From left, aespa, ILLIT and Jimin made it into year-end charts by global media outlets / Courtesy of SM Entertainment, Belift Lab and BigHit Music

This year has been especially hectic for K-pop artists, with girl groups like aespa releasing two albums and BTS members juggling solo acts to fill the void left by their mandatory military service hiatus.

Their efforts proved successful, as K-pop groups like aespa and ILLIT and solo artists like Jimin, Jungkook and IU have garnered the spotlight from global music outlets, making their year-end charts.

This year, girl group aespa released "Armageddon," its first full-length album since its 2020 debut. Double title tracks "Supernova" and "Armageddon" swept the music charts in May. Riding the momentum, the group released its fifth mini-album "Whiplash" in October, marking another hit.

To no surprise, the group secured its spot on several year-end charts published by overseas outlets. The U.K.'s NME released its list of The 50 Best Songs of 2024 earlier this month, naming "Supernova" as No. 9.

"Bursting with a bouncy electro beat and a stellar hook, ‘Supernova' affirms the girl group's ability to thrive in uncharted territory," the outlet said, describing the song.

The song also topped Billboard's The 25 Best K-Pop Songs of 2024: Staff Picks.

ILLIT also cemented its success with the breakout debut song "Magnetic," released in March. The song ranked No. 61 on Billboard Global 200 songs, No. 29 on Global 200 songs excluding U.S. and No. 25 on Apple Music's Top Songs of 2024: Global, claiming the highest spot among K-pop groups on the charts.

"Magnetic" is also the only K-pop song to be included in NPR Music's The 124 Best Songs of 2024.

A concept photo for NewJeans' "How Sweet" / Courtesy of Ador

NewJeans made the New York Times' Best Songs of 2024 with the title track "Supernatural" from its latest album of the same name released in June.

"Why anyone would want to get in the way of the most stylistically impressive K-pop group of the past few years making tremendous, nostalgically precise, and modernly sophisticated songs like this one is beyond me," the newspaper said of the song.

The group's other song, "How Sweet," released in May, was named No. 35 on Rolling Stone's The 100 Best Songs of 2024.

This year also marked a special milestone for solo artist IU's career, becoming Korea's representative act for Billboard's Global No. 1 artist series.

The singer dominated music charts when she dropped the prerelease song "Love Wins All" in January, which is part of her sixth mini-album "The Winning," released in February.

The magazine explained that her musical success, followed by her largest world tour as a woman solo artist this year, has made her Korea's No. 1 artist for its series.

IU performs at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, Seoul, on Sept. 22, as part of her world tour "IU HEREH World Tour." Courtesy of EDAM Entertainment

The singer's song "Love Wins All" and its album ranked second on both Bilboard's The 25 Best K-Pop Songs and Albums of 2024: Staff Picks, separately.

BTS members have also had a festive year, despite being away to fulfill their mandatory military service.

Jimin was named on several lists of Billboard's year-end charts, becoming the only K-pop singer to be listed on the Streaming Songs chart with his song "Who" landing on No. 74.

The title track of his second solo album, "MUSE," released in July, also ranked No. 9 on Digital Song Sales, leading the artist to take 15th place on the Digital Song Sales Artist chart and the 89th spot on the Hot 100 Artist chart.

He also became the only K-pop artist to list more than one song on the Billboard Global 200 songs chart: "Who" ranked No. 106 and "Like Crazy" ranked No. 154. He claimed 44th among its Global 200 artists.

Spotify also announced that "Who" is the most-streamed K-pop song of this year.

Jungkook also recorded several achievements, claiming the highest spot among K-pop stars, No. 80, on Billboard 200 albums with his November 2023 full-length release "Golden." The singer landed on the 60th spot on its Top Artist chart.