TVXQ, an acronym for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (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 (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".
The group debuted in 2003 as a 5 member group consisting of Yunho (leader), Changmin, Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu. 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 approximately a year on hiatus, TVXQ has 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" and "Kings of the Hallyu Wave" for their immense success and contributions to Korean pop. Since their debut, TVXQ has 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] 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.
TVXQ have topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 9 times with the release of "Keep Your Head Down" in Japan. It is the second single 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!”. "Keep Your Head Down" signifies TVXQ’s 9th chart-topper, expanding their record for most number-one singles topped in Oricon Weekly Singles Chart by a foreign artist. TVXQ’s The Best Selection 2010 has broken several records for being the first foreign male artists to pass over the 700,000 mark in Japan.
In 2011, TVXQ returned as a duo with the release of their Korean pop album Keep Your Head Down and ranked at No. 1 on the Gaon Chart two weeks after release. selling 230,922 copies sold from January to June 2011. 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 selling 291 445 copies. Up to December 7th, adding up their korean album sales and japanese singles and album sales TVXQ sold more than 1 million copies since January 2011.
