2005 | Lee Hyori, | N/A | "Blue Rain" (1998) | "Blue Rain" (1998) | "To My Boyfriend" (1998)
"Forever Love" (1999) "Now" (2000) "You Will Never Know" (2001)
|
White (1999 Studio Album) | see also: List of awards and nominations received by Fin.K.L.
|
| Baby Vox | 1997-2006 | Shim Eun-jin,
Cha Yu-mi Jang Hyun-jung Jung Shi-woon Lee Gai |
N/A | "Hair Cut" (1997) | "Ya Ya Ya" (1998) | "Get Up" (1999)
"Killer" (1999) "Why" (2000) "Betrayal" (2000) "Doll" (2001) "Coincidence" (2002) "What should I do" (2003)
|
Come Come Come Baby (1999 Studio Album) | see also: List of awards and nominations received by Baby ox
|
Generation 2 (2003–2011)
Second Generation evolved in the early 2000s and saw K-pop spreading throughout Asia and beginning to be introduced to the West, especially with the slow rise of social media, and saw a diversification of concepts and genres, and includes idol groups that debuted from 2003 to 2011.
| Group name | Duration | (Former) Members | Sub-unit groups | Debut single | Breakthrough single | Best-selling singles | Best-selling Korean album | Notable awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Eyed Girls | 2006–present | JeA | N/A | "Come Closer" (2006) | "L.O.V.E" (2008) | "L.O.V.E" (2008)
"Abracadabra" (2009) "Sign" (2009) "Sixth Sense" (2011) "Cleansing Cream" (2011) "Kill Bill" (2013)
|
Sound-G
(2009 Studio Album) |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Brown Eyed Girls
|
| Girls' Generation | 2007–indefinite hiatus | Taeyeon
Jessica (Former) |
Girls' Generation-TTS | "Into the New World" (2007) | "Kissing You (2007) | "Girls' Generation" (2007)
"Kissing You (2007) "Gee" (2009) "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" (2009) "Oh!" (2010) "Run Devil Run" (2010) "Hoot" (2010) "The Boys" (2011) "I Got A Boy" (2013) "Mr.Mr." (2014) "Party" (2015) "Lion Heart" (2015)
|
The Boys
(2011 Studio Album) |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Girls' Generation
|
| Wonder Girls | 2007-2017 | Ye-eun, | N/A | "Irony"
(2007) |
"Tell Me" (2007) | "Tell Me" (2007)
"So Hot" (2008) "Nobody" (2008) "2 Different Tears" (2010) "Be My Baby" (2011) "The DJ Is Mine" (2012) "Like This" (2012) "Why So Lonely" (2016)
|
The Wonder Years: Trilogy (2008 EP) | see also: List of awards and nominations received by Wonder Girls
|
| Kara | 2007-2016 | Nicole
Sunghee |
N/A | "Break It"
(2007) |
"Pretty Girl" (2008) | "Honey" (2009)
"Wanna" (2009) "Mister" (2009) "Jumping" (2010) "Step" (2011) "Pandora" (2012)
|
Step
(2011 Studio Album) |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Kara
|
| 2NE1 | 2009-2016 | CL | N/A | "Fire"
(2009) |
"Fire"
(2009) |
"Fire" (2009)
"Lollipop" (2009) "I Don't Care" (2009) "Go Away" (2010) "Can't Nobody" (2010) "I Am the Best" (2011) "Lonely" (2011) "Hate You" (2011) "Ugly" (2011) "I Love You" (2012) "Come Back Home" (2014) "Goodbye" (2017)
|
2NE1
(2009 EP)[1] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by 2ne1
|
| T-ara | 2009–2017 | Jiyeon
Boram (Former) Soyeon (Former) Hwayoung (Former) Areum (Former) |
T-ara N4 | "Lie"
(2009) |
"Bo Peep Bo Peep"
(2009) |
"TTL (Time To Love)"
(2009) "Bo Peep Bo Peep" (2009) "Like the First Time" (2009) "You Drive Me Crazy" (2010) "Roly-Poly" (2011) "Cry Cry" (2011) "We Were In Love" (2011) "Lovey-Dovey" (2012) "Day By Day" (2012)
|
Funky Town
(2012 Reissue Album)[7] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by T-ara
|
| f(x) | 2009-2019 | Amber
Sulli (Former) |
N/A | "La Cha Ta"
(2009) |
"Nu ABO"
(2010) |
"Nu ABO" (2010) "Pinocchio (Danger)" (2011) "Hot Summer" (2011) "Electric Shock" (2012) "Rum Pum Pum Pum" (2013) "Red Light" (2014) "4 Walls" (2015)
|
Pinocchio | see also: List of awards and nominations received by f(x)
|
| Secret | 2009-2018 | Hyoseong | N/A | "I Want You Back"
(2009) |
"Magic"
(2010) |
"Magic" (2010) "Madonna" (2010) "Shy Boy" (2011) "Starlight Moonlight" (2011) "Love Is Move" (2011) "Poison" (2012) "Talk That" (2012) "Yoohoo" (2013)
|
Moving In Secret
(2011 Studio Album)[11] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Secret
|
| After School | 2009-2015 | Nana | Orange Caramel | "Ah"
(2009) |
"Because of You"
(2010) |
"Because of You" (2010)
"Diva" (2009) "Bang!" (2010) "Shampoo" (2011) "Flashback" (2012) "First Love" (2013)
|
Virgin
(2011 Studio Album)[12] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by After School
|
| 4Minute | 2009-2016 | Hyun A | 2YOON | "Hot Issue" (2009) | "Muzik" (2009) | "Hot Issue" (2009)
"Muzik" (2009) "HuH" (2010) "I Me Mine" (2010) "Heart to Heart" (2011) "Mirror Mirror" (2011) "Volume Up" (2012) "What's Your Name" (2013) "Crazy" (2015)
|
4Minutes Left
(2011 Studio Album) |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by 4minute
|
| Sistar | 2010-2017 | Hyolyn | Sistar19 | "Push Push" (2010) | "How Dare You"
(2010) |
"How Dare You" (2010) "So Cool" (2011) "Alone"' (2012) "Loving U" (2012) "Give It 2 Me" (2013) "Touch My Body" (2014) "Shake It" (2015)
|
So Cool
(2011 Studio Album)[13] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Sistar
|
| Miss A | 2010-2017 | Min | N/A | "Bad Girl Good Girl"
(2010) |
"Bad Girl Good Girl"
(2010) |
(2010) "Breathe" (2010) "Love Alone" (2011) "Goodbye Baby" (2011) "Hush" (2013) "Only You" (2015)
|
A Class
(2011 Studio Album) |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Miss A
|
| Girl's Day | 2010-2019 | Sojin | N/A | "Tilt My Head" (2010) | "Expect" (2013) | "Expect" (2013)
"Female President" (2013) "Something" (2014) "Darling" (2014) "Ring My Bell" (2015)
|
Love
(2015 album)[17] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Girl's Day
|
| Apink | 2011–present | Chorong
Yoo-kyung (Former) |
Apink BnN | "I Don't Know"
(2011) |
"NoNoNo" (2013) | "NoNoNo" (2013)
"Mr. Chu" (2014) "Luv" (2014) "Remember" (2015) "Five" (2017) "I'm So Sick" (2018) "Dumhdurum" (2020)
|
Pink Memory
(2015 Studio Album) |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Apink
|
| * = have at least 1 single that have sold over 1,000,000 copies ; bold = best-selling single | ||||||||
Other notable groups
- Big Mama
- Dal Shabet
- Nine Muses
- Rania
- Rainbow
- SeeYa
- Stellar
- The Grace
Generation 3 (2012–2017)
K-pop saw a revival with the Third Generation that grew in the digital age with the influence of social media and resulted in the globalization of the genre. This era also saw a growth in survival programs that pushed for more competition, and includes idol groups that primarily debuted in 2012 onward.
| Group name | Duration | (Former) Members | Sub-unit groups | Debut single | Breakthrough single | Best-selling singles | Best-selling Korean album | Notable awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOA | 2012–present |
Choa (former) Youkyung(former) Mina (former) |
AOA Black
AOA White |
"Elvis" (2012) | "Miniskirt" (2014) | "Miniskirt" (2014)
"Short Hair" (2014) "Like a Cat" (2014) "Heart Attack" (2015) "Good Luck" (2016) "Excuse Me" (2017) "Bingle Bangle" (2018)
|
Heart Attack
(2015 EP)[19] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by AOA
|
| EXID | 2012–present | Solji
Dami (Former) Yuji (Former) Haeryung (Former) |
SoljiHani (formerly Dasoni) | "Whoz That Girl" (2012) | "Up & Down" (2014) | "Up & Down" (2014)
"Ah Yeah" (2015) "Hot Pink" (2015) "L.I.E." (2016) "DDD" (2017) "I Love You" (2018)
|
Street
(2016 Studio Album)[20] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by EXID
|
| Twice | 2015–present | Nayeon
Sana |
N/A | "Like Ooh-Ahh" (2015) | "Cheer Up" (2016) | "Like Ooh-Ahh" (2016)
"Cheer Up" (2016) "TT" (2016) "Knock Knock" (2017) "Signal" (2017) "Likey" (2017) "Heart Shaker" (2017) "What Is Love?" (2018) "Dance the Night Away" (2018) "Yes or Yes" (2018) "Fancy" (2019)
|
More & More
(2020 EP)[21] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Twice
|
| Red Velvet | 2014–present | Irene | Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi | "Happiness" (2014) | "Ice Cream Cake" (2015) |
"Ice Cream Cake" (2015) "Dumb Dumb" (2015) "Russian Roulette" (2016) "Rookie" (2017)" "Red Flavor" (2017) "Peek-a-Boo" (2017) "Bad Boy" (2018) "Power Up" (2018) "Psycho" (2019)
|
The ReVe Festival: Day 1
(2019 EP)[28] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Red Velvet
|
| Blackpink | 2016–present | Jisoo | N/A
|
"Boombayah" (2016) | "Whistle" (2016) | "Whistle" (2016)
"Boombayah" (2016) "Playing With Fire" (2016) "As If It's Your Last" (2017) "DDU-DU DDU-DU" (2018) "Forever Young" (2018) "How You Like That" (2020)
|
The Album
(2020 LP)[30] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Blackpink
|
| GFriend | 2015–present | Sowon | N/A
|
"Glass Bead" (2015) | "Me Gustas Tu" (2015) | "Glass Bead" (2015)
"Me Gustas Tu" (2015) "Rough" (2016) "Navillera" (2016) "Fingertip" (2017) "Time for the Moon Night" (2018)
|
Time For Us
(2019 LP)[35] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by GFriend
|
| Mamamoo | 2014–present | Solar | N/A | "Mr. Ambiguous"
(2014) |
"Um Oh Ah Yeh" (2015) |
"Um Oh Ah Yeh" (2015) "You're the Best" (2016) "I Miss You" (2016) "Décalcomanie" (2016) "Yes I Am" (2017) "Starry Night" (2018) "Hip" (2019)
|
Reality in Black
(2019 LP)[41] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Mamamoo
|
| Momoland | 2016-present | Hyebin
Jane Nayun Ahin Yeonwoo (Former) Daisy (Former) Taeha (Former) |
N/A | "JJan! Koong! Kwang!" (2016) | "BBoom BBoom" (2018) | "Freeze" (2017)
"BBoom BBoom" (2018) "Baam" (2018) "I'm So Hot" (2019) "Thumbs Up" (2019)
|
Great!
(2018 EP) |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Momoland
|
| I.O.I | 2016-2017 | Nayoung | I.O.I sub-unit | "Dream Girls" (2016) | "Dream Girls" (2016) | "Whatta Man" (2016)
"Very Very Very" (2016) "Downpour" (2017)
|
Miss Me?
(2016 EP)[43] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by I.O.I
|
| * = have at least 1 single that have sold over 1,000,000 copies ; bold = best-selling single | ||||||||
Other notable groups
Generation 4 (2018–present)
This generation has had to overcome generational conflicts, example COVID-19 pandemic. In a situation that needs to pioneer a wider variety of publicity methods, including the recently active online performance.[45]
| Group name | Duration | (Former) Members | Sub-unit groups | Debut single | Breakthrough single | Best-selling singles | Best-selling Korean album | Notable awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (G)I-dle | 2018–present | Soyeon
Shuhua |
N/A | "Latata" (2018) | "Latata" (2018) | "Latata" (2018)
"Hann (Alone)" (2018) "Senorita" (2019) "Uh-Oh" (2019) "Oh My God (2020) "Dumdi Dumdi" (2020) "Hwaa" (2021)
|
I Trust
(2020 EP)[46] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by (G)I-dle
|
| Iz*One | 2018–present | Kwon Eun-bi
Kang Hye-won Lee Chaeyeon Kim Chae-won Jo Yu-ri Jang Won-young |
N/A | "La Vie en Rose" (2018) | "La Vie en Rose" (2018) | "La Vie en Rose" (2018)
"Violeta" (2019) "Fiesta" (2020) "Secret Story of the Swan" (2020)
|
Oneiric Diary
(2020 LP)[47] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Iz*One
|
| Itzy | 2019–present | Yeji
Lia Ryujin Chaeryeong Yuna |
N/A | "Dalla Dalla" (2019) | "Dalla Dalla" (2019) | "Dalla Dalla" (2019)
"Icy" (2019) "Wannabe" (2020) "Not Shy" (2020)
|
Not Shy
(2020 LP)[48] |
see also: List of awards and nominations received by Itzy
|
| * = have at least 1 single that have sold over 1,000,000 copies ; bold = best-selling single | ||||||||
Other notable groups
See also
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