At 1 p.m. on Friday, TXT released its new single, “Love Language.”

Jin of BTS is scheduled to release his second mini album, “Echo,” at 1 p.m. on May 16 -- also a Friday.

Meanwhile, rising rookie group BoyNextDoor will drop its fourth mini album, “No Genre,” at 6 p.m. on May 13 and EXO's Baekhyun will release his fifth mini album, “Essence of Reverie,” at 6 p.m. on May 19.

A clear pattern has emerged in the album release times of K-pop stars. Why are some albums released at 1 p.m. while others drop at 6 p.m.? The answer lies in the target markets and charts the artists are taking aim at.

“Though it varies by artist, release times are usually tailored to the target region. For instance, if the US and global music markets are the focus, the release is set to coincide with midnight in that region,” said an official from one of the major K-pop agencies. “During daylight saving time in the US, this translates to 1 p.m. KST. Otherwise, it’s 2 p.m. KST,” the official added.

Currently with daylight saving time in effect, 1 p.m. in Korea on a Friday is midnight on the East Coast in the US, which is 13 hours behind. Since Billboard charts are based on eastern time and track data from Friday to the following Thursday, releasing music at Friday 1 p.m. in Korea is a strategic move for artists targeting Billboard charts and the global market.

Major pop stars like Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus and Drake also frequently release new music on Fridays.

On the other hand, for groups more focused on domestic streaming platforms and the local K-pop scene, six is the key number.

“Definitely many more users access music platforms after 6 p.m., so it has become a general rule to release music then rather than during weekday daytime hours, when people are at work or school,” said an official from JYP Entertainment.

This trend began in 2018, but previously, midnight was the most important release time for K-pop fans. Lee, an office worker in her 20s and a fan since her school days, shared how she used to stay up until midnight to stream and download new releases, even when she had to wake up at 7 a.m. for school.

“When songs dropped (at midnight), fans would create hashtags and keep replaying the music to boost streaming numbers and secure the No. 1 spot on music charts for their favorite K-pop stars,” she said.

While such fan-driven practices demonstrate the intense loyalty of K-pop fandoms, they have also drawn criticism for distorting chart rankings. In response, major domestic platforms like Melon and Genie changed their chart calculation methods in February 2018. They began only counting songs released between noon and 6 p.m. for their daily charts, blocking the influence of fandoms boosting numbers during off-peak hours.

“I remember they staggered the timing so that fans couldn't just band together and secure a No. 1 spot through immediate repeated streaming on the day of release,” pop music critic Lim Hee-yun told The Korea Herald.

Of course, when artists reach a certain level of popularity and their music is better recognized, they may choose release times based more on artistic intent than chart strategy.

One of Korea’s most successful singer-songwriters, IU, released “Autumn Morning” fittingly at 7 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2017. Despite the unconventional timing, the song became a massive hit and topped various domestic music charts for an extended period.