Trot singer Lim Young-woong's 'Im Hero' sells over 1 million copies

Singer Lim Young-woong [MULGOGI MUSIC]

Trot singer Lim Young-woong’s new album “Im Hero” sold over a million copies, according to the distributor Dreamus Company on Tuesday. This marks the highest sales record by a Korean solo singer since the 2000s.

“Im Hero,” which dropped as the singer’s first-ever full-length album on Monday, was available to order from April 1. According to Korea’s album sales tracker Hanteo Chart, “Im Hero” sold over 940,600 copies in the first day alone. Combined with preorders, the first-week sales, which indicates a singer’s popularity and fandom size in the K-pop scene, already surpasses a million.

Lim also broke the record for first-day CD sales by a solo singer. The previous record was by Baekhyun of Exo with his 2021 EP “Bambi,” which sold approximately 760,100 copies on the first day. "Im Hero" also already broke the record for first-week sales, as "Bambi" sold 868,000 copies in the first week.

“Im Hero” is available in four versions: Photo Book, Gift, Digipack and Jewel Case. His new songs are also ranking high on Korean music charts.

Lim has been a trot sensation since he won TV Chosun’s hit audition show “Mr. Trot” (2020), which revived the music genre in Korea. Trot is extremely popular domestically, particularly among middle-aged and older Koreans.

Lim is set to go on tour around the nation from May 6.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]