In this photo taken on November 22, 2024, music albums and related merchandise released by K-pop groups and members of BTS, Seventeen, Stray Kids and Tomorrow X Together (TXT) are seen on display in a retail store in Seoul. As K-pop's global popularity grows unabated, so has a mountain of discarded CDs and merchandise waste. More than 115 million K-pop CDs were sold in 2023, the first time sales breached the 100 million mark for the industry. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP) / To go with AFP story PLASTIC-ENVIRONMENT-SKOREA-K-POP, FOCUS by Hieun Shin (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)