Melon's Global-K Chart passes 3 million monthly users, about 85% from overseas
In short
Melon said the Global-K Chart, a Korea-China-Japan K-pop chart, had 3,011,516 monthly active users in September, up 45.5% from June. About 85% of them, 2,564,133, were overseas users, according to Korean outlets citing the company.
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Melon, the music platform of Kakao Entertainment, said on 22 October that the monthly active users (MAU) of its Global-K Chart passed 3 million. The company said September MAU came to 3,011,516, and that about 85% of users came from overseas. Seoul Economic Daily attributed the announcement to Kakao Entertainment. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
The September figure is 45.5% higher than the 2,069,000 users recorded in June, when the chart launched. Overseas MAU was 2,564,133 in September, about 85% of the total. Chosun Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily gave the June overseas figure as 1,017,573, which makes the three-month increase 152%. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
The Global-K Chart is a K-pop chart launched by Melon on 1 June, with China's Tencent Music and Japan's LINE Music taking part. Rankings combine music streaming use and fan activity indicators from major music platforms in the three countries. Overseas users were spread across Indonesia, Japan, the United States, Brazil, Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain and Saudi Arabia, according to all three Korean reports that listed countries. Yonhap and Seoul Economic Daily also named Hong Kong, and Seoul Economic Daily added Germany. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Melon said traffic to its mobile web service, which overseas users can reach, also rose. Excluding mobile apps, its September mobile web MAU was 5.72 million, the highest this year. Chosun Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily said Melon attributed the growth to content and services in which global fans take part directly. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
One such programme is FANSWER, an interview series in which artists answer fans' questions. Stray Kids, IVE and NCT WISH took part, and the NCT WISH episode on 15-16 September drew 15,817 questions in two days. Yonhap said Melon ran it with Tencent Music and LINE Music. A 'cheering' feature introduced on 30 September had accumulated 1.08 billion cheers in 20 days, and overseas participants made up more than 50% in its first week, according to Yonhap and Seoul Economic Daily. Seoul Economic Daily also listed the top 10 countries by participants as of the second week of October: South Korea, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Japan, the United States, Myanmar, Mexico, Thailand and Taiwan. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Melon has also added a 'Global Top10' category linked to the chart at its MMA2026 music awards, to be held on 14-15 November. A Melon official said the chart had passed 3 million users four months after launch, most of them overseas fans, and that it was becoming a new standard for global K-pop trends. The official said Melon would keep widening ways for fans worldwide to take part. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The figures come from Melon's own announcement and show how many of the chart's users are outside Korea. The documents give no independent check of the numbers or of Melon's explanation for the growth.
Key facts
- The Global-K Chart had 3,011,516 monthly active users (MAU) in September, Melon said on 22 October. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- That is up 45.5% from 2,069,000 at launch in June. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Overseas MAU was 2,564,133 in September, about 85% of the total, up 152% from 1,017,573 in June. [ 1 , 4 ]
- The chart was launched by Melon on 1 June, with China's Tencent Music and Japan's LINE Music taking part. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Melon's mobile web MAU in September was 5.72 million, the highest this year. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Melon has added a 'Global Top10' category linked to the chart at MMA2026, to be held on 14-15 November. [ 3 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Melon reported September MAU of 3,011,516 for the Global-K Chart, with about 85% of users overseas. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The September figure is 45.5% above the 2,069,000 users recorded in June. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- The 'FANSWER' interview programme's NCT WISH episode on 15-16 September received 15,817 questions in two days. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- A 'cheering' feature (응원하기) was introduced on 30 September. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Melon's September mobile web MAU of 5.72 million was the highest this year. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- What caused the growth in users. Only Melon's own analysis is given, which credits content and services that let global fans take part; no outlet offers independent analysis.
- Which countries make up the overseas user base. Outlets list different countries: Hong Kong appears in two reports and Germany in one, but not in the Chosun Ilbo list.
- The ranking of countries by participation, with South Korea first, as of the second week of October. Only Seoul Economic Daily reports this list, and it does not say which user group it covers.
- How MAU is measured. The documents do not explain the method behind the user counts.