Exports of K-pop records surpassed 300 million U.S. dollars for the first time last year, but overall sales dropped for the second straight year amid the domestic economic downturn.

Data from the Korea Customs Service on Thursday showed that album shipments reached an all-time high of 301-point-74 million dollars in 2025, increasing three-point-four percent year-on-year.

Japan remained the largest importer of K-pop albums, with shipments totaling 80-point-63 million dollars, followed by China at 69-point-72 million dollars and the U.S. at 63-point-97 million dollars.

However, Kim Jin-woo, head researcher at South Korea’s Circle Chart, said the number of records sold declined for two years in a row, posting 120 million in 2023 but only about 93-point-five million in 2025.

Korea Music Content Association Secretary-General Choi Kwang-ho said though the global popularity of the animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” helped maintain demand overseas, the domestic market contracted primarily due to environmental concerns over plastic CD cases.