Many K-pop groups debut with the release of either a single album or a mini-album. There are also some who only drop a digital single. Debuting with a studio album is rare in the K-pop industry, but that doesn't mean no one did it before. In fact, there are six K-pop groups that released a full album first.

6 K-pop Groups That Debuted With Full Album: KARA, WINNER, More

Super Junior

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Originally called Super Junior 05, Super Junior released their studio album "Twins" on Dec. 6, 2005. They are the first K-pop group to debut with a full album.

"Twins" was preceded by the release of the title track "Twins (Knock Out)" along with three other songs included in the album. The group promoted the album with two songs "Twins (Knock Out)" and "Miracle."

KARA

Consisting of four members, KARA debuted on March 29, 2007 with their first studio album, titled "The First Blooming" or "The First Bloooooming." They are the first K-pop girl group to debut with a full album.

"The Blooming" contains 10 total songs including the title track "Break It," where they showcased their mature and "strong female" image.

This is the only album featuring original member Kim Sunghee who left in 2008 to focus on her studies. The album, unfortunately, was not a commercial success and didn't receive attention from the public.

FT ISLAND

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F.T. Island (short for Five Treasure Island) debuted as a group with five members on June 7, 2007. On that day, they released their first studio album "Cheerful Sensibility," which is composed of 13 songs that were split into two parts, "Emotional Chapter" and "F.T. Island Chapter," according to the songs' genre.

In particular, the "Emotional Chapter" features rock ballads, whereas the "F.T. Island Chapter" contains various pop rock songs.

WINNER

WINNER is another K-pop group that debuted with a full album. Originally a five-member boy group, WINNER digitally dropped their studio album "2014 S/S" on Aug. 12, 2014. This album made the boy group the fastest Korean artist to take first place on Billboard World Albums chart, and its title song "Empty" became a hit in South Korea, claiming the top of the Circle Chart and Billboard K-pop Hot 100 chart.

"2014 S/S" is the only studio album of the group that featured their former main vocalist Nam Taehyun who left in November 2016.

Lovelyz

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Next, we have another K-pop girl group called Lovelyz, which unfortunately disbanded in November 2021. They started their career in the K-pop industry by releasing their first studio album "Girls' Invasion" on Nov. 17, 2014. Like Super Junior, the album was preceded by the release of a pre-release digital single titled "Good Night Like Yesterday" on Nov. 5.

DIA

The last artist on our list of K-pop groups that debuted with a full album is DIA, short for DIAMOND or Do It Amazing. Their self-titled studio album "Do It Amazing" came out on Sept. 14, 2015. Sadly, this album marked the first and final release of the original lineup that included member Seunghee, who withdrew from the group in April 2016.

Do you know other K-pop groups that debuted with a full album? Comment theirs names in the box below!

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Written by Maria Scott