Im Young-woong reclaims No. 1 as Park Ji-hyun enters trot K-Brand Index top 3
Asia Brand Research Institute's August 2026 K-Brand Index for trot singers analyzed 827.2 million online data points. Im Young-woong reclaimed the top spot, with Park Ji-hyun at No. 3.
Im Young-woong back on top, Park Ji-hyun holds No. 3
Im Young-woong reclaimed first place in the K-Brand Index trot singer category for August 2026, moving up from second the previous month. Park Ji-hyun landed third.
The full top 10, announced September 10:
- 1st — Im Young-woong (임영웅)
- 2nd — Lee Chan-won (이찬원)
- 3rd — Park Ji-hyun (박지현)
- 4th — Sung-ri (성리)
- 5th — Park Seo-jin (박서진)
- 6th — Kim Yong-bin (김용빈)
- 7th — Young-tak (영탁)
- 8th — Jang Han-byul (장한별)
- 9th — Jang Yun-jeong (장윤정)
- 10th — Jeon Yu-jin (전유진)
The index analyzed 827,201,025 online data points collected between August 1 and August 31, 2026, targeting the top 30 trot singers by portal site search volume. Scores used weighted criteria across Trend, Media, Social, Positive, Negative, TA (Activation), Community, and AI indexes — online figures only, with no offline data included.
Lee Chan-won jumps from 6th to 2nd
Lee Chan-won's climb from 6th to 2nd marks the sharpest rank change this cycle. He currently serves as main MC on four programs: 불후의 명곡 (Immortal Songs), 톡파원 25시, 셀럽병사의 비밀, and 서프라이즈 미스터리 살롱. He's been performing at major regional festival stages in the second half of the year. Sung-ri surged to 4th. Jang Yun-jeong and Jeon Yu-jin are new entries into the top 10.
Ryu Won-seon, Research Center Director at Asia Brand Research Institute, explained the volatility:
"Interest in trot singers is changing fluidly according to exposure and topicality at different time points and the degree of support base cohesion, rather than fixed awareness."
Ryu also noted that the trot market has expanded its consumer base beyond the traditional middle-aged demographic to younger generations. Familiarity built across entertainment, performances, and digital content — not just musical output — now drives public influence scores.
Asia Brand Research Institute, founded in 2016, publishes the K-Brand Index across multiple categories and annually presents the 대한민국 K브랜드대상 (Korea K-Brand Awards) based on its big data evaluations. Detailed index breakdowns are available on the institute's official website and Instagram.
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