K-Pop Concert Goes Low-Carbon: Reusing Power and Ditching Single-Use Plastics [The Signal]

[Anchor]

South Korea's first K-pop concert aimed at carbon neutrality has been held. As the global status of K-pop rises, the industry is keeping pace with worldwide efforts to reduce carbon emissions from live performances.

Reporter Jang Seon-i visited the scene.

[Reporter]

A dazzling stage and cheers filling the audience seats.

It looks no different from any other large-scale K-pop festival.

However, the way the concert was produced was different.

Portable energy storage systems, or ESS, were deployed to recycle stage power, and artists used tumblers instead of single-use bottled water.

Audience members used QR codes to input their departure points and modes of transportation to check the amount of carbon they emitted.

[Cho Hyo-jin / CEO of a Carbon Neutrality Service Company: When tallied up (midway through the event), the reduction in carbon emissions compared to a standard K-pop or festival concert is about 20 percent.]

There are also plans to compile a carbon emission report by measuring the power used in the concert and the travel distances of both audiences and staff.

[Lee Seo-yoon / CEO of the Organizing Company: The performance industry has traditionally focused on what is being created, but I think it is now time to ponder how it is being made.]

[Kim Ye-rim / Saha-gu, Busan: Usually, when artists drink water during breaks, they use these disposable ones, but today everything was unified with tumblers. That really stood out.]

Such attempts have been made overseas for some time.

Coldplay reduced carbon emissions by 59 percent compared to their previous world tour by utilizing solar power, large batteries, and bicycle generators powered directly by the audience.

Billie Eilish powered her stage at Lollapalooza in the United States using batteries charged with solar energy.

The domestic performance industry is still taking its first baby steps.

The carbon emissions from a single management agency's most emission-heavy concert reached 3,291 tons.

This is equivalent to the amount emitted by 715 gasoline-powered vehicles in a year.

[Kim Na-yeon / K-Pop 4 Planet Campaigner: They are showing changes, but in reality, substantial activities to reduce carbon are still hard to find.]

There are still no unified domestic standards on what and how much to reduce regarding carbon emissions during performances.

This marks South Korea's first voluntary movement toward low-carbon concerts.

Matching the scale and status of K-pop performances, these efforts have the potential to spread globally.

(Video reporting: Jeil, Kim Seung-tae | Video editing: Nam Il | Video sources: Billie Eilish, UGREEN Edu, Coldplay)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.