K-pop’s virtual idol boom reaches stadium scale, reshapes industry

The sight of a virtual idol group filling Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, a venue long reserved for K-pop’s most powerful performers, would have seemed implausible only a few years ago. But PLAVE, a virtual K-pop boy band under VLAST, drew 37,000 fans to the arena on Friday and Saturday, marking a breakthrough moment for the genre’s expanding virtual idol sector and redefining who — or what — can claim the country’s largest stages. The five-member virtual act closed its 2025 Asia tour with two “DASH: Quantum Leap Encore” shows, ending a run that began in August and included stops in Taipei, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bangkok and Tokyo. The Seoul encore was held at Gocheok Sky Dome, a venue typically reserved for top-tier K-pop acts such as BTS and BLACKPINK. PLAVE is the first virtual group to join that roster. The two shows drew more than half a million presale ticket attempts before selling out, underscoring the commercial momentum behind virtual acts and the growing appetite for technology-driven performers. The milestone reflects broader changes in the K-pop market, where advancesWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times