It’s the most wonderful time of the year. In Korea, Christmas is a day for friends and family as well as a time for consuming entertainment be it Television or music.

Here, we have chosen our favourite 25 songs released from the world of K-pop ranging from first generation bands to songs released as recently as 2024.

Out of a list of 50 classic Christmas songs, we could only pick 25, so for those of you wanting to explore more, check out our compiled playlist of K-pop Christmas songs here.

Finally, we will also be having our Christmas special broadcast on December 21 and to view our previous K-pop Christmas Broadcasts make sure to check out our Spotify and Mixcloud page.

Stray Kids – Christmas EveL

Welcome to the final day of our advent calendar. Before we introduce you to our final song, we would like to first wish you a Merry Christmas and say thank you to all of you for joining us on this journey throughout December.

In today’s instalment, we bring you a bit of festive mischief courtesy of K-pop’s shining light of 2024 Stray Kids, whose year alone made them the perfect candidate for this advent calendar. However, with the release of “Christmas Love” most recently as part of their ‘Giant‘ album, their entry into this advent calendar wasn’t an easy choice. Ultimately, choosing their 2021 song “Christmas EveL” from their first Christmas album.

On day 17 of the advent calendar, we discussed the group 3Racha and their adaptation of the TURBO song, applying a modern, more youthful twist focusing on the song’s rap element. Therefore, it is no surprise that in the group’s first Christmas album and the title song, the group would further lean into this, providing a modern masterclass in K-pop and hip-hop alongside incredible youthful energy and comedy through their lyricism.

Compared to the previous entries in this calendar, “Christmas EveL” draws comparisons to the first generation of K-pop. It focuses more on its sound and incorporation of dance and hip-hop undertones than on the traditional jingle melodies of K-pop. The clever use of jingles as synths in the song and undertone provides a refreshing change to the stereotypical Christmas releases you would expect from this time of year.

For the most part, a song that can easily be mistaken for a summer song, it’s really the end of “Christmas EveL” that reassures us that we have, in fact, been listening to a Christmas song as in a stroke of genius we are treated to the wonders that is Felix as we get an electronic/dance rendition of traditional Spanish song “Feliz Navidad“.

While the rest of the album is filled with ballads and your traditional K-pop festive songs. “Christmas EveL” is a prime example of K-pop continuing to reinvent the wheel and of the fantastic talent that has made them one of K-pop’s biggest stars.

What is your thoughts on “Christmas EveL”? Let us know on Social Media via X or Instagram.

Check our previous entries through the calendar below: