Eighteen K-pop acts to perform at Jamboree concert amid concerns

K-pop

Published: 09 Aug. 2023, 17:11 Updated: 09 Aug. 2023, 17:30

Eighteen K-pop acts to perform at Jamboree concert amid concerns

Girl group NewJeans [ADOR]

Eighteen K-pop acts will perform at the concert set to close the 25th World Scout Jamboree on Friday in Seoul, amid concerns regarding an approaching typhoon and hasty preparations for the event.

K-pop bands NewJeans, NCT Dream, ITZY, Mamamoo, The Boyz, Shownu & Hyungwon, fromis_9, ZeroBaseOne, P1Harmony, KARD, The New Six, ATBO, xikers, Holybang and Libelante and singers Kang Daniel, Kwon Eun-bi and Jo Yuri will perform at the "K-pop Super Live" concert, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It will be hosted by actor Gong Myoung alongside singers Yuna of ITZY and Hyein of NewJeans.

The ministry finalized the lineup of artists on Wednesday, a day after it announced the new time and place for the concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul, at 7 p.m.

The closing ceremony of the Jamboree will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., before the start of the concert. The concert will last for two hours.

Boy band NCT Dream during the Japanese leg of its ongoing world tour ‘‘THE DREAM SHOW2 : In A DREAM’″ [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

Girl group ITZY [NEWS1]

“Top K-pop artists will flaunt the essence and charm of Korean culture to the 40,000 young scout members from 150 countries around the world who will become one through the concert,” Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyoon said in a press release.

The concert was initially set to take place at the Saemangeum Jamboree site last Sunday but was changed to the Jeonju World Cup Stadium due to the heat wave and safety concerns.

The “inevitable” decision to change the venue for the second time, as described by the ministry, came earlier this week due to Typhoon Khanun, which is expected to hit harder in the southern region where the Jamboree and the concert were originally going to be held.

All scout members have been moved to new accommodations, mostly in regions nearby the capital city of Seoul. Some 1,000 officials from the government and state-run companies have been asked to support the concert, according to media reports.

The typhoon is currently expected to bring heavy rainfall and strong winds starting Wednesday and bring the entire country under its influence over Thursday and Friday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

Should the typhoon change its trajectory or gain more force than expected, the concert may be canceled, according to the Minister of Interior and Safety.

Workers prepare the Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul for the upcoming ″K-pop Super Live″ concert set for Friday to close the 25th World Scout Jamboree. Eighteen K-pop acts will perform for two hours starting at 7 p.m. on Friday. [YONHAP]

“The concert will take place after we expect the typhoon to exit [the Korean peninsula],” Lee Sang-min, minister of the Interior and Safety, told the Korean press in a briefing on Wednesday. “If our estimates miss and we remain in the midst of the typhoon, then everyone’s safety will come first and we may have to resort to canceling the concert.”

“But as of now, there is no possibility of a cancelation,” he added. “Sound equipment has to be installed before the concert, so we will take extra precautionary measures so they do not fall due to the strong winds.”

The concert has been met with criticism from both football and K-pop fans since the initial change in venue. A football game set to take place at the Jeonju stadium had to be canceled due to the concert while KBS' music program “Music Bank” also had to be called off.

K-pop fans have been criticizing the government for attempting to make up for the lackluster event with the artists. A group of BTS fans released an online statement on Tuesday calling the concert “a pit hole of Korea’s shattered reputation” after lawmaker Sung Il-jong on Tuesday requested the Defense Ministry send members currently serving in the military to the concert.

“The Jamboree organizers have not proved how much they have prepared for this concert,” the statement read. “The time to prepare for potential dangers or check the stage conditions is substantially lacking. We as fans express our sincerest concerns and disappointment.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]