Various performances, including music broadcasting, concerts and musicals were delayed or canceled due to COVID19. ‘Online Concerts’, are an alternative option for the cultural community in the ‘social distancing period’. They are now taking place using various media platforms.

The MBC comedy program ‘How Do You Play?-A Room Concert’ was broadcasted for 4 weeks. The cast list included: ‘Jang Beom-june’, ‘ZICO’, ‘AOMG’, ‘HYUKOH’, ‘JANNABI’, ‘SE SO NEON X Sunwoojunga’, ‘Lee Seung-hwan’, ‘Lee Ja-ram’, ‘Song Ga-in’, ‘Team MAMMAMIA(musical)’ and ‘Team Laundry(musical)’. All of these performers had their concerts canceled by COVID19.

‘A Room Concert’ quality was not inferior to offline concerts. They filled the empty auditorium with YOOSANSEUL’s light stick, ‘JJAMBONG’. ‘Lee Seung-hwan’ and ‘JANNABI’ brought their concert stage setting for a better stage. Beginning from ‘A Room Concert’ online performances expanded to various genre like ballet, classical music, and theatre.

BTS were on display with ‘BTS ONLINE CONCERT WEEKEND’ through their YOUTUBE official channel ‘BANGTAN TV’ 12 hours per day on the 18th and 19th of April. It was a broadcast bundle of concerts they had performed before.

During the two day broadcast, the number of viewers were 2.24 million and connected ‘ARMYBOM(BTS light stick)’ in Weverse were a half million. The support of offline concert was substituted with 6.64 million SNS posts and hash tags of thoughts during the live concert.

Similar online performances are happening abroad, too. ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden put together #Homefest’ which featured stars like Lady GaGa, Paul McCartney, StevieWonder and others. Thus, performances stopped by COVID19 are restarting under the name ‘A Room Concert’ and emerging as cultural communication trends.

L.L.F editor-in-chief Seung-hee Na