What Korea lacKs in the music industry despite having ‘almost everything it needs’
We recently stressed in this corner that K-pop shows in the Philippines outnumber — and possibly outsell — those of Filipino music stars and artists.
now we know why: there really are not enough huge venues in South Korea for their highly successful K-pop groups to stage their shows in.
Journalist Dong Sunhwa said in The Korea Times on 23 February: “When it comes to music, Korea has almost everything it needs
— talented singers, songwriters, dancers and even different crews who can elevate stage performances to the next level. The country, however, lacks one big thing: places where singers can perform and showcase the fruits of their efforts.”
Dong went on to cite details: “Korea’s prime facilities capable of hosting large audiences are few. as of now, the venues in the Seoul metropolitan area that can accommodate more than 10,000 spectators include Jamsil Sports complex’s Main Stadium, Jamsil auxiliary Stadium, Jamsil Indoor Stadium, Seoul World cup Stadium, Gocheok Sky Dome, KSPo Dome — formerly olympic Gymnastics arena — and Inspire arena.
“The Jamsil Sports complex’s Main Stadium in southeastern Seoul — the largest in Korea with nearly 70,000 seats — has been under renovation since last august as Korea prepares to host another olympics there and is scheduled to remain closed until December 2026.”
The Gocheok Sky Dome has the biggest potential for hosting concerts, but it can accommodate only 30,000 people. on the other hand, the Seoul World cup Stadium can seat up to 50,000 people, but it is often difficult to rent out due to the maintenance of the grass for soccer games. The shortage of mammoth venues is the reason Seoul cannot host a Taylor Swift concert in line with her ongoing Eras Tour.
It is possible that South Korean fans travel all the way to the Philippines to watch their fellow Koreans here. our Department of Tourism has no reports yet on tourist arrivals for concerts.
It is said that most K-pop groups become world-wide sellers of shows and albums first in their own country. Koreans love Korean idols first. can that be said of the Pinoys in the Philippines?
It might turn out that the Pinoys are the major patrons of most foreign concerts in the Philippines.
Malicious statements
Dapitan city mayor Bullet Jalosjos and former Quezon city congressman Bong Suntay have yet to respond to showbiz journalist-youTube show host cristy Fermin’s denial that she explicitly linked the two friends to actor Dominic Roque after Dominic and actor Bea alonzo broke up and cancelled their supposed wedding plans.
all three men (Roque, Jalosjos and Suntay) have made pronouncements that sounded like they were about to sue Fermin for one report/ program episode or another. However, as of this writing no one among the three men has filed anything in court against Fermin or anyone whom they feel has sullied their individual reputation.
on 20 February, Roque released through his legal counsel Fernandez & Singson law office, a denunciation of “malicious and defamatory public statements of Ms. Fermin.”
according to the statement, the actor “is embarrassed and apologizes to Mayor Bullet Jalosjos and his family for being dragged into the public conversation because of the malicious, defamatory public innuendos of Ms. Fermin.”
Just a few days ago, in an exclusive interview with journalist Jay Ruiz on his youTube channel, Jalosjos and Suntay revealed that Roque has been in their friend group for more than a decade. This friendship had been formed because of their shared passion for motorcycle racing.
Jalosjos admitted in that interview that the condo Roque was staying at was his. It was also in that interview that Jalosjos said he was going to take legal action against those who have acted “irresponsibly” regarding his friendship with Roque.
on the other hand, Fermin maintains it is other showbiz writers who explicitly mentioned Suntay and Jalosjos in their reports about Roque. Fermin is a master in presenting juicy
“blind items” — mainly no names mentioned except for one or two. She described those who explicitly mentioned Suntay and
Jalosjos in their reports as “sumawsaw” into the issue. “Sumawsaw” is a gay slang in Tagalog for “meddling” or “dipping.”
It is sweet and decent of Fermin not to demand an apology from the three men for publicly accusing her of defaming them. She simply vehemently denied the accusation in her radio program and youTube show.
She asserted though that she feels it has always been Roque who needed to explain his relationship with the well-off Suntay and Jalosjos and how he could afford to rent an upscale condo unit despite not having a clear source of income beyond his occasional assignments as an actor.
Fermin denies having used the word “benefactors” of Roque to talk and write about Suntay and Jalosjos. Fermin almost entirely speak and write in old-fashioned pure Tagalog. She is reputed to be among the best media writer in pure Tagalog.