Hyundai Motor hosted the ‘Stage X Drive-in Concert’ event at a site near Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang in the outskirts of Seoul. (image: Hyundai Motor)
SEOUL, May 25 (Korea Bizwire) — With strict guidelines to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus in place for the foreseeable future, South Koreans are looking for offline concerts where social distancing is possible.
One such option is a ‘drive-in’ concert, where people can watch a live performance from their car, similarly to a drive-in movie theater.
Recently, local authorities in South Korea have been holding drive-in concerts for the public.
Inje Speedium, a motor cultural space complex in Inje, Gangwon Province, hosted Lee Seung-cheol, BEN, and other famous singers last Saturday for a live concert.
At the concert, all parking spaces for the audience were allocated in advance. Drivers far away from the stage tuned into a designated radio channel for audio of the performance.
Hyundai Motor Co. also held a series of concerts from Friday to Sunday at a parking lot near Hyundai Motor Studio Goyang, inviting a total of 900 cars over the three days for live performances, where spectators were able to tune into the radio to listen to the concert.
Drive-in concerts or those with socially distanced, reserved seats allow singers and the audience to enjoy live performances while preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
As the coronavirus is depriving artists of opportunities for live performances, these occasions serve the needs of both singers and the audience.
Veteran singer Lee Seung-hwan held live performances at Ewha Womens University from May 9 to 24. The spectators sat in a zig-zag formation as the seats were properly separated in advance.
“Sales were cut in half, but I feel like I achieved more as a singer,” Lee said on social media.
However, some industry insiders are pessimistic towards views that these so-called ‘untact’ forms of live performances would work as a viable alternative for generating profit, since maintaining proper social distancing between seats limits the number of people that can attend a performance.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
