With the autumn equinox on September 22 bringing the official end to summer it has been a busy world of summer. With bigger stages, summer is a busy time for Korean music stars. This article covers the biggest musicians and moments from the summer of 2024.

5 – IU 

It’s been a busy year so far for the Nation’s little sister as her HereH world tour continued to be one of the most successful K-pop world tours in recent memory. This summer, the star sold out venues across America, Europe, and Asia as part of the tour’s encore. 

The idol has also seen huge success on social media, becoming the second-most-liked artist on Instagram for 2024. The continued growth of her YouTube channel, IU Official, with her official series, IU TV and IU Palette, has led to collaborations and performances with some of Korea’s biggest stars, such as Hyukoh, AKMU, and DAY6.

4 – Peggy Gou 

There haven’t been too many busier musicians than Peggy Gou this summer. She is officially placed alongside established world-renowned DJs David Guetta and Calvin Harris on the DJ of the Year shortlist.

Releasing her debut album, speaking on a range of social issues and gaining rave reviews from critics for its nostalgic 80’s and 90’s dance sound, before ending the summer with her single ‘Find The Way’ in her return to Gudu Records, which has been heard all over the world. Peggy Gou continues her incredible streak of performances, appearing at some of Europe’s biggest festivals in Finland, Italy, France, Spain and the UK, topped by performances with Sophie Ellis-Bextor at Glastonbury and headlining Gunnersbury Park in front of a sold-out 25,000-person crowd where she would bring out superstar Central Cee.

But it hasn’t just been in the music world that the DJ has been turning heads. A fashion icon, she has often been known for her cultural impact, collaborating with brands such as Maybelline; this summer saw she host the Serpentine Awards alongside tennis superstar Venus Williams and Gugu Mbatha-raw, as well as appearing on the cover of Ibiza’s L’officiel Ibiza, the digital cover of Dazed Korea magazine.

3 – SEVENTEEN

Not many groups get the opportunity to perform on a major international stage, making SEVENTEEN’s summer one extremely special. Becoming the first-ever K-pop act to perform at Glastonbury, the group stole all of the headlines, with K-pop fans flocking to the festival to see the superstars. They also became one of the biggest K-pop touring artists in North America through the success of their US tour.

Celebrating their 9th anniversary, the group donated over 1 million dollars to UNESCO, became an ambassador for the charity, and held their 8th fan meet. The time also came with a new movie based on SEVENTEEN’s Korea and Japan tour.

2 – DAY6

It’s been a great year for DAY6; after returning from military enlistment, the band has quickly become one of Korea’s most successful bands, topping the charts and appearing on seemingly every variety show. This summer has been the pinnacle of DAY6’s career.

Releasing their first comeback album ‘Fourever‘ in March, the album and many of its singles still topped the charts in the summer before topping the charts even achieving all kills with the band’s end of summer album ‘Band Aid‘ the DAY6’s extensive discography has been playing everywhere in South Korea.

In addition to achieving success in the chart, DAY6 also saw success through the usual Korean band circuit, which performed across Korea at festivals and university stages. They saw themselves perform at iconic events such as the Korean Baseball Organisation (KBO) all-star game and appear on variety shows Knowing Bros and Hangout with Yoo in a summer, which has made them arguably the most popular band in Korea.

Honourable mention – RIIZE 

It’s been a hard year for SM Entertainment. With singer Taeil leaving NCT and the lawsuit of EXO-CBX reignited, Riize has been the only bright spot of SM this summer. Releasing their first mini album ‘RIIZING‘ shortly followed by the repackaged epilogue, the second-year boy group have been carrying the summer releases for SM Entertainment over the past three months and have seen themselves become one of the most influential fifth-generation groups in K-pop being interviewed by the Rolling Stones UK they also appeared as part of a documentary by American production company Bloomberg showcasing the K-pop industry which saw footage from their LA concert and interviews with SM’s production executive directors who discussed the groups music production and global strategy.

In Asia, riize also saw success selling out a 15-stop Japan tour in a much-needed statement summer for SM Entertainment. 

Honourable mention – Glen Check 

Summer is an important time for bands in Korea. With increased stages, it’s always a great opportunity for National bands to become known internationally. No band has done that over the past few years more than Glen Check, continuing their dominance on the independent scene this summer saw them perform at stages such as Grand Mint Festival, Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival, DMZ Peace Train Music Festival, highway to Paradise and Asian Pop Festival 2024. 

Success also came through the band OST brilliance as they would once again get the opportunity to have their songs featured on a Netflix original, as their songs “4ever” and “Dazed and Confused” appeared on the Japanese dating show ‘The Boyfriend.’

1 – Stray Kids 

It’s been a big summer for JYP Entertainment as they take the one and two spots on our list. What a summer it has been for the JYP Entertainment boys. 

Topped off by their incredible Hyde Park headlining performance, Stray Kids have had a busy schedule this summer, appearing on Knowing Bros, headlining Lollapalooza Chicago and Good Morning America.

Alongside these achievements, the band have also managed to collaborate with Charlie Puth for the single “Lose My Breath” and intertwine themselves with the Marvel universe, meeting Ryan Reynolds and releasing “Slash” as part of the Deadpool and Wolverine OST. Their musical excellence has seen them officially be awarded gold certification for Back Door, achieve their fourth consecutive triple million album with ‘Ate’, and become the first group to achieve five consecutive No.1 albums on Billboard 200.

What do you think of our list? Is there anyone we missed? What are your favourite moments from summer 2024? Let us know on social media by reaching out on X or Instagram.