ALL ABOUT KOREAN: TVXQ/DBSK

TVXQ, an acronym for Tong Vfang Xien Qi^[1] (traditional Chinese: 東方神起), is a South Korean pop group formed in 2003 under SM Entertainment. In South Korea they are known as Dong Bang Shin Ki^[2]^[3] (Korean: 동방신기), often abbreviated by international fans as DBSK; and in Japan as Tohoshinki (Japanese: 東方神起). Their name translates as "The Rising Gods of the East".^[4]^[5]
The group debuted in 2003 as a 5 member group consisting of leader U-Know Yunho (유노윤호 ユンホ), Max Changmin (최강창민 チャンミン), Hero Jaejoong (영웅재중 ジェジュン), Micky Yoochun (믹키유천 ユチョン) and Xiah Junsu (시아준수 ジュンス). In July 2009, the latter three filed for an injunction against their Korean agency SM Entertainment. This led to TVXQ ceasing all public activities and appearances after 2009. After a hiatus that lasted 2 years and 3 months, TVXQ returned as a duo consisting of Yunho and Changmin.
TVXQ is one of Asia's most successful acts and has been labelled as "Asia's Stars"^[6] and "Kings of the Hallyu Wave" for their immense success and contributions to Korean pop.^[7]^[8]^[9] Since their debut, TVXQ released 5 Korean albums, 5 Japanese albums, over 20 Korean singles and over 30 Japanese singles. According to Gaon Chart, TVXQ has sold over 9.1 million copies throughout their career in Korea and Japan alone, excluding sales from other Asian and international countries.^{[citation needed]} TVXQ’s The Best Selection 2010 broke several records for being the first foreign male artists to pass over the 700,000 mark in Japan.^[10] They have two official fanclubs in Korea and Japan, known respectively as Cassiopeia and BigEast, the former which notably earned a Guinness World Record in 2008 for its size and is said to be one of the largest fan clubs in the world.^[11]
TVXQ topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 9 times with the release of the single "Keep Your Head Down" from their album of the same name in Japan, expanding their record for most number-one singles topped by a foreign artist. ^[12] It is the second time since Oricon inaugurated searching for sales in 1968 that a single by a foreign artist gathered more than 200,000 copies in the first week. The initial occurrence happened in 2009, when TVXQ sold 256,000 units of “Break Out!”.
In 2011, TVXQ returned as a duo with the release of their Korean pop album Keep Your Head Down, ranked at No. 1 on the Gaon Chart two weeks after release. Their full-length Japanese album TONE was released on September 28, 2011, selling 205,000 copies in its first week and reaching 1# on the Daily, Weekly and Monthly Oricon Charts. Since their comeback, TVXQ has sold more than 1 million copies in Korean album sales and Japanese singles and album sales.

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