K-Pop Fully Establishes Itself as a Mainstream Genre in the Global Music Market in 2025

2025 was a year that demonstrated K-Pop’s complete transition from a temporary trend to a mainstream genre within the global music market. The massive success of Netflix’s film “KPop Demon Hunters,” BLACKPINK’s Jennie achieving All-Kill on the Billboard Hot 100 with her solo project “like JENNIE,” the unprecedented internal conflicts surrounding NewJeans, and the announcement of BTS’s return as iconic K-Pop icons all serve as proof of this shift. Netflix’s animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” (directed by Meggie Kang) had a profound impact on both the music and film industries in 2025. The K-Pop idol group HUNTR/X captivated audiences worldwide with its unique concept of hunting evil spirits at night, and shortly after its release, it set a record as the most-watched animated film in Netflix history. Having surpassed 320 million views, the film proved its unparalleled influence and was named one of TIME’s “Breakthrough of the Year” awards for 2025. Musical achievements were at the core of this success. The film’s main Title Track achieved an unprecedented feat by reaching number one on Billboard’s main singles chart, the Hot 100, as an animated OST. This indicated that K-Pop-style music had reached the pinnacle of the global mainstream music market. Songs by rival boy band Saja Boys also made it onto Billboard charts, resulting in the entire film soundtrack forming a massive Fandom. The actress who portrayed the protagonist Rumi, Ije, emerged as one of the most prominent rising stars in the United States, leaving a strong impression on local audiences by appearing repeatedly on major American talk shows. Meanwhile, BLACKPINK’s Jennie reached the peak of her independent career through her solo project “like JENNIE” under her own agency, ADOR. This album, which embodied Jennie’s unique identity, topped iTunes charts in over 80 countries around the world as soon as it was released, and its Title Track broke Jennie’s own previous record on the Billboard Hot 100. Combining the rhythm typical of dance pop with Jennie’s distinctive vocal style, this song captivated fans in various regions around the world, once again proving the global influence of K-Pop solo artists. In Asia Brand Institute’s 2025 “K-Brand Index” for K-Pop music tracks, Jennie’s “like JENNIE” ranked first. This ranking was based on an analysis of 51,118,910 pieces of online big data from the top 30 entries on the 2025 Melon Chart TOP100, indicating that beyond a strong Fandom, public “Pick” played a decisive role in determining the rankings. DAY6’s “Han Pagega Neoseuge” came in second place, while Rosé and Bruno Mars’s “APT.” occupied third place. However, not all aspects of 2025 were positive. The darkest shadow over the music industry that year was the conflict between Min Hee-jin and HYBE, with NewJeans caught in the middle. The ADOR dispute that began in 2024 escalated into legal battles and contract disputes in 2025. As former CEO Min Hee-jin fought legally over the termination of her shareholder agreement with HYBE, the members of NewJeans sent letters demanding the cancellation of their exclusive contracts, stating that trust had been destroyed with ADOR without her involvement. Yet the court’s decision was decisive. In October 2025, the court ruled that the exclusive contract between NewJeans and ADOR remained valid and prohibited the members from pursuing independent activities. It even issued an indirect enforcement order requiring each member to pay 1 billion won per violation if they engaged in entertainment activities without their agency’s consent. During this period, NewJeans faced severe difficulties, including announcing a suspension of activities, but the situation began to settle around November when the members expressed their intention to return. While the success of “KPop Demon Hunters” and Jennie’s global performances highlight the bright future of K-Pop, the NewJeans incident illustrates the challenges that must be overcome during its growth process.