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Have you ever noticed that many K-Pop artists have a similar album release time? But not just an album—it can also be a digital single. You would see idols usually dropping new music at either 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. KST (Korean Standard Time).
Out of all the time, why do you think Korean entertainment companies prefer those two? What's so special about 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.? The thing is, they are meaningful to K-Pop agencies, but how come? That's what we're going to tackle in this article, so stick around.
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The Usual Release Time of a K-Pop Album
If we pay close attention to the album release time of K-Pop stars, we'll immediately notice a pattern. We can see that Korean artists commonly make a comeback at 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. KST. Regardless of what company they are under, their time slots are the same.
Take TOMORROW X TOGETHER as an example. On May 2 at 1 p.m. KST, the K-Pop boy group released their new digital single ‘Love Language.' On May 16 at 1 p.m. KST, BTS's Jin's "Echo" album was officially launched.
Meanwhile, rising rookie group BOYNEXTDOOR launched their fourth mini-album, “No Genre,” at 6 p.m. on May 13. Six days later, EXO’s BaekHyun dropped his fifth mini-album, “Essence of Reverie,” at the same time.
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Even female K-Pop artists follow the same album release time. FIFTY FIFTY dropped their third mini-album, “Day & Night,” on April 29 at 6 p.m. KST. On May 7, KISS OF LIFE released a special digital single, ‘Live, Love, Laugh,’ at 6 p.m. KST. On May 12, MEOVV came back with their pre-release single, ‘Hands Up,’ at 6 p.m. KST.
K-Pop Album Release Time: Why Do Companies Choose 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. KST?
K-Pop companies didn't just randomly choose the time of K-Pop album releases. The timing is actually part of their strategy to target the local or international music market. Here's a closer look at why 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. KST play a big role in the success of a K-Pop album or single.
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