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Stars collide as BTS's HYBE partners with Son Heung-min's LAFC for K-culture matchday event

Published: 24 Oct. 2025, 17:00

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

K-pop boy band BTS receives an award for Favourite Pop Song at the Annual American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California on Nov. 21, 2021. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

BTS meets Son Heung-min — K-pop powerhouse HYBE will collaborate with MLS team Los Angeles FC (LAFC) to create a K-culture festival that bridges K-pop and sports, marking the company’s first-ever partnership with a professional football club in the United States.

As part of the collaboration, HYBE will host a large-scale event during LAFC’s first home match of the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The initiative aims to highlight the cultural connection between Los Angeles and Korea, while introducing local sports fans to the appeal of K-culture, according to HYBE. The city is home to the largest Korean community in the United States. Korean football legend Son also recently joined LAFC earlier this year.

The festival will transform the 22,000-seater into an immersive experience of Korean music, food and fandom culture. The venue has previously hosted performances by HYBE artists such as BTS's J-Hope, Seventeen, Tomorrow x Together and Enhypen.

During the match, K-pop hits from acts such as BTS, Seventeen and Katseye will play throughout the stadium, accompanied by a synchronized light show.

The logos of football team Los Angeles FC and entertainment company HYBE [HYBE]

Fans will also receive LED wristbands that flash in rhythm with the music, while lasers and fireworks will recreate the energy of K-pop concerts. Food vendors will serve Korean fusion cuisine inspired by LA’s Koreatown.

“Music and sport have the power to transcend borders and language, and LAFC have created new bridges between Korea, the United States and the world,” said Bang Si-Hyuk, Chairman of HYBE. “Los Angeles’s tremendous diversity and rich heritage of Korean culture made LAFC the perfect partner for HYBE’s first MLS collaboration, and we could not be more excited to strengthen our bond with fans in LA.”

Oct 2, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles FC forward Son Heung-min attends the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Oct. 2. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]