Korean Music Charts and How They're Counted: Melon TOP100 and Circle Chart Explained
Comeback articles often use phrases like "entered the Melon TOP100" or "No. 1 on the weekly Circle Chart." Melon is Korea's largest music streaming service, and Circle Chart is Korea's official music chart. Each chart counts different things over different periods, so it's normal for the same song to rank differently on each. This guide explains the types of charts and how they're counted, based on the explanations Melon and Circle Chart publish on their own sites. Chart policies can change, so check each chart's information page for the latest details.
Streaming service charts are different from official charts
Charts on music services like Melon count usage on that one service only. Circle Chart (formerly Gaon Chart), on the other hand, is run by the Korea Music Content Association and combines data from multiple music services and album distributors. Think of streaming service charts as showing near-real-time reactions, and Circle Chart as showing the overall market trend on a weekly and monthly basis.
Melon charts
Melon's chart page offers the TOP100, HOT100, daily, weekly and monthly charts, as well as charts by era. For the TOP100, the most frequently cited chart, Melon explains the following:
- Counting period: It combines usage from the last 24 hours with usage from the last hour, and is updated every hour.
- Usage weighting: Usage is counted at 40% streaming and 60% downloads.
- Late night and early morning: From 1 AM to 7 AM, when there are fewer users, Melon publishes a chart based 100% on the last 24 hours of usage to prevent chart distortion.
- Rank change indicators: Rank changes are not shown on the 1 AM and 8 AM charts, when the weighting switches.
So a new song released at 6 PM KST is heavily influenced by last-hour usage for the first few hours after release, while overnight its rank moves based on 24-hour cumulative usage. Articles saying a song "entered the TOP100 within X hours of release" are based on these hourly charts.
Circle Chart's main charts
According to Circle Chart's FAQ, its main charts are counted as follows.
| Chart | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Digital chart | The number of downloads, streams, BGM uses and V Coloring (video ringback tone) uses, multiplied by a weighting for each service (based on neighboring-rights royalties) and added together |
| Album chart | Wholesale shipment quantities of tapes, LPs, CDs, USBs, kits, platform albums and more (with returns deducted) |
| Retail album chart | Real-time count of the same album formats sold at retail stores |
| Global K-pop chart | K-pop streaming usage worldwide |
There are also separate streaming, download, BGM, V Coloring, karaoke, ringtone/ringback and social charts. Weekly charts group Sunday through Saturday as one week, and in addition to weekly charts, Circle Chart also publishes monthly, half-year and yearly charts.
Album chart vs. retail album chart
The album chart reflects shipments sent out by distributors minus returns, so it can include copies that don't show up in Korean retail sales, such as stock exported overseas. The retail album chart counts copies actually sold at retail stores. That's why the same album can have different numbers on the two charts. When reading an article about album sales, first check whether the figure is based on shipments or on sales. First-week sales (chodong) are explained separately, along with Hanteo Chart, in our first-week sales guide.
Things to keep in mind when looking at rankings
- Streaming service rankings reflect that service's users, so they may differ from other services or official charts.
- Looking at the reference time and counting period shown on the chart makes it easier to understand why a ranking moved.
- Plays that no one is actually listening to, such as from automated repeat-play programs, are hard to consider genuine listening and may violate music services' terms of use, so it's best not to use them.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Melon TOP100 change so much between night and morning?
According to Melon, from 1 AM to 7 AM it publishes a chart based 100% on the last 24 hours of usage, and at other times it combines the last 24 hours with the last hour. Rankings can shift when the method switches, which is why rank changes are not shown on the 1 AM and 8 AM charts.
Why are Circle Chart album chart numbers higher than Hanteo first-week sales?
The Circle Chart album chart counts shipments (with returns deducted), while Hanteo Chart counts sales at its partner retailers. If some copies were shipped but not recorded as sales at Korean partner retailers, such as stock sent overseas, the two numbers will differ.
How is the global K-pop chart different from the Korean digital chart?
The digital chart adds up weighted downloads, streams, BGM uses and more on Korean music services, while the global K-pop chart is based on K-pop streaming usage worldwide. Songs with a strong response from international fans sometimes rank relatively higher on the global chart.