The Surprising New Spot for a K-pop Mecca
- Julie
- Jun 20, 2017
- 3 min read
The South Korean government has always had an active hand in the development of the K-pop industry since the 90s.
In an effort to improve its image and economics after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, South Korean leaders established the Ministry of Culture with a specific department for the globalization of K-pop. To protect and develop this cultural export, the government poured funds into building concert auditoriums, research and development of hologram technology, and marketing K-pop to foreign visitors.
Even today, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has teamed up with one of the Big 3 entertainment companies, SM Entertainment, to offer K-pop dance classes at SM headquarters to foreigners free of charge until the end of 2017 to lure more tourists to the city.
Now, the government is dedicating an entire area of the capital to K-pop.
In 2013, the city of Seoul announced its 2030 Seoul Plan – an urban development plan that would restructure the capital into 7 regional centers. One of those centers, Changdong, is slated to become a major cultural and economic hub dedicated to the music industry and pop-culture tourism. The multi-phase project includes a mix of cultural and commercial business developments, a 20,000-seat Seoul arena complex, and infrastructure to support new transportation hubs.
The first phase of the project is already underway with the completed construction of Platform 61 – a new cultural center which houses recording studios, galleries, workshop spaces, a small live-music venue space, restaurants, and retail. You might have already seen this project – constructed from 61 colorful shipping containers – in recent music videos… Platform 61 was the filming location for both K.A.R.D’s "Rumor (Hidden Ver.)" and TWICE’s "Signal."
It’s not surprising that Seoul is redeveloping a neglected area of the city to promote culture and industry. After all, we saw this government-led urban growth with Gangnam in the 70s – a district that is now known to be the Beverly Hills of Seoul.
Similarly, for Changdong, the plans call to essentially K-gentrify the area in hopes of attracting more tourists and consumers along with their spending power.
However, while there’s no doubt that K-pop is truly a driving economic industry in Korea, it still seems quite risky to place all bets on revitalizing an entire district by riding the Hallyu wave, especially when Changdong is primarily a residential suburb on the northern outskirts of Seoul – nearly at the end of Subway Line 4.
Currently, visitors who want to experience K-pop culture usually flock south of the Han River to Gangnam. This is where many entertainment company headquarters and the famed K-star road are located. Fans can also attend popular music broadcasting shows and explore indie music culture in Hongdae, Mapo district on the western end of Seoul.
It’s understandable that since the popular K-pop stops are currently sprinkled throughout Seoul, the city would see opportunities to centralize K-pop attractions. But since most fans and tourists are visiting these areas for very specific reasons, whether to spot their favorite idol in local coffee shops or getting a chance to see performers at broadcasting shows, it will be a challenge to get people to make the trek out to Changdong.
That’s not to say that in order for Changdong to be successful that entertainment companies and supporting businesses need to relocate.
Take the U.S. city of Austin, Texas for example. Despite being known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” the city does not have any major record label offices in the area. In fact, the 2030 Seoul Plan even states that they are modeling Changdong after Austin and the UK’s Liverpool – both known for widely successful music scenes.
One major difference we see is that both Austin and Liverpool's music cultures have deep and unique histories, which naturally resulted in their establishment as music hubs today. Changdong will be an experiment in finding out just how strong the highly-manufactured industry is to be able to literally create a new culture of K-pop in a neighborhood with no meaningful ties to the music industry.
Regardless of whether or not Changdong reaches its goals of becoming a K-pop mecca, we still think it will have some level of success in creating opportunities for artists to engage with the community.
Whether it’s hosting sold-out performances in the new Seoul arena, putting on indie shows at Platform 61, or just being a place for fans and tourists to gather, we have our eye on Changdong, and we’re curious to see which K-pop artists are on board too.
Image source: Seoul Metropolitan Government