Coronavirus fear affects South Korean entertainment industry, K-pop stars cancel concerts, events

Fear about the spread of coronavirus has affected the South Korean entertainment industry badly. Many of the upcoming K-Pop concerts, fan meetings and other major events have been postponed or cancelled by popular bands, such as ASTRO and WINNER, due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

Boy groups WINNER, AKMU and AB6IX as well as singers Baek Yerin and Baek Ji Young have postponed or cancelled their upcoming concert tours. Boy band ASTRO, T-ara member Hyomin and singer Kim Woo Seok have re-scheduled or cancelled their planned fan meetings. The organizers of 56^th Daejong Film Awards have also postponed the annual awards ceremony because of coronavirus concerns.

Here is a list of fan meetings postponed or cancelled due to coronavirus concerns

1. Kim Woo Seok – The 23-year-old singer has postponed his upcoming fan meeting, which was scheduled to be held in Seoul on February 22. His agency TOP Media is yet to announce a new date for the event, reported Soompi.
2. T-ara member Hyomin – The 30-year-old singer, whose real name is Park Sun Young, also postponed her scheduled fan meeting in Japan, which was supposed to be held on February 23. The new dates for the event are yet to be revealed.
3. ASTRO – The six-member boy group is also included in the list of K-Pop artists who have postponed their upcoming fan meeting. ASTRO has postponed their planned fan meeting at the Olympic Park Olympic Hall in Seoul. The event, titled The 4th ASTRO AROHA Festival [CAMPUS], was supposed to be held on March 7.

Check out the K-Pop concert tours postponed or cancelled due to coronavirus concerns:

1. WINNER – The four-member boy group has cancelled two of their concert tours due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus. The concert in Singapore was scheduled to be held on February 8 and the concert in Seoul was planned for February 14 and 15.
2. AKMU – The popular singing duo also cancelled two of their upcoming concert tours recently. Apart from cancelling their Changwon concert that was scheduled for February 8 and 9, the sibling duo has also cancelled their Seongnam concert that was planned to be held on February 15 and 16.
3. Baek Yerin – The 22-year-old singer has cancelled her upcoming concert tour that was scheduled to be held at the KSPO Dome in Seoul on February 22.
4. AB6IX – The five-member boy group has postponed their first-ever world tour due to Coronavirus concerns. The event, titled 6IXENSE, was supposed to kick-start from Europe this month.
5. Baek Ji Young – The 43-year-old singer has also cancelled her nationwide tour, titled BAEK STGE. The event was supposed to begin from Gwangju on February 15 and conclude in Seoul on March 21.

Other big events that have been postponed or cancelled

1. Daejong Film Awards 2020 – The 56^th annual award ceremony was scheduled for February 25. It has been postponed by the event organizers due to "increased concerns surrounding novel coronavirus".
2. Running Man Fan Meeting - SBS has announced that the Running Man fan meeting has been re-scheduled from February 9 to June 21.
3. Beasts Clawing at Straws premiere – The premiere of upcoming movie Beasts Clawing at Straws, starring Bae Sung Woo, Jung Woo Sung and Jeon Do Yeon in lead roles, has been postponed. The movie was scheduled to premiere on February 12.

Currently, there are 1,701 suspected coronavirus cases in South Korea, among which 24 are confirmed cases and 620 cases are being tested, according to the latest report from the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).