Hyukoh () is a South Korean indie band signed to DooRooDooRoo Artist Company. The band was formed in May 2014 and consists of leader, singer, and guitarist Oh Hyuk, bassist Im Dong-geon, guitarist Lim Hyun-jae, and drummer Lee In-woo. Later joined by producer and electronics musician JNKYRD in 2020, who performs as a core part of the group despite not being part of the official lineup.
Career Band formation and rise in underground music scene Frontman Oh Hyuk was raised in several cities across northern China (Jilin, Shenyang and Beijing) for the first twenty years of his life due his parents' profession as university professors. Upon graduating high school in 2012, Oh moved to South Korea on his own to pursue music full-time despite his parents' strong opposition. Oh speaks Mandarin Chinese, Korean and English and his diverse cultural influences are directly reflected in Hyukoh's music, in which he infuses a mix of Korean, Mandarin Chinese and English lyrics.
Im Dong-geon, Lim Hyun-jae, and Lee In-woo joined Oh to form Hyukoh in 2014. Oh was previously producing music as a one-man band under the name Hyukoh, and the members eventually came together and took on the name as the current four-piece band. The members came together largely by chance: Oh had already worked with Lee in the past, and Lim attended high school with Lee. Oh was introduced to Im through a mutual acquaintance.
On September 18, 2014, Hyukoh released their debut EP 20, named after the band members' age at the time. The band experienced moderate success in South Korea, often selling out small-scale venues and gaining a strong following in Hongdae, an area in Seoul known for being the epicenter of South Korea's indie music scene.
Rise in mainstream popularity Hyukoh gained mainstream popularity in 2015 after participating in the popular Korean variety program Infinite Challenge; they performed "Wonderful Barn" at Yeongdong Expressway Song Festival with Jung Hyung-don. Positive responses from critics and the public translated into their second EP 22—named after the band members' age at the time—charting in the top ten of the Billboard World Albums Chart two months after its release.
On July 21, 2015, Hyukoh became the first act to sign with independent label HIGHGRND, a subsidiary of Korean media conglomerate YG Entertainment. The following year, they represented Korean indie bands at Strawberry Music Festival in Shanghai and Beijing, performing on April 30 and May 2, 2016. They also performed at the Summer Sonic music festival in Japan in August.
The band released their first studio album, 23, on April 24, 2017. The lead single, "Tomboy", placed second on the Melon digital chart and first on Genie, Bugs!, and Olleh's digital charts not long after its release. The album ranked sixth on Billboard World Albums Chart in May. Following the release of 23, the band went on their first world tour.
In June 2018, Hyukoh's song "Citizen Kane" was featured in a TV commercial by Apple Inc. for the iPhone X smartphone.
2020 World Tour Hyukoh planned to begin touring in February 2020, with dates slated for shows in Seoul, Asia, Europe, and North America. They were only able to fulfill appearances in Seoul and Japan before the pandemic struck, and the majority of the tour was eventually cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Military service Im enlisted on April 20, 2021, in order to carry out his mandatory military service. He was seen off by family, friends, and his bandmates. The location of his training camp and time of entry were not publicized.
AAA and integration of JNKYRD
In 2024, Hyukoh collabed with Taiwanese synth-pop band Sunset Rollercoaster to release the collaborative album AAA, embarking on an international joint tour.This era marked the full integration of music producer and programmer JNKYRD into the band's core operations.Initially working alongside the band in 2020 after Drummer in-woo's temporary hiatus for anxiety problems,JNKYRD's role expanded over into a multi-instrumentalist fixture, co-producing and arranging including singles "Godspeed!" and "KoK" released on August 18 and 27, 2026.Although the band legally remains registered as a four-piece entity, the founding members and their label frequently present JNKYRD as an internal core member during media promotions, official shoots and broadcasts.
Musical style Hyukoh has also been recognized for their attention to the band's visual aesthetic, ranging from their music videos to wardrobe choices. The band frequently works with photographer Han Dasom and videographer Jung Dawoon (DQM), who are members of the creative group Dadaism Club. They met in 2014.
Oh has cited The Beatles and The Whitest Boy Alive as major influences in the band's musical style. Oh and guitarist Hyun Jae have cited The Black Skirts as major influence from korean indie rock.However, after the integration of electronic musician JNKYRD, Hyukoh's musical style more towards avant-garde and psychedelic rock styles. Plagiarism accusations Following their rise to fame, Hyukoh has faced multiple accusations of plagiarism. In 2015, internet users suggested that their song "Lonely" was derived from "1517" by German-Norwegian band The Whitest Boy Alive, while "Panda Bear" was compared to Yumi Zouma's "Dodi". HIGHGRND released a statement on July 24 to address the rumors and stated that Hyukoh had received compliments on "Lonely" from The Whitest Boy Alive frontman Erlend Øye after performing the track as an opener for him while he visited Korea. The label also clarified that "Panda Bear" was released months before Yumi Zouma's "Dodi", making the suspected plagiarism impossible. "Panda Bear" faced further accusations as a copy of American indie band Beach Fossils's "Golden Age". These suspicions were furthered by a now-deleted tweet from Beach Fossils suggesting Hyukoh had mixed "Golden Age" to create "Panda Bear". Oh later posted a screenshot of this tweet to his Instagram account refuting the claims.
Members Oh Hyuk (오혁) – vocals, guitar, percussions, songwriter Lim Hyun-jae (임현제) – lead guitar Im Dong-geon (임동건) – bass Lee In-woo (이인우) – drums JNKYRD (session member) - producer, programmer, synths, percussion (2020-present)
Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions SalesKORPeaks on the Circle (formerly Gaon) Album Chart:JPNUS WorldPeaks on the Billboard World Albums Chart: 22: 23: 23 Released: April 24, 2017 Label: HIGHGRND, DRDR AC, Genie Music Format: CD, digital download 5 106 6 KOR: 13,830 JPN: 620 AAA Released: July 10, 2024 Label: HIGHGRND, DRDR AC Format: CD, digital download 18 — — KOR: 16,949Cumulative Sales of AAA:
Live albums TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSales KORCircle Album Chart peak position: AAA Live: AAA Live Released: May 6, 2025 Label: HIGHGRND, DRDR AC Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 47 KOR: 1,864
Extended plays Title EP details Peak chart positions SalesKORJPNUS World 20 Released: September 18, 2014 Label: Cashmier, Sony Music Format: CD, digital download — 130 — JPN: 720 22 Released: May 28, 2015 Label: DRDR AC, LOEN Entertainment Format: CD, digital download 9 112 4 KOR: 2,498+ JPN: 806 24 Released: May 31, 2018 Label: DRDR AC, Stone Music Entertainment Format: CD, digital download12 — — KOR: 6,614+ Through Love Released: January 30, 2020 Label: DRDR AC Format: CD, digital download 8 — — KOR: 8,143 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Singles Title Year Peak positions Sales Album KOR "Wi Ing Wi Ing" (위잉위잉) 2014 1 KOR: 2,500,000+ 20 "Panda Bear" 2015 95 KOR: 98,706+ "Comes and Goes (와리가리)" 1 KOR: 1,629,519+ 22 "Tomboy" 20172 KOR: 2,500,000 23 "Leather Jacket" (가죽자켓)16KOR: 121,914+Total downloads for "Leather Jacket": "Love Ya!" 2018 46 rowspan="3" 24 "Help" 2020 117 Through Love "Young Man" 2024 140 AAA“Godspeed”2026 - -Godspeed
Other charted songs Title Year Peakpositions Sales Album KOR "Ohio" 2014 29 KOR: 329,291+ 20 "Lonely" 91 KOR: 106,988+ "I Have No Hometown" — KOR: 83,976+ "Feels Like Roller Coaster Ride" — KOR: 72,406+ "Our Place" — KOR: 69,875+ "Bamboo" 2015 — KOR: 54,530+ "Hooka" 10 KOR: 707,634+ 22 "Big Bird (큰새)" 37 KOR: 356,608+ "Gondry (공드리)" 41 KOR: 279,972+ "Settled Down" 83 KOR: 116,937+ "Mer" 86 KOR: 112,563+ "Die Alone" 201736 KOR: 56,122+ 23 "Tokyo Inn"41KOR: 50,072+ "Paul"61KOR: 43,144+ "Burning Youth"64KOR: 39,872+ "2002WorldCup"65KOR: 39,653+ "Jesus Lived In A Motel Room"68KOR: 38,543+ "Wanli" (Wanli万里)79KOR: 35,155+ "Surf Boy"80KOR: 37,094+ "Reserved Seat" (지정석)84KOR: 35,803+ "Simon"86KOR: 35,784+
Music videos Title Year Album "Wi Ing Wi Ing (위잉위잉)" 2014 20 "Panda Bear" 2015 22 "Comes and Goes (와리가리)" "Hooka" "Gondry" "Leather Jacket (가죽자켓)" 2017 23 "Tomboy" "Wanli (Wanli万里)"
Concerts 2015 Hyukoh year end concert "22" in Seoul, South Korea 2016 Hyukoh year end concert "22" in Seoul, South Korea 2017 Hyukoh concert "23" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2017 Hyukoh concert "23" in Seoul, South Korea 2017 Hyukoh concert "23" in Hong Kong 2017 Hyukoh concert "23" in Singapore 2017 Hyukoh concert "23" in Jakarta, Indonesia 2017 Hyukoh Europe “Tour” London (Oct. 27, ULU live) Paris (Oct. 29, YOYO Palais de Tokyo ) Amsterdam (Nov. 1, Q Factory) 2017 Hyukoh North America “Tour” Toronto, ON (Sept. 8, Opera House) Boston, MA (Sept. 10, Middle East) New York City, NY (Sept. 11, Irving Plaza ) Vancouver, BC (Sept, 14, Albatross Music Festival) San Francisco, CA (Sept. 15 Social Hall) Seattle, WA (Sept. 17, Columbia City Theater) Los Angeles, CA (Sept. 19, The Mayan) Arcadia, CA (Sept. 23, Modern Sky Festival) '24' How To Find True Love And Happiness 2018 'NA' Dallas, TX (Sept. 13, Trees) Austin, TX (Sept. 14, Stubb's Jr) Houston, TX (Sept. 15, White Oak Music Hall) Atlanta, GA (Sept. 17, Terminal West) Washington, DC (Sept. 19, U Street Music Hall) New York City, NY (Sept. 20, Irving Plaza) Philadelphia, PA (Sept. 23, Foundry) Boston, MA (Sept. 24, Paradise) Toronto, ON (Sept. 26, Phoenix Concert Hall) Chicago, IL (Sept. 26, Lincoln Hall) St. Paul, MN (Sept. 29, Amsterdam Bar & Hall) Seattle, WA (Oct. 2, Showbox) Vancouver, BC (Oct. 3, Commodore) Portland, OR (Oct. 4, Doug Fir) Berkeley, CA (Oct. 6, UC Theater) Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 7, The Wiltern) Pomona, CA (Oct. 9, Glass House) 2019 '24' How To Find True Love And Happiness - Europe Tour
From February 26, 2019 to March 15, 2019 : European Tour《24: how to find true love and happiness》 February 26 : Gorilla, Manchester (UK) February 27 : Electric Brixton, Londres (UK) March 1 : Le Trianon, Paris (France) March 2 : Melkweg, Amsterdam (Netherlands) March 3: Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (Belgium) March 5 : Gloria, Cologne (Germany) March 6 :Kesselhaus, Berlin (Germany) March 7 : Zoom, Frankfurt (Germany) March 9 :Legend Club, Milan (Italy) March 11 : Apolo, Barcelone (Spain) March 12 : Cool Stage, Madrid (Spain) March 13: Capitolio, Lisbon (Portugal) March 15: Izvestia Hall, Moscow (Russia ) 2019: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival ( Sundays 14 and 21 of April)
Awards and nominations