Girls' Generation, T-ara & 2PM's new albums certified Gold in Japan

Several K-Pop groups have once again proven their soaring popularity in Japan.

According to figures released by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) on July 13th, idol groups Girls’ Generation, 2PM and T-ara achieved gold status in Japan. Gold certification is given to artists who sell over 100,000 copies of their albums.

T-ara’s first studio album “Jewelry Box”, Girls’ Generation’s single “Paparazzi” and 2PM’s “Beautiful” have all achieved gold status for selling over 100,000 copies.

In addition, Girls’ Generation officially received the Million status after its first full-length Japanese album, “Girls’ Generation”, which was released on June 1st, 2011, sold over a million copies.

YoonA earned $3.5 million USD in first half of 2012

On the July 12th broadcast of SBS E!s ‘K-STAR News’, Girls’ Generation member YoonA was revealed to be the girl group ‘center’ member, with the most profitable activities across various fields.

Girls’ Generation is currently in the lead when it comes to being considered the nation’s girl group. Yet even among all the members who have each achieved such great popularity, member YoonA has earned the greatest salary. On top of the payments she receives as an artist, YoonA has landed a total of 20 advertisement deals and also completed another drama. As a result, YoonA’s total income has exceeded 4 billion KRW (approx. $3.5 million US dollars) after just the first half of this year.

Aside from YoonA, other ‘center’ girl group members include miss A‘s Suzy, After School‘s UEE,KARA‘s Goo Hara, and Wonder Girls‘ Sohee. These particular members act as multiplayers in the K-Pop idol industry, as they not only showcase their capabilities in singing and dancing, but also in acting and modeling.

Girls' Generation is the first celebrity to have 1 million friends on Kakao Talk

Top girl group Girls’ Generation has set yet another record, breaking the 1 million mark on the social networking service, KakaoTalk’s Plus Friend.

‘Girls’ Generation Plus Friend’ was launched on December 28th in 150 countries including Korea, China, United States, United Kingdom, etc. and it exceeded 1 million users as of July 7th. The group becomes the first celebrity to reach over one million friends. 

‘Girls’ Generation Plus Friend’ allows users to communicate with Girls’ Generation more closely and allows them to receive the most updated information about the girls.