The year 2023 has already announced the arrival of brilliant new music albums with songs such as “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and “VIBE” by Taeyang featuring Jimin of BTS. And, Kakao M-owned MelOn looks back and cherishes the top tracks of the past year in South Korea with their 2022 MelOn Chart.
The annual chart from MelOn, the largest music streaming service in Korea, has some of the country’s biggest songs dropped in 2022. From BTS’ global-pop sunshine “Butter”, PSY’s comeback masterpiece “That That”, IU’s slow jam “Strawberry Moon”, Kim MinSeok’s non-commercial gem “Drunken Confession” to IVE’s charming “Love Dive”, Melon’s annual chart has it all.
South Korea’s population mostly consumes music digitally. A KnowledgeE article by A. Timokhovich and O. Nikuradze states that “Digitalization as a phenomenon that correlates with every sphere of consumers’ life plays a huge role in the development of the Korean music industry as a whole. Consumers have shifted towards digital consumption of cultural content.” And, over 28 million users are currently consuming music through MelOn, South Korea’s largest music subscription service.
MelOn charts have always been a mix of both commercial and non-commercial music, and the 2022 chart is proof of the same. Both global K-pop hits such as “Dynamite” by BTS which broke records by garnering 101.1 billion YouTube views within 24 hours as well as non-mainstream songs like “Drunken Confession” by Kim MinSeok, complete the annual chart.
Here are the top 50 tracks to get your groove on
50. GOT the beat’s “Step Back”
49. Younha’s “Event Horizon”
48. “Foolish Love” by MSG Wannabe
47. “Our Blues” by Lim Youngwoong
46. “Permission To Dance” by BTS
45. “Hold My Hand” by IU
44. “Ohayo My Night” by D-Hack & PATEKO
43. “Trust In Me” by Lim Youngwoong
42. “When It Snows” by Lee Mujin (ft. Heize)
41. “Every Day, Every Moment” by Paul Kim
40. “Counting Stars” by BE’O (ft. Beenzino)
39. “New Thing” by Zico
38. “Shiny Star” by Kyoungseo
37. “Always Love You” by Kassy
36. “Pink Venom” by BLACKPINK
35. “Butter” by BTS
34. “FEARLESS” by LE SSERAFIM
33. “Weekend” by Taeyeon
32. “Smiley” by Choi Yena
31. “I Missed You” by WSG Wannabe
30. “Dynamite” by BTS
29. “Think About You” by Joosiq
28. “Do You Want To Hear” by MSG Wannabe
27. “Without Me” by Juho
26. “Every Moment of You” by Sung Sikyung
25. “Strawberry Moon” by IU
24. “Drama” by IU
23. “Limousine” by BE’O (ft. Mino)
22. “Next Level” by aespa
21. “LOVE me” by BE’O
20. “At That Moment” by WSG Wannabe
19. “Dear My X” by Kyoungseo
18. “After LIKE” by IVE
17. “Attention” by NewJeans
16. “Ganadara” by Jay Park (ft. IU)
15. “Hype Boy” by NewJeans
14. “Feel My Rhythm” by Red Velvet
13. “Merry-Go-Round” by Sokodomo (ft. Zion. T & Wonstein)
12. “INVU” by Taeyeon
11. “Traffic Light” by Lee Mujin
10. “Beyond Love” by Big Naughty (ft. 10CM)
9. “That That” by PSY (ft. Suga)
8. “If You Lovingly Call My Name” by GyeongseoYeji & Jun Gunho
7. “Still Life” by BIGBANG
6. “Eleven” by IVE
5. “Love Always Runs Away” by Lim Youngwoong
4. “Love, Maybe” by MeloMance
3. “Drunken Confession” by Kim Minseok
2. “TOMBOY” by (G)I-DLE
1. “Love Dive” by IVE
(Main image credit: bts_bighit/Twitter; featured image credit: PSY/Twitter)
Sushmita Mahanta
A PhD research scholar, Sushmita is a full-time writer and a part time poet. Clashing and colliding with words since childhood, there was nothing better than writing she could do to make a living. Notepads are Sushmita's one true love -- the unbothered victims drowned in the ink of her pen. An avid fan of K-pop and K-dramas, she mostly writes about Korean culture and entertainment. When not writing, Sushmita is dancing, reading, collecting books, learning about fashion, art, motion pictures, and appreciating BTS.
