Economic impact of hundreds of billions of won in Korea
Right from the opening stage at Goyang Stadium (Korea) on March 29-30, Overmensch World Tour 2025 with more than 65,000 tickets sold out. This is G-Dragon's first solo concert in 8 years since Act III: MOTTE World Tour (2017).
According to Money Today, the total economic efficiency of the two concert nights in Goyang is estimated at about 400 billion won, including ticket sales, travel consumption, accommodation, dining, transportation and other spillover effects.
In addition to direct spending, the most notable segment is MD (merchandise, idol-related products) which always generates outstanding revenue at K-pop concerts. For artists with large fandoms, MDs often achieve 220% of ticket revenue.
In particular, the Galaxy Corporation organizer introduced a series of MD technologies for the first time, such as remote control lightsticks, IT integration products and interactive experiences. On the first day of opening for sale, all MDs were sold out from 12 noon, showing huge purchasing power.
In parallel with the economic effect, Korea also witnessed a new step forward in the definition of "technology concert". Galaxy Corporation deploys drones, robots, AI, holograms, a series of breakthrough lighting and stage effects, helping to raise the standards of K-pop concerts to international standards.
The Übermensch exhibition in Seoul also creates a strong tourism effect, with a giant 7m high light stick at The Hyundai Seoul and the G-Dragon hologram area in Epic Seoul attracting tens of thousands of check-ins.
According to the 2023 National Tourism Investigation Report of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the average daily spending of a domestic tourist (excluding accommodation costs) is 67,200 won. Based on that, the total spending of Korean audiences on watching G-Dragon's concert is estimated at 2.2 billion won.
Meanwhile, the spending of international audiences is much higher. According to the Korea Tourism Data Lab's Foreign Tourist Survey Report for the fourth quarter of 2024, an international tourist to Korea stays an average of 6 nights and 7 days, with a total cost (including air tickets) of about 1,876.4 USD, equivalent to 2.73 million won/person. Compared to the number of foreign audiences coming to watch the concert, the total expenditure is estimated at 88.7 billion won.
If we include accompanyers - a factor often included in the economic analysis of K-pop concerts, the number will increase sharply. According to the Korean Institute for Cultural Tourism Research, each international fan who travels to Korea because of Hallyu often travels with an average of 2.8 people.
Applying this formula for the G-Dragon concert, the total number of international visitors and backpackers can reach 123,500 people, with spending in Korea estimated at 337.2 billion won.
Summarizing all expenses from the concert including ticket sales, MD revenue, domestic and international fan travel spending, it is estimated at 381.4 billion won. If we continue to add spillover factors such as production effects, added value, job creation, the actual economic impact is predicted to be much greater.
Creating waves in many major markets
Before coming to Vietnam, Übermensch World Tour had a widespread impact in many countries, from Japan to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, France, the US, and Australia.
In the concert on July 11 - July 13 in Taipei (China), G-Dragon set a record as the first Korean artist to sell 80,000 tickets at Taipei Dome. Local authorities reported a sharp increase in hotel bookings and service spending throughout the concert weekend. The hashtags related to G-Dragon continuously topped trending across Asia during the music night.
The next stop from November 8 to November 9 in Vietnam is expected to create an economic equivalent effect to other major markets.
In addition to the sharp increase in international tourists (especially from Korea, Japan, China, Thailand...), activating MD revenue and entertainment services, filling hotels around the concert area to exploding food, shopping, and transportation spending, another factor that can be seen is promoting international media about the image of Vietnam as a destination for large-scale concerts.
