Korean Music Label Association: "Mapo District Office Must Apologize for Cancelling Performance Notice 30 Minutes Before"

Appeal released by the Korean Music Label Association on the 8th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] The Korea Music Label Industry Association has apologized and urged the establishment of improvement measures after receiving a notice of performance cancellation from Mapo District Office just 30 minutes before the start of a show.

In an appeal on the 8th, the Korea Music Label Industry Association stated, "On the 27th of last month, the small-scale performance venue Nestnada, located in Mapo-gu, Seoul, suddenly received a notice of performance cancellation from an employee of the Mapo District Office’s Hygiene Department who visited 30 minutes before the performance started."

The association continued, "Nestnada had checked the quarantine guidelines on the Mapo District Office website in advance before holding the performance, and a venue official directly inquired by phone with the Hygiene Department of Mapo District Office on the 15th of last month, receiving a response that the performance could proceed. However, the Hygiene Department official who visited on the day abruptly stopped the performance, citing revised quarantine guidelines from the Seoul Metropolitan Government," they claimed.

The association pointed out that the Mapo District Office had not updated the revised quarantine guidelines on its website beforehand, nor had they provided a clear answer that the performance was impossible during the phone inquiry. They expressed regret that this caused inconvenience to the audience who had traveled from afar to attend the performance.

The association further stated, "In an interview with a media outlet, Mapo District Office claimed, ‘Places like Sejong Center for the Performing Arts are proper venues, but holding performances at places registered as ordinary restaurants is like a 70th birthday party.’ We request an apology for belittling small-scale performance venues in Mapo District, which is called the cultural hub."

To prevent recurrence, the association urged the establishment of improvement measures including ▲improving the registration criteria for performance venues within Mapo District ▲prompt updates and guidance on quarantine guidelines ▲apologies to venues, audiences, and music industry stakeholders.

The association emphasized, "Currently, over 80% of small-scale performance venues in Seoul are located in Mapo District, but due to unrealistic standards, they cannot be registered as performance venues and operate as ordinary restaurants instead. We request improvements to establish realistic venue standards through discussions with industry stakeholders to prevent further harm to small-scale performance venues."

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