List of South Korean boy bands

South Korean boy bands refer to South Korea's all-male idol groups who account for a large portion of the K-pop industry. Korean boy bands have aided in the global spread and promotion of Korean culture through their demonstrated prominence and popularity. The emergence of hip-hop music act Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 shifted the focus of the Korean music industry to teen-centred pop music.^[1] Idol bands of young boys or girls were formed to cater to a growing teenage audience. In 1995, Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment, brought the idol trainee system to South Korea, which further solidified the format for idol bands and modern Korean pop culture.^[2]

Boy bands from the late 90s and early 2000s, such as H.O.T., Sechs Kies, Shinhwa, and g.o.d, who were trained with the idol system, are cited to help build the foundations as the first successful all-male groups in Korea and as pioneers of the first Hallyu Wave.^[3] From 2007 onward, second generation groups, such as BigBang, TVXQ, Super Junior, 2PM, Shinee, Beast, and Infinite, continued to grow the popularity of boy bands domestically in Korea, as well as globally through the second phase of Hallyu.^[3] The rise of groups such as Exo and BTS in 2012 and 2013 launched the third generation of boy bands and introduced K-pop to mass global appeal.^[3] BTS, in particular, has attained mainstream Western appeal with number-one hits on the Billboard charts and multiple collaborations with several global artists, including Coldplay, Nicki Minaj, and Halsey. Other major boy bands that debuted from 2012 onward include Seventeen, NCT, Tomorrow X Together, Stray Kids, Ateez, and Enhypen, all of whom continue to garner widespread attention and build K-pop's global appeal.^[3]