BTS’ Jimin reigns as K-pop’s most popular star for January, Jungkook and G-Dragon follow close

The individual boy group brand reputation rankings have once again revealed Jimin as the top star for this month.

Written by Ayushi Agrawal , Journalist

Published on Jan 17, 2026 | 09:05 PM IST | 2.3M

Jimin and Jungkook: courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC

Jimin’s prowess in the brand rankings that are calculated every month is undeniable. He is an undisputed King of the list, having ruled for numerous consecutive years, and only a few other K-pop stars have occasionally surpassed him, only for the singer to be back at the number one spot once again in the following month. The start of 2026 is no different, as the BTS member was once again crowned the leader of the list of brand reputation rankings for individual K-pop boy group members.

Jimin continues on top position in K-pop boy group popularity

Alongside Jimin’s continued standing, fellow members are not too far behind. Jungkook took second place, followed by Jin in the fourth spot. V grabbed the sixth rank, J-Hope the 10th, SUGA the 20th, and finally, leader RM the 26th. Interestingly, 5 out of 7 members of the team managed to be in the top 10, even though the group is yet to release any new music since the end of their military break in June 2025. Six months on, they continue to win the favor of fans.

Unmissable from the reputation list is BIGBANG’s leader G-Dragon, who has nabbed the second spot on the rankings amid his ongoing tour and year-end award show appearances, as well as new concert announcements. EXO’s Baekhyun has impressed with his fourth spot standing amid solo fan meetings.

Wanna One’s Kang Daniel, NU’EST and Wanna One’s Hwang Minhyun, the former of whom revealed his military enlistment plans and the latter who returned after completing his service, have both grabbed the interest of fans. Meanwhile, TWS’s Dohoon, whose cuteness Overdrive challenge with fellow members, has taken over the internet.

The top 30 of January’s brand reputation rankings, as per the Korean Business Research Institute, are as follows: