[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] The K-pop stage is expanding beyond concert venues to encompass entire cities. This goes beyond simply having fans flock to specific venues for concerts or fan meetings; it involves infusing the music, fashion, and worldview of artists throughout Seoul, transforming the city itself into one giant fan experience space.
A recent prime example is the group NCT. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, NCT is carrying out a large-scale project using major locations in Seoul as its stage. Seoul landmarks familiar to fans—such as Banpo Hangang Park, Seokchon Lake, and the area around Lotte World Tower—have been transformed into spaces where fans can experience NCT’s music and content.

◇From fountain shows to Fashion Week… NCT takes over Seoul
From the 1st to the 5th, a fountain show synchronized to NCT’s music took place at the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain on Banpo Bridge. At Seokchon Lake, nighttime lighting displays and giant art balloons were installed, and starting on the 18th, an immersive exhibition commemorating their 10th anniversary, “Exhibition: Neo Dimension,” will open at venues within Lotte World.
The collaboration with Seoul Fashion Week was also notable. From the 4th to the 6th, representative stage outfits from NCT, NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV, and NCT WISH were on display in the Lotte World Tower area. On the final day, a “Curated Runway” featuring outfits and memorabilia actually worn on stage over the past 10 years took place, and a flea market showcasing approximately 3,000 performance outfits was also held. As K-pop merges with fashion, tourism, and shopping, the scope of the fan experience has expanded beyond the concert venue.
This trend is not unique to NCT. Earlier this year, in March, the group BTS held their comeback concert “ARIRANG” in the Gwanghwamun Square area. At the time, the Seoul Metropolitan Government anticipated that up to 260,000 domestic and international visitors would flock to the Gwanghwamun area on the day of the concert, so it prepared not only for crowd control but also for tourism-related measures such as foreign language interpretation, accommodation arrangements, and price regulation in traditional markets. This is an example of a single concert expanding into a city-wide event.

BLACKPINK also partnered with the National Museum of Korea this year. From late February through early March, they illuminated the museum’s exterior in pink and operated audio tours featuring the members’ voices in Korean, English, and Thai, as well as listening zones for their new album. In August, to mark their 10th anniversary, they unveiled the “BLACKPINK HERITAGE COLLECTION,” inspired by Korean cultural heritage, further broadening the intersection between K-pop and traditional culture.
◇From “Going to Korea to See a Concert” to “Experiencing the City”
This shift aligns with the changing patterns of K-pop fans’ visits to Korea. While specific events like concerts and fan meetings used to be the primary reason for overseas fans to visit, their trips have recently expanded to include exploring various parts of Seoul in pursuit of artist-related content, combining shopping, sightseeing, dining, and fashion.
For example, an NCT fan might watch a fountain show set to music in Banpo, see the group’s stage outfits in Jamsil, and then take a stroll around Seokchon Lake. It’s a structure where a single artist’s IP creates a fan itinerary, and tourism, retail, and dining naturally follow that path.

From the K-pop industry’s perspective, utilizing urban spaces can also serve as a way to extend the lifespan of an IP. While albums and concerts are forms of content consumed intensively over a specific period, exhibitions, pop-up stores, fashion, and location-based content extend the time and points of contact through which fans experience the artist.
From the city’s perspective, there is the advantage of leveraging the mobility and spending power of fan communities as tourism resources. Even during periods when large-scale concerts are not held, artist IP can be used to incentivize visits from overseas fans and imbue existing tourist attractions with new meaning.
A music industry insider stated, “As fans walk through the city, eat, shop, and engage in various experiences following their favorite artists, the economic impact of K-pop is spreading beyond concert venues,” adding, “As the stage for K-pop IP expands, Seoul is also transforming into a massive ‘fan space’ where fans can directly experience and consume content.”