HomeK-Pop인기가요 (inkigayo)
K-Pop — Entry No. 0368
인기가요
inkigayo · noun
K-Pop beginner

인기가요

inkigayo

[in-gi-GA-yo]

nounbeginner

Meaning
Inkigayo (인기가요), literally meaning ‘popular songs,’ is one of South Korea’s most prestigious weekly music shows, broadcast live every Sunday on SBS. It awards the ‘Inkigayo Mutizen Song’ (뮤티즌송) trophy to the week’s highest-scoring artist based on a formula combining digital sales, physical album sales, broadcast scores, and fan votes cast through the SBS app.
K-Pop & K-Drama Context
aespa’s ‘Next Level’ dominated Inkigayo’s Mutizen rankings for multiple consecutive weeks in summer 2021, cementing the group as 4th-generation leaders. IVE earned their first Inkigayo trophy with ‘LOVE DIVE’ in 2022, a milestone moment streamed by fans worldwide. BTS has accumulated more Inkigayo all-kills than any other group, while BLACKPINK’s Inkigayo comeback stages routinely break YouTube performance video records within hours.
Example Sentences
오늘 인기가요에서 누가 1위 했어?
Oneul Inkigayo-eseo nuga 1wi haesseo?
Who got first place on Inkigayo today? (the standard Sunday fan conversation after the live broadcast — results trend on Twitter within minutes)
aespa가 인기가요 뮤티즌상을 받았어!
aespa-ga Inkigayo Myutijen-sang-eul badasseo!
aespa won the Inkigayo Mutizen award! (뮤티즌상/Mutizen-sang is the specific trophy name — fans flood social media the moment it’s announced)
인기가요는 일요일마다 SBS에서 방송돼.
Inkigayo-neun iryoil-mada SBS-eseo bangsong-dwae.
Inkigayo airs on SBS every Sunday. (fans outside Korea plan their week around live stream times, often staying up past midnight for the broadcast)
⚠️ Don’t use inkigayo when…

Don’t assume the Mutizen winner is simply the most famous artist that week — the scoring formula weights digital streaming and SBS broadcast scores heavily, meaning a group with coordinated fan streaming can beat a larger act on any given Sunday. Also, Inkigayo occasionally skips its Mutizen segment during special broadcast weeks (holidays, year-end specials), which surprises new fans expecting results every episode.

🎵 Heard In

  • K-Drama: Strong Woman Do Bong-soon — characters casually reference watching Sunday music shows as part of their weekly routine, grounding the drama’s modern Seoul setting in the real cultural rhythm of K-Pop fans who plan their Sundays around Inkigayo.
  • K-Pop: aespa — Next Level (spent consecutive weeks at the top of Inkigayo’s Mutizen rankings in summer 2021, with Sunday stage performances trending worldwide and defining the signature music-show moment of the 4th-generation K-Pop era)

ℹ️ Editorial Note: The cultural context and example usage are for educational reference only. Artist names, song titles, and drama references are used descriptively to illustrate vocabulary in context. This content is AI-assisted and reviewed for accuracy. For official information, please refer to the respective artists’ or studios’ official channels.

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