Big Bang's Seoul takeover reveals K-pop's citywide playbook 

Heidi Wong, a loyal Big Bang fan of 15 years, flew in from Hong Kong and landed in Seoul on Wednesday — the K-pop legend’s 20th anniversary — to find the city ready to celebrate with her.

“It’s very good that I can get into the vibes a little bit before the concert,” the 36-year-old told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Friday, just outside the prequel exhibition for the upcoming “Cosmos Big Bang 20th Anniversary” held at the Lotte World Mall complex in southern Seoul.

Although Wong missed Wednesday’s drone show and fireworks over the Han River, she and her friend visited the exhibition to browse media art featuring the Big Bang members, take photos and listen to the group’s latest single, “BiiiG,” which dropped on Wednesday — soaking up the festivities ahead of the group’s world tour kickoff.

“We have been waiting for this for so long, and even if there were just small events, we would have still enjoyed it because it’s so nice to see fans attending these events,” she said with a smile. “It would be nice if we can have more events all around the world.”

From fireworks over the Han River to a giant installation of a Bangbong — the band's official light stick — at Seokchon Lake, the K-pop legends’ 20th-anniversary celebration has spilled far beyond the concert stage and across the capital.

It has become an increasingly familiar sight in recent years, as such citywide promotions consisting of a constellation of fan destinations emerge as K-pop’s new marketing playbook — one where the interests of entertainment agencies, local governments and retailers converge.

‘Fandom Playground’ for V.I.P.

On a drizzly Friday afternoon, Big Bang's fans — collectively known as V.I.P. — and passersby at Seokchon Lake in Songpa District, southern Seoul, stopped to photograph a massive yellow crown modeled after a Bangbong. Strings of smaller crown-shaped lights adorned part of the lakeside trail beside it.

Organized by YG Entertainment and Lotte Department Store with sponsorship from Songpa District, the installation is one of the anniversary events scattered across Seoul. Just steps away, the Lotte World Mall Complex houses the prequel exhibition Wong and her friend visited, along with merchandise, a themed food menu and media art displays.

Songpa District, which participated in the public art project including the Bangbong installation as well as a ball-shaped LED display presenting a message for fans, described the lakeside project as a “fandom playground,” a space filled with Big Bang’s symbols and music that fans can enjoy without the artists making an appearance.

The celebration marks two decades since Big Bang debuted under YG Entertainment on Aug. 19, 2006, with the single “Bigbang.” Now consisting of G-Dragon, Taeyang and Daesung, the group commemorated the anniversary on Wednesday with “BiiiG,” its first new release in more than four years.

On Friday, Big Bang kicked off its first world tour in nine years, “XX: Cosmos,” at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi, with three shows through Sunday.

The festivities will outlast the concerts. Following the prequel exhibition, which runs from Aug. 14 through Sunday, a sprawling multimedia exhibition opens on Monday at dududo seoul in central Seoul.

From fandom to mass marketing

Such citywide campaigns where K-pop fans can roam around the host city for photo spots, interactive zones and merchandise shops have become increasingly common in K-pop in recent years.

HYBE established itself as the pioneer of the model in K-pop through “The City,” first launched at scale during BTS’s Las Vegas concert in 2022. The company has since extended the format for other artists and cities, most recently through this year’s “The City Arirang” campaigns.

YG Entertainment had also implemented a similar model on varying scales before Big Bang’s ongoing promotions, including the “Pink Area Take Over Lighting” campaign across landmarks in Seoul in July last year ahead of Blackpink’s “Deadline” tour.

For entertainment agencies, such campaigns not only deepen the fan experience beyond the concert venue, but also expose the artist to a wider audience beyond the core fandom.

“Because these events take place in spaces that are easily accessible to the public, they can reach not only fans but also the general public, allowing the promotion to have a broader reach,” a YG representative told the Korea JoongAng Daily when asked about the design behind Big Bang’s sprawling anniversary campaign.

“We also wanted to promote the group on a scale befitting the band's status.”

For retailers and local governments, the incentive comes from not only the increased tourist and customer traffic but also indirectly from the branding opportunity to position landmarks and shopping centers as cultural destinations.

“We expect the campaign to attract new customers, including fans, while also helping establish Lotte Town Jamsil as a place where visitors can directly experience and enjoy pop culture content, rather than simply a shopping destination,” said a spokesperson for Lotte Department Store, which partnered with YG for the latest campaign in Songpa.

“By presenting content aimed at a global fandom at Lotte Town Jamsil, which attracts tourists from various regions including Europe, we aim to offer both domestic and overseas customers opportunities to experience a more diverse range of K-content.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]