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Korea’s new COVID-safe concert concept

Some 1,200 K-pop fans became the first to experience a new socially distanced event concept in Seoul, South Korea, which sat fans in 300 specially created dome-shaped tents.

The Live in DMZ concert, which was organised as part of the annual event promoting peace in the Korean peninsula, also installed an ‘air shower’ gate that sprayed a disinfecting mist at the entrance, as well as a thermal temperature-checking system and a ‘distancing fence’ to prevent household mixing in the waiting area before fans took their seats, reports the Gyeonggi Daily.

The event was organised by the government of the province of Gyeonggi as a means of providing “comfort” to people who are tired of ongoing coronavirus restrictions, according to local media.

According to organisers, the clear tents, which can seat up to four people from a single household, are the first of their kind in the world, and prevent the transmission of COVID-19 droplets between fans.

Ticket buyers received an automatically generated QR code to use for entry into the concert after filling out a health-check questionnaire and providing their details.

Explaining the concept to Cities Today, Lee Jae-gang, Gyeonggi’s vice-governor for peace, said: “By operating a web-based access system that enabled entry using QR codes for confirmation, the Gyeonggi provincial government was not only able to implement rapid and accurate quarantine procedures, but [can] also undertake follow-up management by once again sending self-health-check questionnaires to concert attendees two weeks after the event.”

The concert was hosted at the 41,000-seat Goyang Sports Complex in Goyang from October 23 to 25. The Live in DMZ show featured performances from local stars including Monsta X, Mamamoo, Itzy, Loona, (G)I-dle, and Oh My Girl’s Seunghee and Yooa.

According to Cities Today, the novel set-up gave the stadium a capacity of 1,200 for Live in DMZ, while an additional 400 people watched the concert online.

Image: Screenshot via Cities Today video