Concerns Over Novel Coronavirus Lead to Successive Cancellations of Pop Culture Events and Gatherings

On the 3rd, as concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus infection grow, the lobby of COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul is quieter than usual. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Due to concerns over the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), public culture performances and events are being canceled one after another.

YG Entertainment announced on the 3rd that it will cancel the boy group WINNER's Singapore concert scheduled for the 8th and the duo AKMU's Changwon concerts on the 8th and 9th.

YG stated, "We apologize for the inconvenience and trouble caused to those who purchased tickets for the two concerts. There may be changes regarding the holding of other scheduled concerts," and provided information about refunds.

Singer Kim Tae-woo also decided to temporarily postpone the small theater concert 'SouL PooL' scheduled to be held at Sogang University Merry Hall Grand Theater on the 14th and 15th. His agency P&B Entertainment announced the cancellation of the ticket opening schedule for the performance starting at 7 p.m. that day.

Musical and theater performance cancellations also followed.

The musical 'Dinosaur Taru,' originally scheduled to open on the 8th, was canceled. The production company Cultureholic explained, "Although the probability is low, concerns about the health risks to family audiences visiting the venue have increased, leading to the decision to cancel the performance."

The musical 'Jungle Life,' scheduled to run until the 23rd, will be suspended starting from the 4th.

The performance 'Yeotang Show,' starring Park Mi-sun, Kim Sung-eun, and Kwon Jin-young, was temporarily postponed. The press call scheduled for the 4th was also canceled.

The production presentation for the Netflix drama 'You Are Alone,' scheduled for the same day, was replaced with an online streaming event. Netflix explained, "Due to various concerns caused by the novel coronavirus, the production presentation was inevitably changed to an online streaming event."

The Korean Film Council canceled the support project briefing session scheduled for the 6th. The press conference planned before the briefing was also canceled. The council cited the spread of the novel coronavirus as the reason for the cancellations.

The movie 'Time to Hunt' canceled its showcase event scheduled for the 5th, and Lotte Cultureworks also temporarily postponed the audience talk for 'Once Upon a Time in High School' scheduled for the 7th.

The animated film 'The Princess: Stolen Princess,' which was set to be released on the 5th, postponed its release to protect its expected main audience, children.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.