▲ This undated Yonhap file photo shows a K-pop event held in Seoul. (Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- The government will provide support for facility upgrades to enable local sports and multipurpose venues to host K-pop concerts, aiming to ease a shortage of performance venues and revitalize regional music events.

 

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday it will launch a new project this year titled "Support for Improving Popular Music Performance Environments at Sports and Multipurpose Facilities," with a total budget of 12 billion won.

 

South Korea currently faces a shortage of venues capable of hosting large-scale popular music concerts in a stable manner, resulting in many performances being held at sports facilities and other non-specialized venues. Such facilities, however, often fall short in terms of equipment and audience convenience.

 

Under the new initiative, the ministry plans to actively utilize existing infrastructure to meet growing demand for concerts.

 

Through a public competition running from Tuesday to July 24, the ministry will select one facility each from six regions -- the Seoul metropolitan area, the Gyeongsang region, the Jeolla region, the Chungcheong region, the Gangwon region and Jeju.

 

Eligible applicants include local governments, public enterprises, local public corporations and schools that operate sports or multipurpose facilities with seating capacity of more than 1,000. Selected venues will receive up to 2 billion won each in state funding for renovations.

 

The improvements will focus on expanding essential infrastructure for popular music performances, including retractable seating, soundproofing and acoustic enhancement systems such as sound-absorbing materials, stage lighting, dressing rooms and safety-related facilities.

 

For sports venues, the support will also cover restoration costs for facilities such as turf following concerts.

 

Organizations selected for the program will be required to cover at least 50 percent of the total project cost with their own funds. Once renovations are completed, they must host or attract paid opening performances.

 

The ministry said it expects the project to quickly alleviate the shortage of concert venues and help invigorate the domestic popular music industry.

 

It also projected that the initiative would promote regional concert culture and encourage overseas K-pop fans to visit areas outside the capital.

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