Every Kpop Generation Explained in 10 Minutes

K-pop has five generations. Maybe. And fans will fight to the death over which one your favorite group belongs to. From Seo Taiji and the birth of the trainee system, to H.O.T., BoA, TVXQ, BIGBANG, Wonder Girls and Girls' Generation, to "Gangnam Style", EXO, BTS and BLACKPINK, to Stray Kids, aespa and NewJeans debuting in a pandemic, all the way to ZEROBASEONE, RIIZE, ILLIT and BABYMONSTER. Every K-pop generation explained: what started each one, the groups that defined it, and why the line between generations is still a war zone. So which generation is the best? Tell us in the comments, and which group you think started the fifth generation. Chapters 0:00 Intro: What Is a K-Pop Generation? 0:33 1st Generation 3:12 2nd Generation 4:54 3rd Generation 6:44 4th Generation 8:18 5th Generation (Does It Exist?) 9:36 The Gen Wars Sources Wonder Girls "Nobody", first K-pop song on the Billboard Hot 100 (#76, Oct 2009): Billboard. Girls' Generation "Gee", 9 consecutive weeks at #1 on Music Bank: Korea Times. PSY "Gangnam Style", first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views (21 Dec 2012): Guinness World Records. EXO "XOXO", first million-selling album in Korea in 12 years: Soompi. BLACKPINK, first K-pop act to headline Coachella (Apr 2023): The Hollywood Reporter. Stray Kids "KARMA", 7th #1 on the Billboard 200 (Aug 2025): Variety. ILLIT "Magnetic", first K-pop debut song on the Billboard Hot 100 (#91, Apr 2024): Soompi, NME. "5th generation" label for ZEROBASEONE by Mnet (2023): Korea Times. Full fact list with links: hallyu/every-generation/fakta.md (internal). Generations are a fan-made label, not an official system. Years used here are the most common ranges, and fans disagree. #kpop #kpopgenerations #kpophistory kpop generations, every kpop generation, kpop history, 1st gen kpop, 2nd gen kpop, 3rd gen kpop, 4th gen kpop, 5th gen kpop, kpop explained, hallyu, bts, blackpink, stray kids, newjeans, illit, the hallyu nerd