SM Entertainment, known as the ‘pioneer of K-pop’, has prepared a stage that connects the past, present, and future of K-pop to celebrate its 30th anniversary. They held ‘SMTOWN LIVE 2025’ at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 11th and 12th and summarized their past 30 years, which are intertwined with the history of K-pop, over the course of 5 hours.

Established in February 1995, SM Entertainment (hereinafter referred to as SM) is considered the number one contributor to laying the foundation for the current K-pop market by creating first-generation idol stars such as H.O.T., S.E.S., and Shinhwa the following year. Following H.O.T., which gained huge popularity in Japan and China, they were also evaluated to have laid the starting point of the ‘Hallyu’, thanks to the activities of BoA, who successfully advanced into the US market.

Since then, they have not let go of their number one spot, successively creating hits with TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls‘ Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO, Red Velvet, NCT, aespa, and Rise. To commemorate the 30 years of SM history, this concert brought together a total of 25 teams, including not only the groups they are currently affiliated with, but also ‘SM alumni’, such as H.O.T.’s Tony An, S.E.S.‘s Bada, and Fly to the Sky’s Hwanhee.

In particular, as the slogan of “The Culture, The Future” suggests, seniors who have been with SM and their current juniors performed hit songs together. Through this, the core message that ‘culture’ can connect the past, present, and future was delivered to K-pop fandoms at home and abroad.

Hwanhee sang ‘Sea of Love’ with Rise‘s Sohee and Fly to the Sky, and Bada sang ‘Dreams Come True’ with aespa’s Karina and Winter in unison. NCT Dream, who remade H.O.T.‘s 1996 song ‘Candy’, passionately sang the original song with Kangta and Tony An, greatly overcoming the gap in time. Rise and aespa received applause for reinterpreting TVXQ’s ‘Hug’ and f(x)‘s ‘First Wisdom Tooth’ in their own unique ways.

Aespa and NCT Dream expressed their feelings, saying, “It was an honor to be able to share the stage with our seniors who we watched and dreamed of.” Hwanhee, who went on stage with Rise’s Sohee, said, “It makes me feel good to have so many talented juniors. SM will last forever,” and wished SM success. After watching the trainees‘ ‘Growl’ performance, EXO’s Suho said, “The problem is that it‘s flawless,” and got teary-eyed, saying, “I’m happy because it‘s SM, because it’s EXO.”

H.O.T.‘s Tony An and S.E.S.’s Bada could not hide their excitement at the continued influence of their “hometown.” Bada said, “S.E.S.‘s songs are not past fads, but will always be by your side when you dream or want courage. I hope that all of SM’s music will flow and continue to flow throughout your long lives,” conveying a touching message he had prepared in advance.

After gracing the “Happiness” stage with NCT‘s Wish and Rise, Tony An said, “It feels great to be on stage with such great juniors. Thanks to NCT Dream’s remake of ”Candy,“ our songs are now known to the younger generation,” expressing his gratitude to his juniors. He also said, “This year is our 29th anniversary, and we have grown together with SM and have been on stage together until now. ”That‘s meaningful,“ he said, looking back on the past.

On this day, we were able to catch a glimpse of SM’s future. The 25-member trainee group ‘SMTR25’ made their first appearance in front of fans, and SM‘s first British boy group in 30 years, Dear Alice, and trot group Mytro also appeared on stage. SM’s first virtual artist, Naibis, also performed on stage beyond the screen.

Dear Alice, who was greeting Korean fans for the first time that day, received applause from the audience for her sincere, albeit awkward, greeting in Korean, saying, ”I‘m very happy to be standing on this stage.“ Towards the end, the excitement was further heightened by the trailer for the February debut of the eight-member new girl group ‘Hearts 2 Hearts’, which SM produced five years after Espa.

The highlight of the concert was the last moment when all the performers sang HOT’s ‘빛’ together. All the performers sang the song together on stage and greeted their fans with affection. They also completed the title song ‘Thank You’ of SM‘s 30th anniversary album ‘2025 SMTown: The Culture, The Future’ in one voice.

SM plans to officially release an album filled with the title song and the collaboration songs revealed on stage that day soon. The concert will then be held in five locations in succession: Mexico City, Mexico in May, Los Angeles, USA, London, UK in June, and Tokyo, Japan in August.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com