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K-pop glossary

Circle Chart

South Korea's official music chart, run by a music industry association and formerly called Gaon Chart.

Category: Charts and records

Also known as: Gaon Chart

Last updated

Meaning

Circle Chart is South Korea's official music chart. Its operator, then called the Korea Music Content Association, announced in July 2022 that Gaon Chart would relaunch as Circle Chart; the association renamed itself the Korea Popmusic Industry Association in March 2026. The chart family includes digital, streaming, download, album, retail album and Global K-pop charts. Weekly charts cover Sunday noon to the following Sunday 11:59 a.m. and are published on Thursdays. Note that the album chart counts wholesale shipments minus returns, while the retail album chart counts store sales.

Usage

Cited as the official Korean benchmark, as in "No. 1 on the Circle Chart album chart." Name the specific chart.

Examples

  • ARIRANG — No. 1 on Circle Chart's album chart for the first half of 2026, with 4,224,016 copies.
  • KARMA — Topped both Circle Chart's album chart and retail album chart for 2025.

In context

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Sources