If BTS, the “pioneers of K-pop’s new continent,” broke down the walls of the global market, then the next generation has been expanding that territory in their own ways on top of the foundation BTS built. TXT, ENHYPEN, BOYNEXTDOOR, and CORTIS all stand within the same broader current, yet each has proven a different formula for growth.

 

Released on the 10th, the second chapter of Hanteo Rewind, titled “Chapter 2: From Penetration to Dominance, the DNA That Carries the Flow Forward,” shows through these four teams that the era “after BTS” is not simply one of succession, but one of increasingly segmented expansion.

 

The core point is clear: K-pop success can no longer be explained by a single formula. TXT demonstrated the power of long-term accumulation, ENHYPEN showed global touring power, BOYNEXTDOOR proved performance-based public expansion, and CORTIS presented a model of converting virality into actual demand. They may appear to have started from the same line, but the ways they reached their destinations were all different. That is why the keyword for this chapter is closer to “diversification” than “inheritance.”

 

► 15.59 million albums accumulated: TXT’s “evolution through the standard route”

The most powerful number that explains TXT is their cumulative sales. As of 2025, their cumulative album sales reached 15,597,205 copies. For a team that started with about 290,000 copies in their 2019 debut year to surpass 15 million in their seventh year means they built a structure of long-term growth, not just a one-time hit.

 

Considering even the symbolic significance of being the direct lineage of BigHit Music’s boy group line, TXT is better described not as “the next runner-up” but as “the successor who steadily scaled up.”

 

In particular, TXT’s real transformation in 2025 can be read through digital indicators. Their annual Hanteo digital score reached 519,099 points, a sharp 386.5% increase from the previous year. In contrast, their annual physical sales entered more of a cooling-off period at 1,784,302 copies that same year, suggesting that their popular reach actually widened.

 

This makes it possible to interpret TXT not merely as a team explained by the strength of a physical-album-centered fandom, but as one that also expanded its weight class as “a group people listen to” by boosting digital consumption as well.

 

Their overseas expansion is also notable. TXT’s overseas sales accounted for 53.75% of the total, with the United States alone making up 39.30%. Their sales reached 24 countries.

 

On top of that, the members’ solo activities further transferred the team’s core power into individual brands. Yeonjun recorded 673,351 copies with his solo album, while Beomgyu recorded 110,444 copies. Yeonjun’s overseas ratio in particular was 42.3%, exceeding the group average. In that the power of the group narrative extends into the marketability of individual members, TXT is now read not simply as “the success of one team,” but as an expandable IP structure.

 

► 88.5% of performances overseas… ENHYPEN, a global core fandom completed through concept and stage

ENHYPEN’s 2025 can be summed up in one phrase: the completion of a global-first strategy. Their annual album sales reached 2,695,939 copies, with sales reaching 23 countries. Even in sheer quantity, the results are strong, but the truly striking point lies in the composition of those sales. Their overseas sales share expanded from 39.6% in 2024 to 42.5% in 2025.

 

By country, Japan accounted for 17.3% (466,446 copies), the United States for 14.6% (392,691 copies), and Singapore for 7.6% (205,660 copies). Rather than being heavily concentrated in one region, this reflects a structure in which they strengthened their presence in multiple key markets at once.

 

The stage makes their identity even clearer. In 2025, ENHYPEN held 23 out of 26 total performances overseas, or 88.5% of all performances. This was a major increase from 17 overseas shows the previous year. This goes beyond the level of a K-pop group merely “advancing abroad”; it means the very center of their activities has been placed on the world tour.

 

Their world tour “WALK THE LINE” was the product of that strategy. ENHYPEN performed 32 shows in 19 cities, drawing a cumulative audience of 676,000 people. The structure of the tour—including 6 cities in Europe and 6 shows across 4 cities in the United States—shows that they are no longer a group centered mainly on Asia.

 

Considering even the symbolism of entering Tokyo Dome in the shortest period since debut, ENHYPEN in 2025 shifted their status from “a team with a strong concept” to “a touring artist capable of drawing audiences anywhere.”

 

► Digital score up 11,125.5%, venue size up 10.7 times… BOYNEXTDOOR’s rapid rise built on skill

BOYNEXTDOOR was one of the teams that drew the steepest upward curve in 2025. The most symbolic figure is their digital score. Their Hanteo digital score surged from 26,848 points in 2024 to 3,013,858 points in 2025. Converted into a growth rate, that is an astonishing 11,125.5% increase.

 

A leap of this scale is difficult to see as merely the effect of a comeback. It is closer to the result of word of mouth about their performance and live abilities, with that reaction then converting into actual digital consumption.

 

Their physical results also rose alongside it. In 2025, their annual album sales reached 2,787,466 copies, up 57.5% from 1,756,080 copies the previous year. When both digital and physical rise together, it means the gap between fandom and public appeal has narrowed. BOYNEXTDOOR is especially meaningful in that their reputation as “a team that makes good music” or “a team that performs well” was directly connected to real market expansion.

 

The change in concert scale is even more symbolic. Starting from a 1,400-seat showcase venue in their debut period, the group later held their Seoul final concerts three times at the 15,000-seat KSPO DOME. Even by simple calculation, that means their venue scale expanded by 10.7 times.

 

By successfully holding 23 performances in 13 cities on their very first tour, BOYNEXTDOOR moved beyond being merely “a rookie with potential” and became “a team that proved its scale in the live performance market.” In that their reputation for strong live performance ultimately came back as hard numbers, their 2025 is close to the most ideal model of growth.

 

► 1.03 million copies in just 5 months after debut, 10 million on both Instagram and TikTok… CORTIS’s method of turning virality into results

CORTIS represents the newest type of growth case within Chapter 2. The key to this team is speed. In about five months, from August 2025 to the end of December, they recorded 1,036,210 album sales. Their explosive debut-week sales of 436,367 copies did not end as temporary interest, but immediately connected to becoming a million seller. It is a representative case of turning buzz into purchasing power at high speed.

 

Their social media influence is even more direct. Within just six months of debut, CORTIS surpassed 10 million followers each on Instagram and TikTok. Instagram in particular grew from 700,000 followers to 2.72 million in just the first 34 days, an increase of 2.02 million. Simply calling them “buzzworthy” is not enough. CORTIS is already a team whose speed of fandom formation on digital platforms far exceeds previous norms.

 

What matters is that this virality translated into tangible results. CORTIS’s overseas sales share stood at 26.6%, with 12.2% in the U.S. and 6.8% in Japan, while their sales reached 28 countries. In addition, they were invited as a headliner for the NBA All-Star Weekend “Crossover Concert Series” in the United States, and were also confirmed to perform at the halftime show of the Celebrity Game in February 2026. This means they are not just a team consumed only within social media, but one that translated digital impact into real-world economic results and globally symbolic stages.

 

► Expansion after BTS… “BigHit DNA” was not replication, but diversification

 

If Chapter 1 of Hanteo Rewind showed, through BTS’s 10-year journey, how K-pop broke down the walls of the world, then Chapter 2 answers the next question: after the wall has fallen, who is expanding that space, and in what ways? TXT answered through accumulation and public expansion, ENHYPEN through touring and global fandom, BOYNEXTDOOR through live competitiveness, and CORTIS through virality and conversion speed. All four teams live in the post-BTS era, but the ways they endure and grow within that era are entirely different.

 

That is why “BigHit DNA” is not the language of replication. Even if they began from the same roots, their current success became possible only when each team found the growth formula that suited them. If BTS opened the road to the world, these younger groups are widening that road in their own ways. What Hanteo Rewind Chapter 2 ultimately shows is one thing: the next stage of K-pop is not about who resembles BTS the most, but about who proves what comes after in their own unique way.