K-pop
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179 free K-pop trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
140 free K-pop trivia questions with answers. Are you a true K-pop fan? Put your knowledge of Korean pop music to the test with our comprehensive 179-question trivia quiz. From iconic groups like BTS and BLACKPINK to chart-topping hits and industry achievements, this quiz covers everything you need to know about the global K-pop phenomenon.
30 of 179 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which social problem did H.O.T.'s 1996 debut single 'Warrior's Descendant' take aim at?
School bullying
School bullying was the target: the rap rejects violence of every kind, and the debut album was titled 'We Hate All Kinds of Violence'. It went on to sell about 1.5 million copies.
Q 02Which Girls' Generation debut single did protesting Ewha Womans University students sing in 2016?
Into the New World
'Into the New World' (2007) was sung by Ewha students facing some 1,600 police at a 2016 sit-in, and it has been tied to South Korean protest culture ever since.
Q 03Which American star duets with BLACKPINK's Rosé on the 2024 hit 'APT.'?
Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars shares the vocals on 'APT.', whose chorus is built around the chant of a Korean drinking game: 'apateu', the Korean word for apartment.
Q 04Which rookie girl group reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023 with the viral hit 'Cupid'?
Fifty Fifty
Fifty Fifty came from a small agency, but a sped-up 'Cupid' went viral on TikTok; the group entered the Hot 100 within four months of debuting and the song peaked at No. 17.
Q 05Backlash over Seo Taiji and Boys' 'Shidaeyugam' helped abolish what in South Korea in 1996?
Music pre-censorship
Music pre-censorship ended in June 1996: when the ethics board demanded lyric changes to 'Shidaeyugam' in 1995, Seo Taiji released it as an instrumental in protest, and the fan backlash helped kill the review system.
Q 06Which 2022 album was the first by a K-pop girl group to top the Billboard 200?
Born Pink
'Born Pink' made BLACKPINK the first all-female group atop the Billboard 200 since Danity Kane in 2008; its single 'Shut Down' loops a violin sample from Paganini's 'La Campanella'.
Q 07In September 2018, BTS urged young people to love themselves in a speech at which organisation?
The United Nations
The United Nations invited BTS to help launch UNICEF's Generation Unlimited campaign; the six-minute speech in English was the first of three General Assembly appearances.
Q 08Fans of the girl group behind 'Kill This Love' and 'How You Like That' go by which name?
BLINK
BLINK is a blend of 'black' and 'pink'; the group unveiled the fandom name in January 2017, five months after its debut.
Q 09Which song made its singers the first K-pop act on the Billboard Hot 100, in 2009?
Nobody
'Nobody' entered the chart at No. 76 in 2009, after its singers re-recorded their Korean hit in English and spent the summer opening for the Jonas Brothers' tour.
Q 10At which US music festival did BLACKPINK become the first K-pop girl group to perform, in 2019?
Coachella
Coachella booked BLACKPINK for both weekends in April 2019; four years later the group came back as headliners, the first Asian act to top the festival's bill.
Q 11Which second-generation K-pop boy group scored its first No. 1 hit with 'Lies' in 2007?
BIGBANG
BIGBANG's G-Dragon wrote 'Lies' for his own solo album, but the label decided it suited the group better; it then topped Korea's Melon chart for six weeks.
Q 12Which girl group's 2019 debut video 'Dalla Dalla' drew a then-record 17 million views in a day?
ITZY
ITZY set the 24-hour record for a K-pop debut video with 'Dalla Dalla'; 'dalla' is Korean for 'different', which is why the single album it led was called 'It'z Different'.
Q 13Who is the leader of BTS?
RM
RM, born Kim Nam-joon, joined Big Hit in 2010 as a teenage underground rapper; he learned English largely by watching the sitcom 'Friends' with his mother.
Q 21In 2014, 'Gangnam Style' was watched so many times that YouTube had to upgrade what?
Its view counter
Its view counter stored a 32-bit number, which tops out at 2,147,483,647; when 'Gangnam Style' passed that figure, YouTube moved to a 64-bit counter good for over nine quintillion.
Q 22EXO debuted in April 2012 with which single?
Mama
EXO's debut single 'Mama' was released on April 8, 2012 by both sub-units, EXO-K in Korean and EXO-M in Mandarin, after the pre-release tracks 'What Is Love' and 'History'.
Q 23In K-Pop terminology, what does the term 'maknae' refer to within a group?
The youngest member
The youngest member is the maknae, a Korean word for the baby of a family; the leader, by contrast, is often the oldest or most experienced member and speaks for the group.
Q 14Which single won Song of the Year at both the Mnet and Melon awards in 2015?
Bang Bang Bang
'Bang Bang Bang' came out of the 'Made' project, in which BIGBANG issued four single albums of two songs each during 2015 before gathering them on one album.
Q 15Which girl group had 2022 hits with 'Love Dive' and 'After Like'?
IVE
IVE built 'After Like' on a sample of Gloria Gaynor's disco classic 'I Will Survive', while 'Love Dive' finished 2022 as South Korea's best-performing single.
Q 16Which video did 'Gangnam Style' overtake in November 2012 to become YouTube's most-viewed?
Justin Bieber's 'Baby'
Justin Bieber's 'Baby' had been YouTube's most-watched video since July 2010; 'Gangnam Style' passed it on 24 November 2012 and reached a billion views four weeks later.
Q 17In January 2023, BLACKPINK's 'Ddu-Du Ddu-Du' became the first K-pop group video to pass how many YouTube views?
Two billion
'Ddu-Du Ddu-Du' passed two billion YouTube views in January 2023, the first video by a K-pop group to get there; its title imitates the sound of a gunshot.
Q 18Which of these EXO members left the group in 2014 after suing SM Entertainment?
Kris
Kris (Wu Yifan) filed suit against SM Entertainment in 2014 and left EXO; Luhan and Tao followed, leaving a nine-member lineup.
Q 19BTS debuted in June 2013 with which single album?
2 Cool 4 Skool
'2 Cool 4 Skool' peaked at only No. 5 on Korea's album chart, a modest start for a single album that has since sold more than 400,000 copies.
Q 20Which 2009 Super Junior single was the title track of the group's third studio album?
Sorry, Sorry
'Sorry, Sorry' reunited all of Super Junior after a spell of sub-group projects, and the album it fronted became 2009's best-selling Korean-language record in five Asian markets.
Q 24Which 2NE1 single won Song of the Year at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards?
I Am the Best
'I Am the Best' found a second life in 2014, when a Microsoft Surface advert sent it to the top of Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, a first for a Korean group.
Q 25Blackpink's debut single album Square One contained 'Whistle' and which other track?
Boombayah
'Boombayah' reached only No. 7 at home while 'Whistle' hit No. 1, yet it topped Billboard's World Digital Songs chart and became the first K-pop debut video to pass a billion views.
Q 26In K-Pop culture, what does the term 'aegyo' typically refer to?
A cute display of affection
A cute display of affection sums up aegyo: baby talk, pouts and playful gestures that K-pop idols of both sexes are expected to produce on demand.
Q 27Which member serves as the leader of the K-Pop boy group EXO?
Suho
Suho, whose stage name means 'guardian', was scouted on the street at 16 and was the first future EXO member to join the agency, six years before the group's debut.
Q 28Which NCT sub-unit was launched in 2016 as the group's Seoul-based team?
NCT 127
NCT 127 takes its number from Seoul's longitude, 127 degrees east; WayV is based in China and NCT U changes its line-up from song to song.
Q 29Which TWICE hit turned Sana's line 'shy shy shy' into a viral meme?
Cheer Up
'Cheer Up' was South Korea's best-performing single of 2016 and won Song of the Year at both the Melon and Mnet awards, while celebrities queued up to imitate Sana's line.
Q 30Which EXO sub-unit made its debut in October 2016?
Exo-CBX
Exo-CBX is named for the initials of its members, Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin; the trio also launched in Japan the following May with the mini-album 'Girls'.