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Stars of K-pop —

The 12-member group, EXO won Album of the Year at Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong. The group is made up of South Korean and Chinese members, with two subunits, EXO-K and EXO-M, the latter promotes music in mainland China.

Courtesy Shirley Sit

BIGBANG —

BIGBANG is perhaps one of the best known South Korean music groups. They debuted in 2006 under YG Entertainment and have won some of the country's most prestigious music awards.

Courtesy Shirley Sit

Crayon Pop —

The five-member girl group, Crayon Pop poses in their signature colorful outfits and helmets at Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong, where they won Best New Female Artist.

Courtesy Shirley Sit

Aaron Kwok —

Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok arrives at the red carpet at MAMA. The singer, actor and dancer won an award for "Best Asian Artist" and performed a duet with Stevie Wonder and Sistar's Hyolyn.

Courtesy Shirley Sit

Girls' Generation —

Hyoyeon (left) and Seo-hyun of Girls' Generation represented the 9-member girl group at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong, where they took home Best Female Group.

Courtesy Shirley Sit

Infinite —

Infinite, a 7-member K-pop group, won awards for Best Male Group and World Wide Performer at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. The group was formed in 2010 and is best known for their synchronized dancing.

Courtesy Shirley Sit

The stars of K-pop

Story highlights

South Korean pop earned estimated $290 million last year

Pop groups go through years of training before their debut

They are carefully managed to avoid any hint of scandal

CNN —

It’s a rapidly spreading pop culture phenomenon, fueled by the Internet.

Korean pop music or K-pop, is one of the most notable exports to come out of South Korea in the past decade.

Korea’s content watchdogs say K-pop exports grew nearly 50 percent from 2011 to 2012, grossing an estimated $290 million last year.

Earlier this year, nine-member K-Pop dance group Girls’ Generation beat Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga for “Video of the Year” at the 2013 YouTube Music Awards in early November. The girl group is making waves as part of South Korea’s young generation of pop stars rising up through the international ranks.