South Korea lacks venues to match K-pop's global reach
· UPIJune 13 (Asia Today) -- K-pop has become a driving force in the global live entertainment market, filling major domes and stadiums in cities around the world. Yet South Korea, the birthplace of K-pop, lacks enough large, purpose-built music venues to accommodate that demand consistently.
Critics say the global stature of the industry has grown much faster than South Korea's concert infrastructure.
Major Korean artists regularly perform large-scale tours overseas but must alternate between sports stadiums and indoor arenas when performing at home.
KSPO Dome is considered one of South Korea's leading venues for popular music, but it seats only about 15,000 people. Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul World Cup Stadium and the main stadium at Goyang Sports Complex are also used for major concerts, but none was designed primarily for live music.
That creates clear limitations. Organizers must repeatedly adapt sound systems, stage installations, audience routes, safety measures and transportation arrangements for each concert.
The lack of purpose-built facilities has also led to recurring concerns about damage to stadium grass, noise complaints and competition for venue reservations.
President Lee Jae Myung recently raised the need for a large-scale concert venue during a Cabinet meeting, saying proposed venues with capacities of 20,000 to 30,000 seats were too small and emphasizing the need for a nationally symbolic performance venue.
Music industry officials, however, say a distinction should be made between dedicated arenas seating 20,000 to 30,000 people and nationally significant concert domes accommodating about 50,000.
An arena would serve as essential infrastructure for medium-to-large tours, concerts by international artists and regional music markets. A larger concert dome comparable to Tokyo Dome would represent a higher tier of infrastructure intended for major events that draw global fan communities.
Japan offers a relatively broad selection of venues depending on the size and nature of a concert, including Tokyo Dome, Kyocera Dome Osaka and Saitama Super Arena.
South Korea, by contrast, has not developed a comparable range of venues despite the rapid growth in demand for large concerts. The country does not merely lack one major venue. It lacks a layered infrastructure capable of supporting concerts of different sizes.
The ability of K-pop artists to attract large audiences overseas has already been demonstrated.
BTS drew more than 110,000 people to two concerts at Wembley Stadium in Britain in 2019 and more than 210,000 people to four concerts at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles in 2021.
TWICE and Seventeen each attracted about 140,000 people over two days at Nissan Stadium in Japan. Stray Kids drew 315,000 people to six performances at Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Domestic demand is also clear. IU and Lim Young-woong each attracted about 100,000 people over two days at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
The problem is that South Korea does not have enough venues to accommodate that demand reliably.
As large concerts continue to depend on sports facilities, organizers face scheduling conflicts with sporting events, facility management concerns, acoustic limitations and the burden of installing temporary stages.
Additional performances also increase equipment rental and labor costs. They can delay other concerts, reducing the overall efficiency of the live entertainment market.
"When concerts are held in Korea, artists receive even greater energy because domestic and international fans gather in one place," an official at a major entertainment agency said. "In reality, however, there are far too few venues capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people."
The official said organizers of outdoor concerts must take particular care to minimize disruptions to nearby residents and pay close attention to performance times and noise levels.
Experts say the venue shortage also represents a lost opportunity for urban economies.
Visitors to major concerts spend money not only on tickets but also on accommodations, transportation, food, shopping and tourism. When South Korea cannot accommodate that demand, much of the related spending flows to concert destinations in Japan, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe.
"Today, a K-pop concert is not simply a performance. It is closer to destination tourism that motivates international fans to travel," pop culture critic Park Song-a said.
"A dedicated concert venue could generate spending throughout related industries, including airlines, hotels, transportation, shopping and restaurants, in addition to ticket sales," Park said. "K-pop venues should be viewed not only as cultural facilities but also as high-value tourism infrastructure."
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260610010003530