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As of October 2026, Hanteo Chart counts real-time retail sales from its partner stores, and its first-week (chodong) window is the release day plus the next 6 days. Circle Chart's Album Chart counts wholesale shipments minus returns and publishes weekly every Thursday at 11:00 KST.
Hanteo Chart and Circle Chart are the two album charts Korean fandoms quote most, and they measure different moments in an album's life. Hanteo Chart records the moment a store sells a copy to a fan. Circle Chart's main Album Chart records the moment copies leave the supply chain as wholesale shipments. Because of that difference, the same album can show two different "sales" figures in the same week, and neither figure is wrong. The definitions below come from Circle Chart's official FAQ and Hanteo Chart's own website, checked on October 18, 2026.
What do chodong, shipment, retail and Hanteo Family mean?
Four Korean chart terms explain almost every Hanteo vs Circle argument on fan social media. The table gives each term a one-line definition and says which chart uses it.
| Term | Korean | Meaning | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chodong | 초동 (初動) | First-week sales: copies sold during the first 7 days of an album's sales window | Hanteo Chart (first-week sales and certifications) |
| Shipment | 출고 | Copies shipped out at wholesale; Circle Chart subtracts returned copies | Circle Chart Album Chart |
| Retail sales | 소매 판매량 | Copies sold by stores to buyers, counted in real time | Hanteo Chart; Circle Chart Retail Album Chart |
| Hanteo Family | 한터 패밀리 | Stores whose sales are linked directly to Hanteo Chart's tally | Hanteo Chart |
| Platform Album | 플랫폼 앨범 | An album opened in a smartphone app through a QR code or NFC instead of a disc | Counted on Circle Chart album charts |
As of October 18, 2026. Sources: Circle Chart FAQ, Hanteo Chart notices, Hanteo News.
How do Hanteo Chart and Circle Chart compare side by side?
Hanteo Chart and Circle Chart publish separate album charts with separate rules for what counts, which week a copy belongs to and when results appear. The matrix compares the two album charts row by row, using each service's own published criteria.
| Hanteo Chart | Circle Chart (Album Chart) | |
|---|---|---|
| What is counted | Real-time sales from linked partner stores (Hanteo Family) | Wholesale shipment units minus returns |
| Formats | Physical albums sold at partner stores | TAPE, LP, CD, USB, KiT, Platform Album and other album formats |
| Chart week | Monday to Sunday, KST | Sunday 12:00 noon to the next Sunday 11:59 a.m., KST |
| Chart periods | Real-time, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly | Weekly, monthly, first half, yearly |
| Weekly release | Not stated as a fixed hour on the chart page | Every Thursday 11:00 KST (moves when a weekday holiday falls in the week) |
| Famous number | Chodong (first-week sales) | Weekly and yearly album rankings |
| Real-time option | Yes, on the main album chart | Separate Retail Album Chart (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly) |
As of October 18, 2026, from hanteochart.com and circlechart.kr.
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What does Hanteo Chart count?
Hanteo Chart counts albums sold to buyers, in real time, at stores connected directly to its system. Hanteo's own About page describes the service as a Korean music chart built on real-time sales and says it is linked directly with record stores around the world. Those connected sellers are called Hanteo Family, and Hanteo states that it accepts only sales made directly by Family companies as chart data.
Store coverage matters. In a May 15, 2026 notice, Hanteo Chart said that EQL and Emart24 are not Hanteo Family companies, so albums bought there may not be officially counted. Hanteo's main album chart is offered in real-time, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly views, and its weekly view runs Monday to Sunday in KST: the weekly chart shown on October 18, 2026 covered October 5 to October 11, 2026. Hanteo also publishes a separate Music Chart that combines album sales (70%) with digital music (30%).
Hanteo figures can be revised. Its notice board lists sales corrections, such as a May 20, 2025 notice correcting over-counted sales after a tally server overload, and an April 2025 ruling that MARK's "The Firstfruit" Trilogy Ver., a package of three photobook copies, counted as three albums.
What does Circle Chart count?
Circle Chart's Album Chart counts wholesale shipment quantities of albums, with returned copies subtracted. The official Circle Chart FAQ lists TAPE, LP, CD, USB, KiT and Platform Album among the formats included. A Platform Album, in Circle Chart's definition, is an album opened through a smartphone app with a QR code or NFC rather than music fixed on a disc.
The shipment-based Album Chart is published in weekly, monthly, first-half and yearly versions. Circle Chart also runs a Retail Album Chart that counts album sales at retail stores in real time, with hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly views; that chart is the closer match to what Hanteo Chart measures. For songs, Circle Chart's Digital Chart is separate: it multiplies download, streaming, BGM and V Coloring counts by per-service weights based on neighbouring-rights fees.
How long is the chodong (first-week) window?
On Hanteo Chart, the chodong window normally starts on the album's release day and runs for 7 days. Hanteo News, the news outlet of Hanteo Global, gave two 2026 examples: RIIZE's "II", released June 15, 2026, had a first-week window of June 15 to June 21, and i-dle's "We made", released July 6, 2026, had a window of July 6 to July 12.
The window does not always begin on the release date. Hanteo News reported in January 2020 that MOMOLAND's "Thumbs Up", released December 30, 2019, had a chodong period of January 2 to January 8, 2020. When a first-week figure looks off, check the period stated in Hanteo's own announcement for that album.
When does each chart publish?
Circle Chart publishes on a fixed timetable set out in its FAQ, and every period opens and closes at noon KST rather than at midnight. The table lists all four Album Chart periods. When a public holiday falls on a weekday, Circle Chart says the release schedule changes.
| Circle Chart period | Counting window (KST) | Published (KST) |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Sunday 12:00 noon to the next Sunday 11:59 a.m. | Every Thursday, 11:00 |
| Monthly | 1st of the month 12:00 noon to the day after month-end 11:59 a.m. | Second Thursday of the next month, 11:00 |
| First half | January 1 12:00 noon to July 1 11:59 a.m. | Second Friday of July, 11:00 |
| Yearly | January 1 12:00 noon to the next January 1 11:59 a.m. | Second Friday of January, 11:00 |
As of October 18, 2026, from the Circle Chart FAQ. On that date the latest Circle weekly Album Chart was week 41, covering October 4 to October 10, 2026.
Hanteo Chart works differently because it is a live chart. Its real-time album chart moves throughout the day, and its daily, weekly, monthly and yearly charts summarise the same sales over longer periods. Hanteo's chart page does not state a fixed publication hour for the weekly chart, so fans usually follow the real-time and daily views during a release week.
Pro Tip: Circle Chart's week starts on Sunday at noon, not at midnight. Copies counted on Sunday afternoon belong to the next Circle week, while Hanteo's Monday-to-Sunday week keeps the whole Sunday together.
Why do Hanteo and Circle numbers for the same album differ?
Hanteo and Circle figures for one album differ mainly because they count different events: Hanteo counts copies sold to buyers at Hanteo Family stores, while the Circle Album Chart counts copies shipped at wholesale, minus returns. A label can ship stock to stores before fans buy it, and unsold copies can come back as returns later, so the two totals rarely match in any single week.
Timing adds a second gap. Hanteo's weekly chart runs Monday to Sunday KST, and Circle Chart's week runs from Sunday noon to the following Sunday at 11:59 a.m. KST. A first-week chodong figure on Hanteo follows the album's own 7-day window, which only lines up with Hanteo's chart week when the album comes out on a Monday.
Store coverage and corrections create a third gap. Hanteo Chart only counts sales from Hanteo Family stores, so a purchase at a non-Family seller may never reach its total, while Hanteo's notice board shows that individual album totals are sometimes corrected after review.
Do overseas sales count on Hanteo Chart?
Overseas purchases count on Hanteo Chart when the store that sells the album is a Hanteo Family company, because Hanteo states that it is linked directly with record stores around the world. A sale outside that network may not be counted. In May 2026 notices, Hanteo Chart said that unclear "proxy sales" arranged for global fandoms will not be reflected, and that only sales made directly by Family companies are recognised.
For an international fan who wants a purchase to show up in the first-week total, the practical check is simple: confirm that the online or physical shop is listed as a Hanteo Family partner before ordering, and buy from that shop directly rather than through a group-order middleman. Circle Chart's FAQ does not describe how overseas purchases are handled, so this guide does not make a claim about them.
What should you read next?
Chart numbers feed into the bigger story of the K-pop awards season, explained in K-POP end-of-year awards explained. For the digital side of a release, see how to stream K-POP music to support your favorite artist.
Sources (official pages, last verified October 18, 2026)
- Circle Chart — FAQ: chart criteria and release schedule
- Circle Chart — Album Chart and Retail Album Chart
- Hanteo Chart — About Hanteo Chart and weekly album chart
- Hanteo Chart — Notices (Hanteo Family, proxy sales, sales corrections)
- Hanteo News — RIIZE "II" first-week period, i-dle "We made" first-week period, MOMOLAND "Thumbs Up" chodong period
Change history: Published 2026-10-22.
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