The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Mass K-pop concert to take place in person next month amid pandemic

By Yonhap

Published : June 30, 2021 - 10:19

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This image, provided by the Korea Management Federation, shows a poster for This image, provided by the Korea Management Federation, shows a poster for "Together Again, K-pop Concert," which will be held offline at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in the Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul on July 17. (Korea Management Federation)
In line with eased social distancing rules, a mass K-pop concert will be held in person here next month for the first time since the new coronavirus pandemic broke out early last year, organizers said Wednesday.

"Together Again, K-pop Concert" will kick off at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in the Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul at 5 p.m. July 17, according to the Korea Management Federation (KMF).

The long-awaited offline concert will be co-hosted by the KMF and Arirang TV, the country's English-language broadcasting channel that airs worldwide.

A total of 26 K-pop acts -- such as NCT Dream, Oh My Girl, Brave Girls, and BTOB, as well as popular ballad singers Kim Tae-woo and Baek Ji-young -- will perform at the event.

The venue has a capacity of 2,000 seats, but the sit-apart rule will be applied to keep social distance among visitors. As part of anti-COVID-19 measures, visitors will also be required to wear face masks and have their body temperature checked.

The concert will be a rare large in-person event amid the pandemic, as most gigs have switched to virtual ones or were canceled due to virus woes and strict social distancing measures.

But on June 14, a revised guideline went into effect, allowing organizers to host pop music gigs of up to 4,000 attendees as long as basic rules -- such as seat arrangements and on-site hygiene -- are kept. Before that, only up to 99 attendees were allowed.

"We hope the concert ends in success and signals a return to daily life," the KMF said. (Yonhap)