K-Pop’s global success contrasts with Seoul’s lack of large, permanent venues

In Korea, artists want to perform, but there simply aren’t enough venues to host them. K-pop has created a lucrative platform, while other countries continue to profit handsomely from it. A senior executive at one of Korea’s four major agencies behind top K-pop groups noted that overseas tours are boosting their performance.

The four major domestic agencies—Hybe, SM, JYP, and YG—are lifting their results with overseas tour revenues. K-pop generates roughly 1 trillion won annually, and about four in ten foreign visitors to Korea come for K-content, yet Korea lacks a permanent venue with more than 40,000 seats. Jamsil Olympic Stadium is under construction, and Gocheok Dome and Seoul World Cup Stadium are hard to rent due to sports schedules. Consequently, major shows are crowded into the 20,000-seat KSPO Dome in Seoul.

There are a few 10,000-seat venues in the capital region, but terms for performances are strict and accessibility is limited. This structure makes it difficult to stage large shows domestically, boosting the share of overseas tours. Even groups that attract around two million fans on world tours—Blackpink, Stray Kids, and Seventeen—have domestic concert shares well under 5%. Japan already has five major stadiums such as Tokyo Dome and Kyocera Dome, while Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have recently opened large arenas.

Governments around the world have invested hundreds of billions to trillions of won to develop concert venues as an industrial infrastructure. They recognized early that venues move local economies. There are multiple reasons Seoul hasn’t secured a large venue yet: land in the city center is scarce, and debates over transportation, noise, and budgets have persisted. The government should move to the implementation stage to build a large venue in Seoul, cooperate with local governments to secure land, and create a framework that attracts private investment. Plans should be presented promptly. The government has spent the past decade on studies, commissions, and feasibility assessments.