S. Korean pop music industry suffers big losses amid pandemic

▲ The originally bustling street in the hip Hongdae district in western Seoul is empty on Dec. 25, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (Yonhap)

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S. Korean pop music industry suffers big losses amid pandemic

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's pop music industry was estimated to have suffered tens of billions of won in financial damage as ticket sales plunged amid the new coronavirus pandemic, a music organization said Friday.

According to the Record Label Industry Association of Korea (LIAK), the estimated damage stood at around 184 billion won (US$163 million) on the basis that 80 percent of tickets were sold for performances that were canceled.

A total of 1,089 music gigs were called off due to COVID-19 from February last year through this month, it added.

Performance venues in the Hongdae area in western Seoul, a hub for the indie music scene, reported 454 cases of cancellations since the pandemic began, which translate to a loss of roughly 2.1 billion won.

Shin Jong-gill, the secretary-general of LIAK, said the amount is likely to be bigger in reality.

"(The figure) includes gigs that were called off after ticket sales began," he said at a music policy forum. "The number of performances would have been bigger if not for the virus."

"Companies are in a state of surrender as they repeatedly go through the process of planning and canceling shows as the pandemic continues," Shin said.

Lee Yong-hwa, the head of the Korea Live Hall Association, said state support is needed for small-sized performance venues hit hard by COVID-19, stressing their role in supporting new and lesser-known musicians.

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