SM Entertainment, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is once again proving its status as a ‘Pioneer of the K-pop industry’ through various contents. In particular, they are focusing the attention of the global K-pop fandom by promoting the ‘Power of Memories’, which they have discovered from their 30-year history intertwined with the development of K-pop, as a new growth engine.

SM Entertainment‘s (hereafter referred to as SM Entertainment) 30th anniversary commemorative album ‘2025 SMTown: The Culture, The Future’ is a representative example. The album, which will be officially released on the 14th, SM Entertainment’s anniversary, contains a total of 17 tracks, including the new group song ‘Thank You’ and songs that are remakes of SM‘s hit songs by senior and junior artists.

Among the tracks, the pre-released ‘Hug’ by Rise and ‘Miracle’ by NCT Wish stood out on the music charts, quickly igniting the popularity of the new album. ‘Hug’ and ‘Miracle’, where Rise remade TVXQ’s debut song and NCT Wish remade Super Junior‘s hit song of the same name, respectively, have risen to the top of new song popularity charts on Melon, Bugs, and Naver Music, stimulating nostalgia not only among existing fandoms but also among those in their 30s and 40s who grew up listening to the original songs.

Other song stages performed at ‘SM TOWN LIVE 2025’, held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul last month, are also hot topics on YouTube. TVXQ’s stage for rearranging Red Velvet‘s representative song ‘Psycho’ in a grand atmosphere has surpassed 120,000 views as of the 2nd, and BoA’s stage for remaking SHINee‘s Jonghyun’s solo song ‘End of a Day’ is also gaining popularity as it is constantly being shared on various social media.

Another 30th anniversary content, the two-part program ‘K-POP The Beginning: SMTown 30’, was aired on the terrestrial broadcaster SBS on the 28th and 1st of last month, during the Lunar New Year holiday, providing a chance for a wide range of viewers to look back on the 30-year history.

In addition to the live footage of the commemorative concert, the broadcast added a fresh charm by adding a talk show where former H.O.T. Kangta, BoA, and SHINee Key looked back on the past. The casting story of Won Bin of Rise, which was first revealed through an interview with the executives, and the musical world of SHINee, which was ahead of its time, are being reexamined and are becoming a hot topic.

SM Entertainment plans to use the 30th anniversary as an opportunity to expand its intellectual property (IP). The concert ‘SM Classics Live 2025 with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’ of the classical and jazz label SM Classics will be held at the Seoul Arts Center and Lotte Concert Hall on the 14th and 15th.

In addition, the new 8-member girl group Hearts to Hearts, which officially debuted at ‘SM Town Live 2025’, is set to put an end to the 30th anniversary fever by releasing them to the world on the 24th. Hearts to Hearts is SM Entertainment‘s first girl group in 5 years since aespa, so they are already receiving attention on the global stage.



Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.