The Korean government is launching a comprehensive effort to address the deepening regional imbalance in the domestic pop music market, where the capital region now accounts for more than 80% of the industry.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Wednesday that it will open applications for the "Regional Pop Music Concert Activation Support" program in partnership with the Korea Creative Content Agency, aiming to spread pop music performances concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area to other regions.
The ministry has been promoting the "It's Coming to Our Neighborhood Too!" initiative to support regional hosting of popular performances and exhibitions in an effort to bridge cultural gaps. The newly designed Regional Pop Music Concert Activation Support program, part of this initiative, aims to encourage pop music concerts to be held outside the capital region, expanding cultural access and revitalizing local music industries.
Eligible events include pop music performances held in non-capital regions excluding Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province. Various formats from solo concerts to festivals are covered, though performances scheduled as side programs of other festivals or events are excluded.
The ministry plans to select and support a total of 20 performances across three categories based on scale. The "Super Large" category targets performances with total seating of 10,000 or more, with one concert selected to receive up to 300 million won ($220,000). The "Large (Solo)" category covers performances with 3,000 to under 10,000 seats per show, with five concerts selected to receive up to 140 million won each.
The "Medium" category targets performances with 1,000 to under 3,000 seats per show, with 14 concerts selected to receive up to 95 million won each. A minimum 10% self-funding ratio is required, and grants can be used for operating expenses including venue and equipment rental, promotion and marketing, and stage production costs.
Applications will be accepted from April 16 to 30 through the e-Naradoum website, with final selections to be announced in May following document review and presentation evaluations.
While Korea's cultural market continues to grow annually, the gap between the capital region and other areas shows no signs of narrowing. According to the "2025 Performance Market Ticket Sales Analysis Report" by the Korea Arts Management Service under the culture ministry, domestic performance ticket sales reached 1.73 trillion won last year, with the capital region of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi accounting for 82.7% of sales. Non-capital regions captured just 17.3%.
The non-capital region's share has been declining steadily, from 22.6% in 2023 to 20.9% in 2024, before dropping below 20% last year. While overall performance ticket sales grew 18.8% year-on-year last year, capital region sales surged 24.6% while non-capital region sales actually declined 1.3%.
By genre last year, the capital region accounted for 83.6% of pop music ticket sales, leaving non-capital regions with just 16.4%. Pop music represents 56.7% of the total performance market. Other genres showed similar capital region concentration: theater at 87.1%, musicals at 82.9%, dance at 81.5%, Western classical music at 75.5%, and traditional Korean music at 74.2%.
"Large-scale K-pop concerts such as BTS performances have recently drawn attention for their economic impact," said Choi Sung-hee, Director General for Content and Media Industry at the culture ministry. "We expect this program will not only expand cultural opportunities for regional residents but also boost local economies through tourism."
