On January 6, the 2024 Golden Disc Awards (hereinafter referred to as the “2024 GDA”) was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, at a large capacity local stadium. The event presented an outstanding performer line-up, with notable names including SEVENTEEN, NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM, STAYC, Stray Kids, TXT, and ENHYPEN, among others.
However, according to photos taken when this Korean award ceremony was in full swing, the venue has a lot of empty seats, implying a low attendance.
Previously, the 2024 Seoul Music Awards (hereinafter referred to as the “2024 SMA”), which was held in Bangkok on January 2, faced an even worse situation, even described as “half-empty” by Korean netizens.
Additionally, the 1st Blue Dragon Music Awards, which is scheduled to be held on January 20, 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand, was recently canceled, amid suspicions of low ticket sales.
It seems that low attendance is a serious issue that Korean award ceremonies suffer from this year, and netizens believe this is due to a simple reason: No BTS.
In fact, back in 2023, the Golden Disc Awards was held in the same venue as the 2024 SMA, yet its tickets sold out after BTS’s j-hope was announced as part of the artist line-up. This leads to many people believing that the absence of BTS has greatly affected Korean awards ceremonies as a whole.
However, some people argue otherwise, mentioning that the tickets to Korean award ceremonies are way too expensive for locals, despite them being held overseas. Many also cited the 2023 MAMA, which tickets sold out despite a lineup with no BTS and not too many artists.
Source: K Crush
