The 'Saitama Super Arena' located near Tokyo is a large-scale venue that top Hallyu stars such as Girls' Generation and TVXQ frequently visit when it comes time for them to hold a performance in Japan. The venue allows for 37,000 fans to see the show at one time, and a lot of famous international artists also utilize this venue for their performances.

In order to maintain the Hallyu craze and to bring in more tourists from overseas, the Korean government has decided to build this kind of arena specifically for K-Pop performances, in Korea. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance revealed this plan through the New Growth Engine Performance Evaluation Report Conference presided by South Korean president Lee Myung Bak on September 5th.

Ministry of Finance Vice-Minister Shin Jae Yoon who was present at the conference this day reported, "We have plans to build a new K-Pop performance venue in the metropolitan area that seats more than 15,000."

As of now, the top artists' first venue of choice when it comes to national performances is none other than the Olympic Gymnastics Stadium located in Seoul. The arena holds a little over 15,000, which means the new K-Pop venue the government is looking to build will be the largest performance arena in the country.

There are a few locations where this venue could possibly be built, including Ilsan, Gyeonggi-do, the Magok district of Gangseo-gu, and Chang-dong, Dobong-gu in Seoul. A high-rank representative from the Ministry of Finance explained, "All three locations have their own appeals, therefore we will strive to begin construction next year, after reviewing a number of different conditions." The venue is expected to be completed in the year 2016.

Hearing the news, the entertainment industry is rejoicing with gratitude. Yedang Entertainment's Publicity & Marketing Chief Park Yeon Ki remarked, "There aren't any professional venues in Korea in which we can accomodate a large-scale audience. If a new venue consisting of great acoustics and a stage for performance were to be built in the metropolitan area, it would be a great help to the recording industry as well as give a boost to the Hallyu craze."

On the flip side, there are still some concerns. A representative from an agency that requested to remain anonymous brought up another point saying, "A few years ago, they were saying that a large-scale Hallyu theme park was going to be built in Gyeonggi-do. We need to remember this example, because in the end, there were some complications regarding the construction expenses and the plans came to a halt. In order to continue the Hallyu craze, these promises need to be thoroughly kept without any problems."

Source: Asia KJ via Nate
Image: Big Bang's Official Facebook