K-pop on the Billboard Charts

A preview of every question in this General K-pop quiz. Try it first. Answers and explanations are at the bottom of the page (spoilers). General K-pop · Hard · 10 questions. 10 multiple-choice questions.

1. 1. Which act gave K-pop its first Billboard Hot 100 entry, on the chart dated October 31, 2009?

   • BoA
   • Wonder Girls
   • Girls' Generation
   • BIGBANG

   Fun fact: The English version of Nobody entered at No. 76. A PopCrush editor credited the group's slot opening for the Jonas Brothers' US summer tour.

2. 2. Who became the first South Korean artist to place an album on the Billboard 200, in 2009?

   • Rain
   • Se7en
   • BoA
   • Wonder Girls

   Fun fact: The album was her self-titled record BoA, her only English-language studio album, and it peaked at No. 127.

3. 3. Which song kept PSY's Gangnam Style stuck at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 2012?

   • Call Me Maybe
   • Somebody That I Used to Know
   • We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
   • One More Night

   Fun fact: Gangnam Style spent seven straight weeks at No. 2 behind Maroon 5, the highest Hot 100 peak by a South Korean artist at the time.

4. 4. Which BTS song gave a K-pop group its first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100?

   • Fake Love
   • DNA
   • Mic Drop
   • Idol

   Fun fact: It was also the first K-pop song to debut inside the top 10, beating PSY's Gentleman, which had started at No. 12.

5. 5. Which album gave K-pop its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200, in 2018?

   • Wings
   • Love Yourself: Her
   • Love Yourself: Tear
   • Map of the Soul: Persona

   Fun fact: It debuted with 135,000 album-equivalent units and became BTS' highest-charting album in a Western market at the time.

6. 6. Which act became the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 with its debut release, in 2019?

   • SuperM
   • TXT
   • ITZY
   • Stray Kids

   Fun fact: SuperM was unveiled at Capitol Congress in August 2019, and its debut EP came out on October 4, 2019.

7. 7. Stray Kids' very first Billboard 200 entry went straight to No. 1. Which release was it?

   • Noeasy
   • Maxident
   • 5-Star
   • Oddinary

   Fun fact: With it, Stray Kids became the third Korean act to top the Billboard 200, after BTS and SuperM.

8. 8. With which song did Jimin become the first South Korean soloist to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100?

   • Set Me Free Pt. 2
   • Like Crazy
   • Who
   • Filter

   Fun fact: It topped the chart dated April 8, 2023, making Jimin the fourth Asian artist to lead the Hot 100, after Kyu Sakamoto, Far East Movement and BTS.

9. 9. What was the Hot 100 peak of APT. by Rosé and Bruno Mars?

   • No. 1
   • No. 8
   • No. 3
   • No. 5

   Fun fact: APT. debuted at No. 8 and climbed to No. 3 on the chart dated February 1, 2025, where it stayed for two weeks.

10. 10. Which girl group's Cupid climbed to No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023?

    • NewJeans
    • Fifty Fifty
    • LE SSERAFIM
    • IVE

    Fun fact: Cupid first entered the Hot 100 at No. 100, making Fifty Fifty the fastest Korean act to reach the chart after debuting.

Spoilers: the right answer to each question of this General K-pop quiz, with its explanation and source when we have one.

1. 2. Who became the first South Korean artist to place an album on the Billboard 200, in 2009?

   Answer: BoA

   Fun fact: The album was her self-titled record BoA, her only English-language studio album, and it peaked at No. 127.

2. 3. Which song kept PSY's Gangnam Style stuck at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 2012?

   Answer: One More Night

   Fun fact: Gangnam Style spent seven straight weeks at No. 2 behind Maroon 5, the highest Hot 100 peak by a South Korean artist at the time.

3. 4. Which BTS song gave a K-pop group its first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100?

   Answer: Fake Love

   Fun fact: It was also the first K-pop song to debut inside the top 10, beating PSY's Gentleman, which had started at No. 12.

4. 5. Which album gave K-pop its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200, in 2018?

   Answer: Love Yourself: Tear

   Fun fact: It debuted with 135,000 album-equivalent units and became BTS' highest-charting album in a Western market at the time.

5. 6. Which act became the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 with its debut release, in 2019?

   Answer: SuperM

   Fun fact: SuperM was unveiled at Capitol Congress in August 2019, and its debut EP came out on October 4, 2019.

6. 7. Stray Kids' very first Billboard 200 entry went straight to No. 1. Which release was it?

   Answer: Oddinary

   Fun fact: With it, Stray Kids became the third Korean act to top the Billboard 200, after BTS and SuperM.

7. 8. With which song did Jimin become the first South Korean soloist to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100?

   Answer: Like Crazy

   Fun fact: It topped the chart dated April 8, 2023, making Jimin the fourth Asian artist to lead the Hot 100, after Kyu Sakamoto, Far East Movement and BTS.

8. 9. What was the Hot 100 peak of APT. by Rosé and Bruno Mars?

   Answer: No. 3

   Fun fact: APT. debuted at No. 8 and climbed to No. 3 on the chart dated February 1, 2025, where it stayed for two weeks.

9. 10. Which girl group's Cupid climbed to No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023?

   Answer: Fifty Fifty

   Fun fact: Cupid first entered the Hot 100 at No. 100, making Fifty Fifty the fastest Korean act to reach the chart after debuting.