SEVERAL K-pop artistes, including BTS, Tomorrow X Together, and Twice, have announced postponements or cancellations in the wake of a catastrophic crowd surge that killed 154 people in Seoul’s Itaewon area on Saturday evening.
The surge happened in an 11-foot-wide alleyway with an overflow of foot traffic, generating fatal body compression. The incident is one of South Korea’s deadliest peacetime tragedies.
One of the artistes who cancelled events was Jin of BTS, who postponed his Stationhead Listening Party and the release of the lyric video for his latest solo single The Astronaut. Besides that, Twice’s Online Hi-Touch Event was postponed, and Tomorrow X Together cancelled the premiere of the Eternally dance practice video.
On the industry front, several major events and conferences have been postponed or rescheduled, including Sunday’s SMTown Wonderland event from SM Entertainment, which manages powerhouses like EXO, Red Velvet, and NCT.
Hybe, the label and management company behind BTS, Tomorrow X Together, Seventeen, and others, has also postponed its Nov 4 Hybe Briefing With the Community conference.
In addition, the K-pop concert at the 2022 Busan One Asia Festival, which was set to feature performances by Pentagon, Mamamoo, and Golden Child, has also been cancelled.
