BTS won the first MTV Video Music Award for Best K-Pop. The group took the inaugural prize in 2019 for “Boy with Luv,” featuring Halsey.
MTV introduced Best K-Pop at the 2019 VMAs as a dedicated genre category. BTS’s winning video competed against releases by Blackpink, Exo, Monsta X, NCT 127, and Tomorrow X Together. The category gave K-pop a formal place in the VMAs while also prompting debate about whether genre-specific recognition separated K-pop artists from the show’s general awards.
BTS remained closely associated with the category after its debut. The group also won in 2020 for “On” and in 2021 for “Butter,” becoming the first act to win it three times. Lisa later matched that total through wins in 2022, 2024, and 2025.
The wording matters: this question asks about the first VMA for Best K-Pop, not the MTV Europe Music Award for Best K-Pop. The European category began later, in 2021, and is a separate award.