They’re more famous overseas and they know it.
KARD is the most famous active co-ed K-Pop group. Consisting of male members BM and J.Seph as well as female members Somin and Jiwoo, they are breaking the mold continuously with their concept.
They debuted in 2016 and continue to release music until today, their most recent one being title track “ICKY.”
KARD is one of the K-Pop groups who is notably more famous abroad than in their home country, South Korea. They toured North and South America as early as 2017. Their first mini album, Hola Hola, peaked at #3 on the World Albums Chart and their songs here made it to the top five of the World Digital Song Sales chart which Billboard attributed to the positive response of their international fans: “[It was] thanks to the reggaeton and moombahton styling that resonated with international K-pop fans.”
They have comparatively fewer activities and achievements in South Korea, and their lack of domestic popularity is something the members are well aware of. They opened up about this in a recent interview with Korea Joongang Daily.
Instead of viewing this in a negative light, they are holding on to hope that things will get better. They consider it their “homework” to work harder in order to earn the recognition they desire.
And we’re still working on our homework. I don’t think the workload has gotten smaller because we can’t just overlook the domestic market.
— J.Seph
J.Seph admitted that it is difficult to break into the Korean market, saying, “We’ve thought very hard about how we could make it work, but it’s not easy.”
The group has specific goals that they are working on with this comeback season approaching.
BM: Right now, our goal is to win first place at a television music show. Just imagining it brings me to tears.
Jiwoo: We wish that our songs are heard so much in the streets that our friends and family don’t have to tell us that they’ve heard our song.
Though they are increasing their focus on the local market, they are not forgetting their international fans either.
At the same time, we’re grateful to be able to think about this because it means we’re receiving so much love from overseas.
— J.Seph
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