Wealth
K-Pop’s Quest to Rule the World Slows With Concert Venues Dark
- Future is in doubt as pandemic sidelines South Korean bands
- BTS, among the top draws, sold 1.3 million tickets last year
Trainees at “Idol School" practice K-Pop dance moves inside their temporary set.
Photographer: Jean Chung/BloombergApril was supposed to mark the start of the 2020 Map of the Soul world tour for BTS, the South Korean boy band that sold 1.3 million tickets last year.
The band continues to boost its profile with appearances on U.S. television, including James Corden’s “The Late Late Show,” and chart-topping albums. But as is true for all entertainers cut off from fans by the coronavirus pandemic, BTS and other groups at the vanguard of the K-Pop craze will have to make do without live audiences for the foreseeable future.