Stray Kids Fill Up Kaohsiung National Stadium… First K-pop Boy Group

Stray Kids have become the first K-pop boy group to enter Kaohsiung National Stadium, Taiwan.

Stray Kids successfully concluded their solo concert as part of their new world tour, ‘Stray Kids World Tour ’, at Kaohsiung National Stadium, Taiwan on November 3. Having previously captivated audiences at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on October 19 (local time) and Allianz Stadium in Sydney on October 26, they stand tall as the first K-pop boy group to successfully hold a solo concert at Kaohsiung National Stadium.

Stray Kids opened the concert with ‘MOUNTAINS’, a track from their latest album ‘ATE’. They heightened the atmosphere with a lineup that featured strong performances such as ‘Sorikkun’, ‘JJAM’(쨈), ‘District 9’, and ‘Back Door’(백도런). Furthermore, they drew a hot response from the local audience with a non-stop setlist that included solo stages that infused the members‘ individualities, as well as the group’s representative songs such as ‘Chk Chk Boom’(치치폭움), ‘락(樂)’, ‘神메뉴’(신메뉴), and ‘특’.

Stray Kids and Stay (fandom name: STAY) cheered each other on and shared memories throughout the concert. After watching a video of the fan event, Bang Chan made fans excited with his sincere comment, “I‘ll definitely come back, that’s a promise”, and the fireworks set off during the ‘MIROH’(미로)’ stage, creating a spectacular sight. Even after the encore stage, the members performed ‘Haven’ to the enthusiastic cheers of the fans.

The members expressed their gratitude, saying, “This is our first time to Kaohsiung, so thank you for waiting for us for so long. This moment feels like a dream. We could feel STAY‘s energy as soon as we arrived.“

Having successfully completed solo stadium concerts at Singapore National Stadium, Melbourne Marvel Stadium, Sydney Allianz Stadium, and Kaohsiung National Stadium, Stray Kids will continue their reputation as ‘Global Top Artists’ in more large-scale stadiums overseas, such as Bangkok National Stadium and Jakarta Gelora Bung Karno Madia Stadium.

Stray Kids kicked off their largest-ever new world tour, ‘Stray Kids World Tour ’, at KSPO DOME in Seoul from August 24 to 25 and from August 31 to September 1. Continuing the momentum, they will hold solo concerts in Tokyo, Japan on November 14th and 16th-17th, Manila, Philippines on the 23rd, Macau on the 29th-30th, Osaka, Japan on December 5th and 7th-8th, Bangkok, Thailand on the 14th, Jakarta, Indonesia on the 21st, and Hong Kong on January 18th-19th, 2025. They plan to visit more regions such as Latin America, North America, and Europe in the future.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com Reporter shine2562@donga.com