# Hyukoh

Hyukoh (Korean: 혁오) 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Members

* Oh Hyuk (오혁) – vocals, guitar, songwriter
* Lim Hyun-jae (임현제) – lead guitar
* Im Dong-geon (임동건) – bass
* Lee In-woo (이인우) – drums

## Controversy

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.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales |
| Title | Album details | KOR | JPN | US World | Sales |
| 23 | Released: April 24, 2017 Label: HIGHGRND, DRDR AC, Genie Music Format: CD, digital download Track listing "Burning Youth" "Tokyo Inn" "Leather Jacket" (가죽자켓) "Tomboy" "2002WorldCup" "Jesus Lived in a Motel" "Wanli" (Wanli万里) "Die Alone" "Reserved Seat" (지정석) "Simon" "Paul" "Surf Boy" | 5 | 106 | 6 | KOR: 13,830 JPN: 620 |
| AAA (with Sunset Rollercoaster) | Released: July 10, 2024 Label: HIGHGRND, DRDR AC Format: CD, digital download Track listing "Kite War" "Y" "Antenna" "Glue" "Young Man" "Do Nothing" "Aaaannnnteeeeennnaaaaaa" "2F 年轻人" | 18 | — | — | KOR: 14,375 |

### Extended plays

| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales |
| Title | EP details | KOR | JPN | US World | Sales |
| 20 | Released: September 18, 2014 Label: Cashmier, Sony Music Format: CD, digital download Track listing "Lonely" "Feels Like Roller-Coaster Ride" "Ohio" "Wi Ing Wi Ing" (위잉위잉) "Our Place" "I Have No Hometown" | — | 130 | — | JPN: 720 |
| 22 | Released: May 28, 2015 Label: DRDR AC, LOEN Entertainment Format: CD, digital download Track listing "Settled Down" "Comes and Goes" (와리가리) "Keunsae" (큰새) "Mer" "Hooka" "Gondry" (공드리) | 9 | 112 | 4 | KOR: 2,498+ JPN: 806 |
| 24 | Released: May 31, 2018 Label: DRDR AC, Stone Music Entertainment Format: CD, digital download Track listing "Graduation" "SkyWorld" (하늘나라) "Love Ya!" "Citizen Kane" "Gang Gang Schiele" "Goodbye Seoul" | 12 | — | — | KOR: 6,614+ |
| Through Love | Released: January 30, 2020 Label: DRDR AC Format: CD, digital download Track listing "Help" "Hey Sun" "Silverhair Express" "Flat Dog" "World of the Forgotten" "New Born" | 8 | — | — | KOR: 8,143 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. ||||||

### Singles

| Title | Year | Peak positions | Sales | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR | Sales | Album |
| "Wi Ing Wi Ing" (위잉위잉) | 2014 | 1 | KOR: 2,500,000+ | 20 |
| "Panda Bear" | 2015 | 95 | KOR: 98,706+ | Non-album single |
| "Comes and Goes (와리가리)" | 2015 | 1 | KOR: 1,629,519+ | 22 |
| "Tomboy" | 2017 | 2 | KOR: 2,500,000 | 23 |
| "Leather Jacket" (가죽자켓) | 2017 | 16 | KOR: 121,914+ | 23 |
| "Love Ya!" | 2018 | 46 | — | 24 |
| "Help" | 2020 | 117 | — | Through Love |
| "Young Man" (with Sunset Rollercoaster) | 2024 | 140 | — | AAA |

### Other charted songs

| Title | Year | Peak positions | Sales | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR | Sales | Album |
| "Ohio" | 2014 | 29 | KOR: 329,291+ | 20 |
| "Lonely" | 2014 | 91 | KOR: 106,988+ | 20 |
| "I Have No Hometown" | 2014 | — | KOR: 83,976+ | 20 |
| "Feels Like Roller Coaster Ride" | 2014 | — | KOR: 72,406+ | 20 |
| "Our Place" | 2014 | — | KOR: 69,875+ | 20 |
| "Bamboo" | 2015 | — | KOR: 54,530+ | Non-album single |
| "Hooka" | 2015 | 10 | KOR: 707,634+ | 22 |
| "Big Bird (큰새)" | 2015 | 37 | KOR: 356,608+ | 22 |
| "Gondry (공드리)" | 2015 | 41 | KOR: 279,972+ | 22 |
| "Settled Down" | 2015 | 83 | KOR: 116,937+ | 22 |
| "Mer" | 2015 | 86 | KOR: 112,563+ | 22 |
| "Die Alone" | 2017 | 36 | KOR: 56,122+ | 23 |
| "Tokyo Inn" | 2017 | 41 | KOR: 50,072+ | 23 |
| "Paul" | 2017 | 61 | KOR: 43,144+ | 23 |
| "Burning Youth" | 2017 | 64 | KOR: 39,872+ | 23 |
| "2002WorldCup" | 2017 | 65 | KOR: 39,653+ | 23 |
| "Jesus Lived In A Motel Room" | 2017 | 68 | KOR: 38,543+ | 23 |
| "Wanli" (Wanli万里) | 2017 | 79 | KOR: 35,155+ | 23 |
| "Surf Boy" | 2017 | 80 | KOR: 37,094+ | 23 |
| "Reserved Seat" (지정석) | 2017 | 84 | KOR: 35,803+ | 23 |
| "Simon" | 2017 | 86 | KOR: 35,784+ | 23 |

### Music videos

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Wi Ing Wi Ing (위잉위잉)" | 2014 | 20 |
| "Panda Bear" | 2015 | 22 |
| "Comes and Goes (와리가리)" | 2015 | 22 |
| "Hooka" | 2015 | 22 |
| "Gondry" | 2015 | 22 |
| "Leather Jacket (가죽자켓)" | 2017 | 23 |
| "Tomboy" | 2017 | 23 |
| "Wanli (Wanli万里)" | 2017 | 23 |

## 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

Year presented, name of the award ceremony, award category, recipient of the award and the result of the nomination :
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient/Nominated work | Result |
| 2015 | 7th Melon Music Awards | Top 10 Artists | Hyukoh | Won |
| 2015 | 7th Melon Music Awards | Artist of the Year | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2015 | 7th Melon Music Awards | Album of the Year | 22 | Nominated |
| 2015 | 7th Melon Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Comes and Goes" | Nominated |
| 2015 | 17th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2015 | 17th Mnet Asian Music Awards | UnionPay Song of the Year | "Comes and Goes" | Nominated |
| 2015 | Naver Yearly Ranking | Most Downloaded Song | "Wi ing Wi ing" | Won |
| 2016 | 25th Seoul Music Awards | Performance Culture Award | Hyukoh | Won |
| 2016 | 30th Golden Disc Awards | Best Rock Band Award | Hyukoh | Won |
| 2016 | 5th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards | Discovery of the Year (Indie) | Hyukoh | Won |
| 2016 | 5th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards | Popular Singer of the Year | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2016 | 13th Korean Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Comes and Goes" | Nominated |
| 2016 | 13th Korean Music Awards | Artist of the Year | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2016 | 13th Korean Music Awards | Newcomer of the Year | Hyukoh | Won |
| 2016 | 13th Korean Music Awards | Best Modern Rock Album | 22 | Nominated |
| 2016 | 13th Korean Music Awards | Best Modern Rock Song | "Comes and Goes" | Won |
| 2016 | 13th Korean Music Awards | Netizen's Artist of the Year | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2017 | 9th Melon Music Awards | Top 10 Artists | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2017 | 19th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | Hyukoh | Won |
| 2018 | 32nd Golden Disk Awards | Best Rock Band Award | Hyukoh | Won |
| 2018 | 15th Korean Music Awards | Musician of the Year | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2018 | 15th Korean Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Tomboy" | Won |
| 2018 | 15th Korean Music Awards | Album of the Year | 23 | Nominated |
| 2018 | 15th Korean Music Awards | Best Modern Rock Album | 23 | Won |
| 2018 | 15th Korean Music Awards | Best Modern Rock Song | "Tomboy" | Won |
| 2018 | MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Love Ya!" | Nominated |
| 2018 | MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards | Band Music Award | "Love Ya!" | Nominated |
| 2018 | MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards | Genie Music Popularity Award | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2020 | Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | Hyukoh | Nominated |
| 2020 | Mnet Asian Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Help" | Nominated |
| 2020 | Mnet Asian Music Awards | Worldwide Fans’ Choice | "Help" | Nominated |