U-Know Yunho / Yoon Byung-chan
U-Know Yunho / Yoon Byung-chan

U-Know Yunho of K-pop group TVXQ will hold his upcoming Seoul concerts at a different venue after a prolonged protest blockade around the original site made it unavailable.

His agency, SM Entertainment, announced Tuesday through the official fan platform Weverse that the venue for "U-KNOW PROJECT 26 : Shin Chapter 1 in Seoul," scheduled for July 17 to 19, would move from the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium (Ticketlink Live Arena) in Songpa-gu, Seoul, to Jamsil Indoor Stadium.

SM said the change was unavoidable given that the original venue remained inaccessible, and that the announcement was delayed because the company had to complete a new booking approval process.

The Seoul shows mark the opening leg of U-Know Yunho's upcoming Asia tour, which will continue in Macao, Singapore and other cities.

The protest stems from the June 3 ninth nationwide simultaneous local elections, when demonstrators took issue with a reported ballot shortage and began demanding a re-election.

Protesters have occupied the area around the handball gymnasium, which was designated as a ballot-counting center, blocking access to the site for more than a month and disrupting a string of cultural and entertainment events.

The standoff has hit major events across the music and gaming industries. Hybe's "Weverse Con" was forced to hastily scale back and revise its on-site audience flow and operations, while Nexon's MapleStory showcase relocated entirely out of Seoul to Kintex in Ilsan.

The disruptions have also forced outright cancellations. Singer Park Seo-jin, who had planned an encore concert at the same venue on Saturday and Sunday, ultimately called off the shows entirely. Band N.Flying also explored a venue change and schedule adjustment before concluding that a normal run was not feasible and canceling its concert as well. The Seoul Park Music Festival scrambled to split its program across two alternative stages within Olympic Park — the 88 Lake Waterside Stage and Woori Financial Art Hall — just five days before the event.


shee@heraldcorp.com