How an album counts in the charts: Hanteo and Circle
Por el equipo de pocabase · Publicado el 8 de septiembre de 2026 · 5 min de lectura
Esta guía se muestra en inglés hasta que esté lista su traducción.
Two charts come up in every fandom conversation: Hanteo and Circle. They do not measure the same thing, and that is the source of most misunderstandings. One counts sales recorded in shops, the other volumes shipped by distributors. The same album can therefore show two different numbers without either being wrong. This guide explains both mechanisms, what they imply for a buyer outside Korea, and why they shape the way albums are designed and sold. It gives no sales figures: those belong at the source.
Two charts, two ways of counting
Hanteo Chart relies on sales reported by a network of affiliated retailers. A sale is recorded when it is rung up, with near-immediate refresh. That is where the fandom notion of a "first week" comes from: a running total over the first days after release.
Circle Chart, run by a Korean music industry association and formerly called Gaon, measures something else: the volumes a distributor ships to retailers. It is not a measure of what the public bought, but of what was put on the market. The two sets of numbers therefore tell two different stories about the same album, and comparing them directly makes no sense.
- Hanteo: sales rung up at affiliated retailers, near real time.
- Circle: volumes shipped by distributors to retailers.
- Two different numbers for one album, with no contradiction.
What counting means at Hanteo
For a purchase to be counted, it has to go through a retailer affiliated to the network that reports its sales. A purchase from a seller outside that network is not ignored out of malice: it simply has no channel to be reported through. That is why affiliated retailers say so on their pages, and why fandoms circulate lists of participating shops before a release.
Counting is per unit sold, not per buyer. One person buying five copies registers five. That is a mechanical point, not a judgement: it explains a large part of the coordinated buying campaigns fandoms run at release time.
What counting means at Circle
Circle records the quantities a distributor declares as shipped over a period, usually a month. An album shipped in bulk to retailers appears high in the chart even if part of that stock has not reached the public yet. Conversely, an album selling steadily over months spreads across several reports instead of producing a spike.
That method has a practical consequence: returns and unsold stock do not show up in the release-month figure. It also has an advantage, covering the whole distribution chain, including channels that report no till data at all.
Buying from abroad: what changes
A purchase made outside Korea may or may not count, depending on the channel. Through an affiliated retailer that reports its sales, it is recorded like any other. Through a local shop, a general marketplace or a private seller, it is not. The buyer's country is not the criterion: the channel is.
A second nuance: on the Circle side, an album shipped to a foreign distributor is counted at the moment of shipment, regardless of when a customer later buys it. A late purchase, months after release, therefore does not lift the album in the release-month report. The rules of both charts evolve: check at the source if the detail matters to you.
Why a release has eight versions
Counting per unit sold explains much of the multiplication of versions. When every copy adds a unit, a release split into several versions, each with its own randomly drawn photocards, encourages repeat purchases by the same person. That is a market mechanism, not a manufacturing quirk.
POB offers work the same way: a different gift at each retailer pushes buyers to spread their orders. Understanding the mechanism mostly helps you decide with your eyes open. On pocabase, an album page shows the number of versions, the inclusions of each and how cards are drawn: that is the useful data for choosing one version rather than accumulating several.
- One unit sold is one unit counted, whoever the buyer is.
- Multiple versions and random cards favour repeat purchases.
- POB offers vary by retailer, which spreads orders around.
What pocabase records, and what it does not say
The database describes objects: the group, the release, its type and ordinal, its versions with format, EAN, inclusions, photocard count and weight, plus the known POB offers with their retailer and deadline. These are facts you can verify on the packaging or on a retailer's page.
The database publishes no sales figures and does not state whether a release is taken into account by a given chart. That information belongs to the bodies that produce it, it changes, and copying it would mean displaying data we cannot verify. For a sales figure, go to the source.
Preguntas frecuentes
What is the difference between Hanteo and Circle?
Hanteo counts sales rung up at affiliated retailers, almost in real time. Circle records volumes shipped by distributors to retailers over a period. One measures what is bought within a network, the other what is put on the market: two different numbers for the same album.
Does my purchase from Europe count?
It depends on the channel, not the country. Through a retailer affiliated to the network that reports its sales, it counts like any other. From a local shop, a general marketplace or a private seller, it does not, because there is no reporting channel.
Why do fandoms talk about the first week?
It is the total of sales recorded in the first days after release, as reported by the network of affiliated retailers. That running total is used to compare releases. It measures neither revenue nor the number of distinct buyers.
Do five copies count five times?
Yes, counting is per unit sold, not per buyer. That mechanical point explains the coordinated buying campaigns at release time, as well as the multiplication of versions and randomly drawn photocards.
Why does pocabase not show sales figures?
Because they belong to the bodies that produce them and they change. The database describes what is verifiable on the object: versions, format, EAN, inclusions, photocards, weight and POB. For a sales figure or a chart position, go to the source.