SEOUL, Aug. 15 -- Fewer than four in every 100 K-pop idol groups ever manage to sell 300,000 copies of a single album, according to a new long-term industry analysis that underscores how sharply concentrated commercial success has become despite K-pop's global reach.

According to Korea Times, the study, published in the Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association by Kim Jeong-seop of Sungshin Women's University, examined all 1,182 idol groups that debuted between 1996 and 2025. After excluding soloists and coed acts, the dataset covered 588 girl groups and 594 boy groups - an average of nearly 40 debuts a year.

Only 97 groups (8.21 per cent) surpassed 100,000 sales, the level at which a stable fandom is typically considered esta...