Lim Young-woong's "Do Or Die" - Publisher Royalties

"Do Or Die" is the song where the biggest singer in South Korea walked away from the genre that made him. Lim Young-woong won Mr. Trot in 2020, a national television singing competition built around trot, Korea's oldest pop form, beating 17,000 applicants and turning a style most of the country filed under its parents' music into prime time. "Do Or Die" was the pivot into high-energy pop. It debuted at No. 1 on the Circle Digital Chart, Korea's official national singles chart, and reached No. 1 on Melon, the country's dominant streaming service, in three hours, entering Melon's Hall of Fame within 24 hours. 

Lim Young-woong has not slowed down. In September 2026 he played three sold-out nights at Goyang Sports Complex for his tenth anniversary as a recording artist, drawing roughly 95,000, and released a new album, "IM HERO 10," on 8 September 2026. None of that new material is part of this sale. What it means for this asset is simpler: the catalog behind an artist at this level of activity stays in front of people, and the earnings file already shows "Do Or Die" collecting Korean live performance royalties in three of its four statements.

An older catalog is priced against a floor it has already proven. This one has not reached its floor yet, and the walk down to it is the part of the life cycle on offer. An investor is buying a No. 1 record from an artist who still fills stadiums, at the moment the launch ends and the long tail begins.
 

Lim Young-woong is one of South Korea’s most celebrated singers, first rising to prominence as the champion of Mr. Trot, a hit televised talent competition that revitalized the traditional trot genre and turned him into a national household name.

His single "Do or Die," released on October 9, 2023, marked a bold shift from his ballad and trot roots into high-energy pop. The song debuted at No. 1 on South Korea’s Circle Digital Chart, topped the Circle Monthly Download Chart for consecutive months, and earned Song of the Year at the 2025 KOMCA Copyright Awards. It also spent 8 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) chart and remained on the chart for a total of 12 weeks by January 2024. The track became the fastest song of 2023 to reach No. 1 on Melon, South Korea’s most influential music streaming service, claiming the TOP100 top spot in just three hours. It also charted on YouTube Korea’s Weekly Popular Music Video chart for approximately 18 consecutive weeks. The music video quickly climbed Korean streaming charts, entering Melon’s “Hall of Fame” within 24 hours with 1,697,100 first-day streams, including the first million in just 14 hours — the 33rd-fastest achievement in Melon’s history.

Earnings Note. An 11% tax withholding is deducted from royalty payments on this asset (10% under the South Korea–U.S. tax treaty plus a 1% local surtax). Earnings shown in the listing are net of this withholding.

Buyer Administrative Fee: A 5% administrative fee applies to each payment the buyer will receive.

Exchange Rates. Royalties for this asset are reported by Joombas Publishing in South Korean Won (KRW). To calculate royalty payments in U.S. Dollars (USD), Royalty Exchange applies the average historical exchange rate for the distribution month (via X-rates.com).

Future royalties will be paid to Royalty Exchange in KRW converted to USD upon receipt, and then paid in USD to the winning investor. The receiving bank may increase the exchange rate by up to 2.5% as a transaction fee.