Will the Era of Low-Carbon K-pop Performances Begin? Audience Travel and Energy Measurement Remain Challenges

Ministry of Culture to Develop Guidelines with Industry Next Year
Challenges in Securing Ticketing and Venue Data
Measurement and Verification Costs, Support System Remain Unresolved
ISO Also Developing Standards for Cultural Events

YG Entertainment continues its efforts for sustainable performances, including operating a mobile solar power rest area during BigBang's world tour 'XX : Cosmos' held last month at Goyang Sports Complex. Photo by YG Entertainment

The "low-carbon transition" of K-pop performances is facing obstacles at the very first step: measuring carbon emissions. This is because data related to audience travel, venue energy use, and stage, lighting, and sound is scattered across ticketing platforms, venues, and partnering companies. As the government prepares to establish guidelines next year for reducing carbon emissions in performances and events, industry voices are increasingly calling for a common measurement standard and a unified data collection system to be established first.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the performance industry on September 9, during the launch ceremony and policy forum of the "Consultative Group for the Establishment of Carbon Neutral Performance Event Guidelines" held the day before at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building, on-site issues hindering emissions measurement and reduction were highlighted. Yumi Kim, Director of the Popular Culture Industry Division at the ministry, stated, "Our plan is to discuss and release the guidelines with the industry around next year."

The ministry has found it difficult to apply the broad guidelines developed in 2023 to the field and is now piloting carbon emission calculators tailored by sector, such as music production, performances, and events. Korea Creative Content Agency is also measuring emissions at three agencies and venues in Seoul and Incheon, among others.

The biggest variable is audience travel. A survey by YG Entertainment found that the carbon emissions from BLACKPINK's concert in Goyang amounted to 15,115 tons, with audience travel and accommodation accounting for 99.56% of the total. Thus, understanding where audiences come from and which means of transport they use to reach the venue is the starting point for accurate calculations.

The challenge is securing data. Hyojin Cho, CEO of Daily Use Tomorrow, who measured emissions at K-pop concerts such as BLACKPINK's, explained that less than 10% of audience members participated in the participatory carbon calculator used for audience travel research. This was because it was difficult to utilize the ticketing sites' and organizers’ communication channels for guiding audience participation.

The same problems exist at the production site. An average K-pop performance involves around 15 partner companies for stage, lighting, and sound, but none are required to submit data for emissions calculation. If data cannot be obtained, estimations must be used in place of actual figures. Cho cited a case where emissions were calculated based on purchase amount instead of the weight and material of stage items, as that information could not be confirmed. This means that if expensive eco-friendly materials are used, the calculated emissions could paradoxically increase; thus, to properly assess emission reductions, the type and quantity of materials used must be identified.

Separating energy consumption for each show is also difficult. Kang Kim, Director of Technical Operation at Inspire Arena, described how JYP Entertainment, the host of a recent 2PM concert, requested data on electricity, city gas, district heating, and water in order to calculate the event’s carbon footprint. However, as the venue is part of a complex resort with a hotel and commercial facilities, energy is managed collectively, making it difficult to break down consumption by performance. To install separate measurement equipment, additional costs and business losses from construction would have to be borne.

On-site, opinions are emerging to create a "standard input form" to avoid having to repeat measurement procedures for each event. Moonkyu Han, CEO of Sound Alliance, stressed, "We need to continue evaluating future performances with the same criteria, comparing results with previous ones." Kyuhwan Lee, Director of the Climate Environment Center at the Korean Standards Association, proposed a common format into which partner companies could simply enter their fuel and power usage data.

On the 8th, the 'Consultative Body for Establishing Guidelines for Carbon Neutral Performance Events' held its launching ceremony and a policy forum at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Courtesy of the Consultative Body

Another point of contention is determining the scope of measurement. British band Coldplay announced that for its 2022-2023 tour, carbon emissions per show, including production, logistics, and band/staff travel, dropped by 59% compared to 2016-2017. However, round-trip audience travel was excluded from the calculation. Different standards make it difficult to compare emissions reductions between performances.

In Korea, the relevant guidelines can be traced back to the Ministry of Environment’s "Green Event" guidelines created in 2008. Since then, as K-pop concerts have grown larger and world tours have become standard, the need has arisen for industry-specific criteria that reflect audience travel, global logistics, and the energy consumption of large venues. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is also developing guidelines for cultural and artistic events.

Another task is deciding who will bear the costs of measurement and verification. CEO Han suggested that public institutions and local governments partially subsidize these costs, and that carbon measurement and eco-friendly production plans be reflected in the evaluation of bids for concerts and festivals. Director Lee also proposed providing incentives such as extra points in government grant programs or discounts on venue fees for performances that complete verification.

Ultimately, as the industry sees it, the effectiveness of guidelines will come down to how scattered data is consolidated under unified standards and who shoulders the associated costs. The key will be building a system that not only large agencies, but also small and medium-sized businesses can easily use. Jieun Lee, Senior Research Fellow at Law Firm SHIN & KIM, stated, "The low-carbon transition for K-pop has already begun. Now, what’s needed is to turn the experimental efforts of leading companies into an operational foundation the entire industry can adopt."

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