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On March 11, 2025, media outlet @TheePopCore on X reported that BTS became the best-selling Asian act of all time, with 846 million combined album units, both physical and digital, sold worldwide.
Additionally, they are the tenth best-selling artist of all time and the second best-selling group of all time. Furthermore, their studio album, Map of the Soul: 7 (2020), is the fourth best-selling album of all time in South Korea. It is also the first in South Korea to surpass both four and five million registered sales.
@TheePopCore reportedly derived this data from ChartMasters, Statista's South Korea domestic sales report, Forbes, and the Luminate Data Mid-Year Report from 2022 to 2024.
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Despite the members serving in the military and releasing their last group album in 2022, BTS still became the first best-selling Asian act of all time. In July 2020, Forbes reported that the K-pop band and the Beatles were the only two acts worldwide that sold over 1 million album units each in the US.
In 2020 and 2021, the Korean group was honored as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's (IFPI) Global Recording Artist of the Year. They became the first non-English-speaking and Asian act to receive this accolade.
The latest news sent a fervor across the BTS fandom. Fans took to social media to celebrate the group's latest achievement, as one X user commented:
"Now comeback is gonna be huge."
Fans highlighted that the Dynamite group achieved this success on their own merit.
"They did that with just ARMY support! No American label, no payola, no support from the industry. This is the power of BTS and ARMY!" a fan wrote.
"A one in a lifetime act, doing all these while coming from an almost bankrupted, small company from Korea and while being fully active for less than 9 years and they still didnt hit their peak....and we are here witnessing all of that unfold," another commented.
Others stressed that despite being away from the limelight due to their ongoing mandatory military service, BTS keeps breaking new records.
"BTS are beyond kpop but kpopies continue denying it," one fan said.
"FOR ASIA, MAN, WE PAVED THE WAY," a fan remarked.
"It’s still so funny that people thought that once they went into the military we wouldn’t hear a PEEP from any of them for the next 2 years. They still broke record after record and still released tons of content. They always come through with content," another wrote.
"And they only continue to rise!! The world isn’t ready for BTS chapter 3," one fan added.
BTS' chart-topping tracks, record sales, global tours, and more
In 2019, BTS became the first non-English-speaking and Asian act to sell out the Wembley Stadium in London and the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles during their Love Yourself World Tour.
They are also the first K-pop and Asian group act to win the American Music Awards (AMAs), Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), and MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), among others.
The group has so far garnered five Grammy nominations, making them the first and only Korean/K-pop act to get nominated for a Grammy. The K-pop group also performed their English single, Butter, at the 2022 Grammys.
BTS is the only K-pop act and Asian act to have six tracks top the Billboard Hot 100. They are as follows:
- Butter
- Dynamite
- Life Goes On
- Permission To Dance
- My Universe
- Butter (remix with Megan Thee Stallion)
In 2018, they became the youngest recipients of the Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit in South Korea. This was awarded in recognition of the group's contributions to the spread of Korean culture and language worldwide.
Additionally, their Love Myself campaign in collaboration with UNICEF focuses on eradicating violence against children and teenagers all over the world. Furthermore, the group has addressed the UN General Assembly and given speeches on the empowerment of young people.
In June 2022, BTS announced a temporary pause on group activities to fulfill South Korea's mandatory military service requirements, with plans to reunite in 2025. Jin was discharged in June 2024, while J-Hope was discharged in October 2024.
Group members Kim Namjoon (RM), Min Yoongi (SUGA), Kim Taehyung (V), Park Jimin, and Jeon Jungkook will be discharged in June 2025.
