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Which artists could represent South Korea at Eurovision Asia 2026?

  • Writer: aussievision
    aussievision
  • 1 minute ago
  • 5 min read


By new Aussievision contributor Will Spark


Today, we take a look at suggestions from Eurovision fans and the Aussievision team on theoretical contenders who might represent South Korea in Bangkok at inaugural Eurovision Asia this year.


Here are the potential artists who could represent South Korea at Eurovision Asia 2026:


AKMU


Siblings Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun are known in Korea as ‘The Nation’s Siblings’.


Having made music as AKMU since 2014, the pair have been cited as musical geniuses, and earned numerous local accolades.



Discovered on the second season of K-pop Star, AKMU’s debut album Play topped the Gaon Album Chart and became their first Billboard entry.


The duo reached incredible heights with their 2019 single How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love, which topped the Circle Digital Chart, sold 2.5 million digital copies, and became the fourth single to go triple platinum in Korea Music Content Association history, truly the pedigree of potential Eurovision Asia stars, who we could see on stage in Bangkok.



Lee Jung-hyun


Lee Jung-hyun, also known by the occasional stage name Ava, is a South Korean singer and actress who has been solidified as one of the top international acts from the nation.


She has been known as ‘the Techno Queen’ as she introduced the techno genre to South Korea.



Lee was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2007 and in 2008 was featured on a version of the theme song for the Beijing Olympics, and released a Mandarin album, Love Me.


Her debut album Let’s Go To My Star, released in 1999 and topped the South Korean charts for three weeks, and featured hits like Wa and Bakkweo that won awards for Best Song and Most Broadcast Song, as well as being covered by various Asian and European artists.


Her incredible resume makes her an amazing potential candidate to represent her country later this year.



Holland


Go Tae-seob, known by the stage name Holland (a tribute to the Netherlands being the first country to legalise same-sex marriage), is a Korean singer who debuted in 2018.


As an openly gay K-pop artist, no entertainment company was willing to sign Holland, so he worked two jobs to fund his debut single Neverland, which reached 1 million views in 20 hours.



Holland topped the British magazine Dazed’s annual list of 100 people you need to know in 2018, and alongside his music career has acted in various web dramas and BL series.


His career path and connection to the queer community makes it no shock that his name has come up in conversations about the Eurovision Asia Song Contest.



Enhyphen



Enhyphen is a six-member Korean boy band formed through the 2020 survival competition show I-Land.


Their debut EP debut Border: Day One reached No. 2 on the Gaon Album Chart, and received platinum certification.


Keen philanthropists, Ehyphen have participated in charity campaigns for W Korea’s breast cancer awareness, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, and the Korean Red Cross.


They were nominated for Best Male K-Pop Artist at the American Music Awards, and have won 59 awards from 146 nominations throughout their time making music, which make them a strong potential choice to represent their nation.



Jeon Somi


Jeon Somi is a South Korean-Canadian singer born in Windsor, Ontario.


She rose to fame as the winner of the survival reality show Produce 101 and as a member of the show’s eleven member girl group I.O.I., who she still performs with.


Jeon debuted as a solo artist in 2019 with her single Birthday which surpassed four million views in its first day on YouTube.



That song and it’s B-side Outta My Head reached 5 and 9 on the Billboard World Digital Charts. Her song Dumb Dumb reached 20 million views in two days, reached number eight on the Korea K-pop 100, and was her first chart entry in the Billboard Global 200.


No stranger to representing her country, Jeon was a torchbearer in the 2018 Winter Olympics Torch Relay.



MEOVV


MEOVV is a five member South Korean girl group that debuted in September 2024 with their single Meow.



Their 2025 EP My Eyes Open VVide – also the full name of the band – went platinum in Korea, and saw the group become L’Oreal Paris brand ambassadors.


As a relatively young group, Eurovision Asia could be the perfect launchpad for them to reach global stardom.


IVE



IVE is a six member girl group that debuted in December 2021 with the single album Eleven, which was followed the next year by the single album Love Dive, whose lead single became the group’s first number one song on the Cricle Digital Chart, and won the Melon Music Award for Song of the Year.


Their first studio album, I’ve Ive, won the Melon Music Award for Album of the Year in 2023, and the group performed at Lollapalooza the next year.


IVE opened 2026 with their second studio album Revive+, which could set them up to be a possible representative of South Korea in Bangkok later this year.



ITZY


ITZY is a five member girl group from Seoul, recognised for their ‘teen crush’ concept and for exploring themes of independence and self-love in their music.


Their debut single album It’z Different peaked at No. 2 on the Circle Digital Chart, Billboard K-pop Hot 100 and World Digital Song Sales Chart, while the music video for the lead single Dalla Dalla set a new record for the most views in the first day for a K-pop debut.



ITZY became the first K-pop girl group in history to achieve a Rookie Grand Slam by winning all five major Rookie of the Year awards. These accolades and their now eleven EPs, two Japanese albums and one Korean album make them an ideal potential candidate to represent their nation later in the year.



BTS



BTS need no introduction. They are potentially the biggest K-pop group in the world, and recently performed Dynamite at the FIFA World Cup Final halftime show alongside other stars like Madonna and Shakira.


While it’s almost impossible that we’ll see them in Bangkok, it wouldn’t be possible to finish this article without mentioning them.



Honourable Mentions


Here are a handful more artists suggested by the Aussievision audience:


  • AleXa, who won the American Song Contest in 2022 representing Oklahoma, and participated in Melodifestivalen 2026 in an attempt to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest.

  • Lisa

  • Xlov

  • EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, who voice the fictional girl group Huntrix in KPop Demon Hunters

  • BABYMONSTER


South Korea’s participating broadcaster ENA is expected to host their national final on September 4.


It will be incredibly interesting to see who participates in that show, and who ultimately wins the nod to represent a nation that may well already been seen as a favourite to win the first ever Eurovision Asia.



Eurovision Asia Song Contest


The inaugural Eurovision Asia Song Contest is set to take place in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday, November 14, 2026.


So far the following 10 nations have confirmed their participation:

  • Bangladesh

  • Bhutan

  • Cambodia

  • Laos

  • Malaysia

  • Nepal

  • Philippines

  • South Korea

  • Thailand

  • Vietnam


For continued updates on all Eurovision Song Contest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, BlueSky, Threads and Instagram. All the links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet

 
 
 
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