Chung Tae Young, a prominent figure in South Korea's concert industry and the CEO and vice chairman of Hyundai Card, expressed disappointment over the missed opportunity to bring globally renowned pop star Taylor Swift to Korea. Chung Tae Young has brought many prominent artists to Korea for concerts, including, most recently, Bruno Mars.

On February 13, Vice Chairman Chung shared a post titled "Taylor Swift's Concert at the Tokyo Dome."

He remarked, "We should have been hearing the phrase 'Hello Seoul' after successfully securing the negotiations, but instead, we find ourselves greeted with 'Hello Tokyo' here," adding, "We couldn't even express our interest in the intense negotiations, which even caught the attention of governments from other countries, due to South Korea's lack of large-scale venues."

He continued by describing the atmosphere at the Tokyo Dome during the concert, stating, "I observed various parts of the Taylor Swift concert venue at the Tokyo Dome to see how the concert was hosted. It was a bustling scene with numerous attendees moving around as each song was accompanied by a different stage setup. Notably, it was the first time I witnessed a stage with two bands positioned on each side, creating a captivating mirror image effect."

Taylor Swift, who debuted in 2006, embarked on her first world tour after releasing her second album, 'Fearless,' in 2009. In February 2011, to commemorate the release of her third album, 'Speak Now,' she also held a concert in Korea at the KSPO Dome (formerly known as the Gymnastics Stadium).

At that time, Taylor Swift was not widely recognized in Korea, which led to her 'Speak Now' tour concert in Korea being the only one not to sell out. Around 4,725 people attended her concert at the 15,000-capacity KSPO dome. She went largely unnoticed, even while taking the subway in Seoul, with very few people recognizing her.

Since then, Taylor Swift has undertaken five world tours, but performances in Korea have not materialized. Particularly, 'The Eras Tour,' scheduled from March 2023 to December 2024, plans to include 52 performances in the United States alone, totaling 151 performances worldwide.

The tour's schedule includes several performances in Japan and Singapore, highlighting its presence in Asia. However, Korea is notably missing from the itinerary. This omission is due to several challenges, such as the ongoing renovation of the Jamsil Olympic Main Stadium, which is the only venue in the area that can accommodate a concert of this magnitude with its 70,000 capacity. Additionally, other potential locations like the Gocheok Sky Dome and Seoul World Cup Stadium were not available for booking.

Meanwhile, 'The Eras Tour' is the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first in history to surpass 1 billion USD in revenue.

Notably, when Canada was excluded from the list of tour countries, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quoted Swift's lyrics on his personal account to attract the tour. Moreover, heads of state or parliamentarians from various countries such as Chile, Thailand, Hungary, and Argentina actively promoted the tour, demonstrating its global appeal.