Spotify Has Finally Launched In South Korea — Here’s What That Means For Korean Music Fans

On February 2 in South Korea, it was announced that the popular music-streaming app Spotify will now be available for Korean citizens!

This is the latest addition to the nearly 100 countries that Spotify serves worldwide, with over 320 million global listeners.

We’re thrilled to be able to finally launch in Korea, as we have been eager to welcome listeners, fans and artists from Korea for a very long time. We’re looking forward to working even closer with the entire Korean music industry to uncover more artists and connect them with fans in Korea and the world, while also continuously working on providing an ever-improving, unrivaled listening experience to Korean listeners.

— Alex Norström, Chief Freemium Business Officer of Spotify

Spotify

The app is unique in not only allowing music fans to listen to their favorite artists from a catalog of more than 60 million songs, but also recommending new artists and songs personalized for listeners to give a try with their special algorithmic system. Spotify is also able to integrate with a number of other apps, including Facebook and Instagram, as well as a wide range of devices such as Samsung mobile and TV, LG TV, Microsoft Xbox, Bose, and others.

Spotify

Exclusive now to Korean listeners are new playlists curated and updated regularly by music experts in South Korea, which cover a wide range of genres (not just K-Pop!). These are in addition to the already over 4 billion playlists already created on the app, which can be made by creators and fans alike.

K-HIP HOP playlist cover image | Spotify

Here are some examples of playlist genres and already-made playlists for each:

• Top Playlists: Korean Music Hot Now, Korean Music Rising, K-Pop Daebak, Today’s Drama OST Hot Now, etc.
• Genre Playlists: Korean City Pop, In The K-Indie, TrenChill K-R&B, K-Rock Spirit, Orchestra Korean Ballad, etc.
• Thematic Playlists: The End of the Day, So Cool Driving, Running K-Pop, You Did Well, Next Page of the Break-Up, Kitchen Melodies, etc.
• “Starring” Playlists: This Is BTS, This Is BLACKPINK, This Is NCT, This Is TWICE, This Is Stray Kids, etc.

You Did Well playlist cover image | Spotify

Korean listeners will also have access to Daily Mix, a discovery feature that allows Spotify users to have up to six individual playlists created daily just for them that combines their favorite songs with songs that the app thinks they’ll love; Release Radar, which is a personalized playlist updated weekly that recommends new music based on the artists they already listen to; and Discover Weekly, which is a playlist based on a user’s unique listening habits.

BTS’s J-Hope | @BTS_twt/Twitter

Our team on the ground has been working closely with local artists, labels and cultural tastemakers to offer an unrivaled music listening and discovery experience, ensuring that Spotify is going to be loved by listeners and artists in Korea. By bringing in a world-class product and service tailored for Korean fans and artists, we will help boost the Korean music streaming ecosystem’s entire growth, benefiting listeners, fans, artists and more.

— David Park, Managing Director of Spotify in South Korea

Hopefully with this new addition, even more fans will be able to have access to their favorite music!