The ‘Steel Group’ aespa, who devoured the global stage, finally returned home in glory with a solo concert at the Olympic Park KSPO Dome (formerly known as the Gymnastics Arena), known as the ‘dream stage’ for K-pop artists.

They met domestic fans for two days from the 15th to the 16th with ‘Sync: Parallel Line - Encore’ for their second world tour ‘Sync: Parallel Line’ that began at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in June of last year.

This is their first solo concert at the KSPO Dome in five years since their debut in 2020. As fans flocked to see the members‘ first ‘entry into gymnastics’, even the seats with restricted view were sold out, attracting over 20,000 spectators over the two days.

Although aespa had already joined the ranks of global top-tier groups, they had no chance to perform at K-pop sensation K-Dome. They had no chance to perform right after their debut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have since continued large-scale tours and performances overseas. Then, this year, six years after their debut, they finally put the final piece of the puzzle of their ‘golden career’ into place by entering K-Dome for their encore performance.

They have already swept monumental concert halls around the world. They held a solo concert at Tokyo Dome in Japan in 2023, just 2 years and 9 months after their debut, setting the record for the shortest period for a foreign singer. Last year, they also held a two-day concert at the same venue, drawing an audience of 94,000 people. They have also performed at London’s O2 Arena, a major indoor concert hall in the UK.

In addition, with this world tour, they held 41 concerts in 28 cities in total, touring North and South America and Europe, including London, England, Paris, France, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, following Japan, the United States, and Australia. The response was explosive, with most cities selling out all tickets and adding more shows.

Returning after sweeping the world stage, aespa put in a lot of effort, showing off a setlist and costumes that were different from their previous tours, even though it was only an encore performance for their first Case Podome concert.

The concert included mega hits like ‘Supernova’, ‘Armageddon’, ‘Next Level’, ‘Whiplash’, as well as new English songs like the latest ‘Pink Hoodie’, ‘Hold On Tight’, ‘Better Things’. The members showed off the skills they‘ve built up through their overseas tours by performing solo performances of ‘Dopamine’ (Giselle), ‘Up’ (Karina), ‘Board’ (Ningning), and ‘Spark’ (Winter).

The spectacular stage setup also made the members’ performances ‘best ever’. The moment aespa first appeared, the magnificent music, loud fireworks, and realistic, elaborate computer graphic (CG) effects all came together to create the illusion of watching a science fiction film. When they sang ‘Drama’, the shadows of the members were embroidered on a large background screen, creating a scene that looked like numerous dancers lined up and performing a dance, drawing admiration from the audience.

Aespa‘s fan service was also extraordinary. As the concert drew to a close, the members said, “Since it’s the last, let‘s jump around with all our might,” and sang ‘Live My Life’, ‘Yeppi Yeppi’, ‘Wee Go’, and ran around the stage freely with their fans. They also walked through the hallways while singing, interacting closely with fans.

Aespa, who perfectly realized the worldview they’ve built for five years at Case Dome, once again impressed the audience with their position as the ‘main pillar of K-pop’. They greeted their fans, saying, “We‘re happy to start and end the tour in Seoul. We’ve been waiting to perform here. We‘ll be back soon, so please wait.”

Aespa’s journey is not over. They will attend the MTV ‘Video Music Awards Japan’ to be held in Japan on the 19th and the ‘Billboard Women in Music 2025’ to be held at the YouTube Theater in Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, USA.


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.