Stray Kids earned a Prime Minister's Commendation for the 2023 Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards.

Stray Kids had the honor of receiving the Prime Minister's Commendation at the '2023 Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards,' which took place at the Haeoreum Theater in the National Theater of Seoul on October 21. The 'Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards' is an event that began in 2010 to express gratitude for the efforts of individuals and professionals in the field of popular culture and arts who have contributed to the development of popular culture and boosted national prestige.

Stray Kids conducted a solo concert at the Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome on October 21st and 22nd, so they could not attend the awards ceremony in person. Instead, through their agency JYP Entertainment, they expressed their gratitude, saying, "We sincerely thank you for giving us this meaningful Prime Minister's Commendation. We hope that our music and performances resonate with our fans both domestically and internationally and that they find energy and connection in our music and stages."

With numerous accomplishments in the year, Stray Kids solidified their position in the world of K-pop. One such notable instance was their 'Stray Kids 2nd World Tour MANIAC Encore' concert in April, held at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles— making them only the second K-pop boy group to sell out a stadium concert in North America. 

Stray Kids continued to break records with their June launch of the third full-length album '★★★★★ (5-STAR).' Stellar first-week album sales in Korea surpassed 4.6 million copies, and the album even scored the top spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart for three weeks straight. The album also bagged the title of 'best-selling K-pop album' in the United States in 2023.

In July, Stray Kids reached an impressive milestone by becoming the first K-pop artist to headline 'Lollapalooza Paris,' ensnaring an audience of over 60,000. The group's producing team, 3RACHA, graced the stage at the 2023 Global Citizens Festival in New York's Central Park in September. This momentous year also saw their first appearance and win at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, securing the 'Best K-pop' title with "S-Class"—their third album's title track. In recognition of their influential status and contribution, TIME magazine chose them as 'Next Generation Leaders' on October 5.

The band’s first Japanese EP, 'Social Path (feat. LiSA) / Super Bowl -Japanese ver.-', released in September, sold over one million copies by September 29. This achievement earned the band a Gold Disc Million certification from the Japan Record Association—making them the first 4th generation K-pop group to achieve this feat.

Most recently, Stray Kids successfully concluded their '5-STAR Dome Tour 2023,' which included ten large-scale dome concerts in five cities across Korea and Japan, with all shows selling out. Following performances at the Fukuoka PayPay Dome, Vantelin Dome Nagoya, and Kyocera Dome Osaka, they completed a two-day solo concert at the Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome on October 21st and 22nd. Their debut dome tour will culminate in a grand finale at the Tokyo Dome on October 28th and 29th.

Meanwhile, Stray Kids is set to release a new mini album titled '樂-STAR (Rock-Star) on November 10 at 2 PM EST.