The First Snow Challenge Explained: How a 2013 EXO B-Side Became a Winter Dance Ritual
Where the First Snow dance challenge came from, how EXO's 2013 song hit No. 1 on Melon ten years later, and how to dance it in falling snow from 1 photo.
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In this article
Snow starts falling. Someone steps side to side, hands drifting down like flakes. Soft, a little shy. Every December, the internet does it again.
Dance the First Snow challenge in falling snow from 1 photo — winter street, sound included. Open First Snow Dance Studio →
This is the First Snow challenge, known in Korean as 첫 눈 챌린지.
The origin: EXO's 2013 B-side
"The First Snow" (첫 눈) is a song by K-pop group EXO. It came out on December 9, 2013 on Miracles in December, a special winter EP from SM Entertainment. It wasn't the title track. It was a B-side.
It never left, though. The song rose in popularity every December. The official YouTube audio has 112.5M views as of November 8, 2026.
The 2023 breakout
In December 2023, ten years after release, a dance video by Hwang Sehun, filmed in gently falling snow, kicked off a challenge. That's how NextShark, citing allkpop, traced it. K-pop idols, dancers and TikTok creators joined in. By December 22, 2023, NextShark counted over 106,000 uses on TikTok.
The chart followed the dance. On December 19, 2023, "The First Snow" hit No. 1 on Melon's Top 100. It also topped the Circle Digital Chart that year, and NextShark reported No. 1 on iTunes in 20 countries.
The latest: EXO joins in
The challenge is now a winter ritual. On December 21, 2025, EXO posted its own "첫 눈 챌린지" video on its official YouTube channel. It has 490K views as of November 8, 2026.
View counts above are as of November 8, 2026 unless noted. Facts last verified November 8, 2026.
Why it works
- It's tied to a real moment. First snow is an event in Korea. The song gives it a soundtrack.
- The moves are easy. Side steps and falling-snow hands. No dance class needed.
- Nostalgia. It's a song about a past love, and it comes back every year.
4 remix ideas
Each clip stars one dancer from one full-body photo. Winter clothes look best.
It's Snowing!
Post it the day the first flakes fall where you live. Caption: "it's that time again."
Snow You Never Get
Live somewhere warm? "My first snow (it's 30°C outside)." AI brings the weather.
EXO-L Season
December is First Snow month. Join the fandom ritual with your own clip.
A Moving Winter Card
Send your snow-dance clip instead of a holiday card. Warmer than a sticker.
With TrendSwap's First Snow Dance AI Video Generator you upload one full-body photo and get the snow dance with sound. Step by step: how to make the First Snow dance video.
TrendSwap is not affiliated with EXO or SM Entertainment.
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First Snow Dance AI
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