Latest news with #InspireArena
Korea Herald
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
NCT Dream shares world tour plan
NCT Dream announced plans for an international tour to begin in July, via SM Entertainment on Tuesday. The seven-member subunit will kick off its fourth tour, 'The Dream Show 4,' with three days of shows in Seoul from July 10-12, before heading to Bangkok the following month. So far, there are five more stops on the itinerary — Hong Kong, Indonesian capital Jakarta, Singapore, Taiwan capital Taipei and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia — and includes major stadiums in three. NCT Dream's previous tour took the team to 25 cities for 37 shows. The upcoming tour themed on time travel is likely to grow even bigger. The septet is set to roll out its fifth studio album in July as well, about eight months after the fourth LP and sixth million-seller, 'Dreamscape.' Later this month, the group will host a fan meeting at Inspire Arena in Incheon for two days. glamazon@
Korea Herald
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Inspire Resort unveils spring lineup featuring diverse entertainment events
Inspire Entertainment Resort announced its exciting spring event lineup Thursday, featuring a mix of indoor and outdoor experiences at both the Inspire Arena and Discovery Park from March through May. The resort's offerings will include concerts by popular K-pop and J-pop artists, classical music performances, sports events, stand-up comedy and music festivals. On March 22-23, renowned J-pop artist Kenshi Yonezu will perform as part of his 2025 world tour "Junk,' marking his first concert in Korea. The arena will also host K-pop group Infinite, who will take the stage for an encore of their 15th anniversary concert 'Limited Edition' on April 12-13. Additionally, girl group Le Sserafim will kick off their world tour with two gigs on April 19-20. The Arena is set to transform into an international sports venue as well. From April 1-6, the WTT Champions Incheon 2025 table tennis tournament will bring top global players to compete. On May 5-6, the venue will host 'Black Combat XIV: End Game,' a mixed martial arts event featuring over 15 matches. Inspire Arena will also be hosting its first classical music performance: film composer Hans Zimmer brings his 'Hans Zimmer Live 2025' concert to Incheon on May 17. Fans can look forward to iconic music from films such as 'Dune,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Interstellar.' On May 3, Chinese comedy troupe De Yun She will take the stage for 'Xiangsheng,' broadening the venue's entertainment offerings. Discovery Park, the resort's outdoor entertainment space, will play host to a variety of large-scale events this spring. One major highlight will be the Weverse Con Festival on May 31 and June 1. Following last year's outdoor performances at Discovery Park, the festival will expand to an indoor-and-outdoor event, featuring K-pop artists and new evening performances on the outdoor stage. Other notable events include the global EDM festival EDC KOREA on April 25-26, featuring renowned DJs such as Peggy Gou, Martin Garrix and Steve Aoki, and the Descente Awaken Korea duathlon on May 11, combining running and cycling. 'This spring, with outdoor activities on the rise, Inspire Arena and Discovery Park will offer an exciting variety of entertainment in genres ranging from K-pop and J-pop to classical music, sports, comedy and more. Our diverse offerings ensure a top-tier entertainment experience beyond just concerts,' said Lee Hyun-myung, Inspire's Entertainment Director.
Korea Herald
15-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Inspire Resort unveils spring lineup featuring diverse entertainment events
Inspire Entertainment Resort announced its exciting spring event lineup Thursday, featuring a mix of indoor and outdoor experiences at both the Inspire Arena and Discovery Park from March through May. The resort's offerings will include concerts by popular K-pop and J-pop artists, classical music performances, sports events, stand-up comedy and music festivals. On March 22-23, renowned J-pop artist Kenshi Yonezu will perform as part of his 2025 world tour "Junk,' marking his first concert in Korea. The arena will also host K-pop group Infinite, who will take the stage for an encore of their 15th anniversary concert 'Limited Edition' on April 12-13. Additionally, girl group Le Sserafim will kick off their world tour with two gigs on April 19-20. The Arena is set to transform into an international sports venue as well. From April 1-6, the WTT Champions Incheon 2025 table tennis tournament will bring top global players to compete. On May 5-6, the venue will host 'Black Combat XIV: End Game,' a mixed martial arts event featuring over 15 matches. Inspire Arena will also be hosting its first classical music performance: film composer Hans Zimmer brings his 'Hans Zimmer Live 2025' concert to Incheon on May 17. Fans can look forward to iconic music from films such as 'Dune,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Interstellar.' On May 3, Chinese comedy troupe De Yun She will take the stage for 'Xiangsheng,' broadening the venue's entertainment offerings. Discovery Park, the resort's outdoor entertainment space, will play host to a variety of large-scale events this spring. One major highlight will be the Weverse Con Festival on May 31 and June 1. Following last year's outdoor performances at Discovery Park, the festival will expand to an indoor-and-outdoor event, featuring K-pop artists and new evening performances on the outdoor stage. Other notable events include the global EDM festival EDC KOREA on April 25-26, featuring renowned DJs such as Peggy Gou, Martin Garrix and Steve Aoki, and the Descente Awaken Korea duathlon on May 11, combining running and cycling. 'This spring, with outdoor activities on the rise, Inspire Arena and Discovery Park will offer an exciting variety of entertainment in genres ranging from K-pop and J-pop to classical music, sports, comedy and more. Our diverse offerings ensure a top-tier entertainment experience beyond just concerts,' said Lee Hyun-myung, Inspire's Entertainment Director. yoohong@
Korea Herald
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Le Sserafim returns with 'Hot'
Following the new album release, group to embark on first world tour Le Sserafim is back, this time with some heat. At 1 p.m. Friday, the K-pop girl group released its fifth EP "Hot," which explores the passionate emotions of giving one's whole heart to what they love. This new album marks the final installment of a trilogy following the group's third and fourth mini albums "Easy" and "Crazy," released in 2024. "We've finally reached the last chapter of our trilogy — 'Easy,' 'Crazy' and now 'Hot.' We prepared this album based on the lessons we learned from all the experiences we had last year. We'll give our all to these promotions as well," said Huh Yunjin during a press conference on Friday at Yes 24 Live Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, shortly before the EP's release. Planned as a trilogy project since 2023, "Easy" explores the anxieties and uncertainties behind the stage, while "Crazy" expresses a desire to break free from these fears. "Hot" takes it further, portraying a passionate attitude of diving into what they love and willingly embracing the outcome. The album features five tracks, including the title track "Hot," a pop song infused with rock and disco elements, as well as "Born Fire," which stands out with its narration in Korean, English and Japanese. Another track, "So Cynical," co-written by Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin and Hong Eunchae, encourages listeners to dive fearlessly into love. Regarding the title track, Kazuha explained, "It's a song about burning everything for what you love. It's also the first time we're doing a love song as a title track, which makes it special." She continued, "When I first heard this song, I imagined driving with a cool breeze hitting my face. It's powerful yet sentimental, which I think suits our team well." Huh Yunjin, who participated in producing the title track, recalled the challenges of the process: "Being involved in the title track was an honor, and I wanted to give it my all. I was especially curious about how it would sound when the members sang it, so that was my biggest focus while working on it." The youngest member Hong Eunchae shared her connection to the album, saying, "The new album is special to me because I turned 20 and prepared it with a fresh start in mind." She added, "We've taken on many new genres in this album, so please look forward to it." Following their album release, Le Sserafim is set to embark on its first world tour, "Easy Crazy Hot." The tour will begin April 19-20 at Inspire Arena, Incheon, and take them to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and more. "We want people to say, 'Le Sserafim is a group you have to see on stage.' Many fans have been waiting for this world tour, so we'll make sure to put on a flawless performance," said Kazuha.
Korea Herald
18-02-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Inspire Arena reflects on first year, unveils plans for 2025
Inspire Arena aims to improve accessibility to attract more attendees Inspire Arena, South Korea's first arena built for concerts, entered its second year with some successes and some concerns. Since its opening in December 2023, Inspire Arena, located in Yeongjongdo in Incheon, hosted international artists such as Maroon 5, Westlife and Linkin Park, as well as major K-pop acts like Taeyang, SHINee and Day6. In 2024, Inspire Arena hosted 69 events, attracting a total of 519,000 attendees. About 60 percent of attendees were international visitors. Arena's proximity to Incheon Airport and its location within a resort complex make the venue an appealing tourist destination. However, one of the major challenges Inspire Arena has faced since its opening has been accessibility. With no direct public transport to the venue, visitors rely on shuttle buses or private vehicles, with travel times reaching almost two hours from central Seoul. 'Our goal is to ensure that audiences can return to central Seoul within an hour and a half,' Jang Hyun-ki, General Manager of Inspire Arena, during a press conference held on Tuesday. Jang shared data showing that using shuttle buses and transporting 3,000 people to a nearby transit station takes an hour, and assured that strategies are being developed to improve this. Addressing concerns over Inspire Resort's recent ownership change from Mohegan to private equity firm Bain Capital, Jang expressed confidence in the arena's continued success. 'It is true that Inspire Arena benefited from the expertise and strategies of Mohegan Sun Arena during its launch, but our team has grown significantly over the past year. We expect to operate stably, regardless of the ownership change,' he reassured. Looking ahead, Inspire Arena aims to expand its event lineup and find solutions for its shortcomings. Discovery Park, an outdoor performance space adjacent to the indoor arena that spans approximately 99,000 square meters, will officially open in 2025. Major festivals like the Electric Daisy Carnival are scheduled to take place at this new venue. For 2025, the arena expects to host over 85 events and welcome more than 700,000 visitors. Jang noted that while 62.9 percent of last year's events were concerts and 17.1 percent were award shows, more sports events are planned for the upcoming year. "Inspire Arena is truly the first of its kind in Korea. While there are other indoor venues with over 8,000 seats, none are equipped with specialized performance facilities like ours. Globally, there are about 450 arenas meeting these standards, but Korea has only one," Jang said. A venue with a capacity of around 8,000 to 15,000 seats is commonly referred to as an arena-type concert hall. Inspire Area can host between 10,000 and 15,000 guests. The venue's unique structure features a concrete stage floor, allowing vehicle access and support for heavy equipment. Its ceiling can accommodate up to 100 tons of rigging, and it is the only venue in Korea with more than 4,000 seats that incorporates architectural acoustic design.
