K-pop‘s global dominance continues into the end of the year.

Numerous K-pop groups will be performing on representative year-end stages in the United States and Japan, which are known as the ‘Global Mecca of popular music’. Not only top-tier groups such as Seventeen, Twice, and NCT Dream, but also rookies such as P1Harmony and P.O.W participated in major year-end events, truly proving K-pop’s influence.

○Seventeen alongside ‘Pop legends’

Seventeen, considered the ‘Leaders of K-pop’, will be appearing on the ‘Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade’ on ABC, a US terrestrial broadcasting station, on the 26th (Korean time). The program is one of the representative Christmas special broadcasts in the United States, featuring a parade of Disney animation characters and performances by pop stars. SEVENTEEN is the first K-pop artist to appear on it.

They are included in the lineup alongside ‘pop masters’ Elton John and John Legend. They will perform a solo stage of ‘Rockin‘ Around the Christmas Tree’ on the show. They previously met local viewers through another year-end special, ‘Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular’.

NCT Dream, P1Harmony, and P.O.W participated in the ‘2024 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour’, the largest year-end festival in the United States. The ‘Jingle Ball Tour’ is an annual year-end concert hosted by local media group iHeartRadio with global stars, touring major cities such as Washington D.C., New York, and Chicago.

NCT Dream and P1Harmony appeared for the second consecutive year, leveraging their solid North American popularity. Rookie Pau, who has drawn attention from foreign media such as Billboard and NME, made his debut appearance and performed his debut song ‘Favorite’.

○K-pop singers sweeping Japanese award ceremonies

In Japan, which is considered a major stage for K-pop, Korean singers are sweeping major award trophies.

The ‘Shining! Japan Record Awards’, hosted by the Japan Composer’s Association and the longest-running and most prestigious in the country, is a representative example. This year, the 66th award winners include New Jeans, Tomorrow X Together, Seraphim, and Ailit.

New Jeans won the Excellence Award, which is the main prize, and was automatically nominated for the Grand Prize. Tomorrow X Together and Seraphim took home the Special Award and Special International Music Award, respectively, while Ailit won the Rookie of the Year Award. They are all scheduled to perform on stage at the awards ceremony that will be broadcast live on the 30th.

Four K-pop groups will also be participating in NHK‘s ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen’, which will air on the 31st. The ‘Kōhaku Uta Gassen’, which is in its 75th year, is Japan’s representative year-end program, and just appearing on the show means being recognized as ‘top singers’ who have been active throughout the year. This year, the lineup includes Twice, who will be appearing for the fifth time, as well as Tomorrow X Together, Seraphim, and Ailitt.



Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com