Stricter virus restrictions lead to cancellation of concerts
Some year-end concerts have been called off or postponed following the government's announcement of stricter COVID-19 restrictions set to take effect Dec. 18.
According to the new social distancing measures, which will be in effect until Jan. 2, a 9 p.m. curfew will be applied to indoor sports facilities, where most major concerts take place. In the case of other concert venues, they will face a 10 p.m. curfew.
This led K-pop girl group TWICE to cancel the first of its Seoul concerts scheduled for Christmas Eve at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park. Given that the group's concert was going to start at 7:30 p.m., it had no choice. But on Christmas Day and Dec. 26, its shows will begin as planned at 6 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
"We inevitably decided to call off the Christmas Eve show due to the curfew," the nine-piece act's management company JYP Entertainment said Thursday. "But TWICE is still planning to stage its concerts on Dec. 25 and Dec. 26. The final concert will be streamed online via the platform Beyond LIVE."
JYP apologized, saying it will provide ticket refund information soon.
Apparently, many fans are disappointed.
"I am so sad to hear that," one of them commented online. "What about a fan like me, who only bought a ticket for the first concert?"
"K-band, Spread Your Wings," hosted by the Korea Association of Music Art, has been postponed until March as well. Korean bands, including Young Sound, were slated to perform in the concert at Shimsan Art Hall in southern Seoul, Dec. 27.
"We were informed that we could not stage a live performance," the association said Thursday. "We could only have an online concert, but we chose to push back the date instead, as the goal of our event was to meet the audience face-to-face to better deliver our music."
Prior to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Korea was under a "Living with COVID-19" strategy, so a slew of singers including NCT 127, Epik High and Baek Ji-young were planning to hold concerts this weekend in front of large crowds. But now, everything has become uncertain.
"The shows set for this week and next week are pre-approved ones," a KSPO Dome official said. "But those which will take place in the following two weeks are less likely to receive approval from the authorities."
source: The Korea Times
According to the new social distancing measures, which will be in effect until Jan. 2, a 9 p.m. curfew will be applied to indoor sports facilities, where most major concerts take place. In the case of other concert venues, they will face a 10 p.m. curfew.
This led K-pop girl group TWICE to cancel the first of its Seoul concerts scheduled for Christmas Eve at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park. Given that the group's concert was going to start at 7:30 p.m., it had no choice. But on Christmas Day and Dec. 26, its shows will begin as planned at 6 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
"We inevitably decided to call off the Christmas Eve show due to the curfew," the nine-piece act's management company JYP Entertainment said Thursday. "But TWICE is still planning to stage its concerts on Dec. 25 and Dec. 26. The final concert will be streamed online via the platform Beyond LIVE."
JYP apologized, saying it will provide ticket refund information soon.
Apparently, many fans are disappointed.
"I am so sad to hear that," one of them commented online. "What about a fan like me, who only bought a ticket for the first concert?"
"K-band, Spread Your Wings," hosted by the Korea Association of Music Art, has been postponed until March as well. Korean bands, including Young Sound, were slated to perform in the concert at Shimsan Art Hall in southern Seoul, Dec. 27.
"We were informed that we could not stage a live performance," the association said Thursday. "We could only have an online concert, but we chose to push back the date instead, as the goal of our event was to meet the audience face-to-face to better deliver our music."
Prior to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Korea was under a "Living with COVID-19" strategy, so a slew of singers including NCT 127, Epik High and Baek Ji-young were planning to hold concerts this weekend in front of large crowds. But now, everything has become uncertain.
"The shows set for this week and next week are pre-approved ones," a KSPO Dome official said. "But those which will take place in the following two weeks are less likely to receive approval from the authorities."
source: The Korea Times