The Biggest Kpop Tours of All Time

 Written by Nanthini Suresh

All Kpop concerts and tours have been canceled due to COVID-19. This means Kpop fans will not get to see their favorite Kpop groups live for quite some time. This includes fan “meet and greet” events. Fans can now only support their favorite Kpop groups via online or streaming channels. We are sure Kpop concerts and tours will come back and will be stronger than ever before. However, during this time Kpop entertainment companies will need to get creative to keep Kpop fans engaged. Once Kpop moves over to virtual tours, millions of fans from around the world will be putting on their VR headsets to see their favorite groups perform. Times are changing and the Kpop industry will change as well.  For now, let us look back at some of the biggest Kpop tours of all time from the highest grossing concert and attendees.

1.       Big Bang – Made World Tour

Big Bang’s biggest tour of all time was the Made World Tour is also the biggest Kpop Tour of all time. This was their 2nd worldwide concert. The tour began in April 2015 and finished in March 2016. The tour visited an astonishing 15 countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, and the United States just to name a few. In total, the tour was attended by over 1.5 million fans. They did 66 shows which is still a record for the most shows by a Kpop group during a tour

2.       BTS – World Tour: Love Yourself 

The World Tour: Love Yourself by BTS is one of the biggest Kpop tours of all time. It was the 3rd worldwide tour by BTS and promoted their Love Yourself series. The tour began in August of 2018 and visited 12 countries such as South Korea, Japan, United States, Canada, UK, France, Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand. The tour ended less than a year later in April of 2019. When they performed in the UK, they were able to sell out Wembley Stadium two times (120,000 tickets sold). They were able to do 42 shows and brought in over 1 million fans. The tour generated over $71 million dollars in ticket sales. This tour does not include the Speak Yourself Tour, if it was it would be the #1 biggest Kpop tour of all time. 

3.    Big Bang – 0.TO.10 Tour

0.TO.10 was the 10th concert tour by Big Bang and it celebrated their 10th anniversary. The tour included visits to Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The tour started in July 2016 and lasted until January 2017. They held 24 concerts in 6 cities and sold over 1.1 million tickets.

4.    TVXQ – “Begin Again” Tour 

This was TVXQ’s biggest tour of all time. The tour began in November 2017 and lasted until January of 2018. They were able to bring in over 1 million fans from their 20 shows. 

5.     TVXQ – “Time” Tour

This was TVXQ’s 2nd biggest tour. It was for their 6th album “Time”. The tour took place in Japan and took place in 5 major concert domes. This included the Nissan Stadium which is Japan’s largest seated stadium. They did 18 shows and sold over 890,000 tickets.

6.     Big Bang – “Alive” Tour 

The 5th concert tour by Big Bang was their 3rd biggest. The Alive Tour spanned 4 continents (Asia, North America, South America, and Europe. The tour started in March of 2012 and finished in January of 2013. During this time they performed in 48 shows with 41 taking place in Asia. The tour sold over 800,000 tickets and played a major role in bringing Big Bang to the global audience.

7.    Big Bang – Japan Dome Tour

The Japan Dome Tour was the 4th concert tour by Big Bang in Japan. The tour went to Japan’s six major concert domes. This tour started in November of 2013 and finished in January of 2014. The tour was only held in Japan and involved 16 shows. Big Bang was able to sell over 770,000 tickets for this massive tour. 

8.   Big Bang – “Last Dance” Tour 

The “Last Dance” Tour was the 6th concert tour in Japan by Big Bang. The tour started in November of 2017 and lasted until December 31, 2017. The final concert was held in Seoul. This tour did not have T.O.P. who was doing his mandatory military service which started in 2017. Despite this, the tour was able to bring in over 760,000 fans during their 16 show tour.

9.   TVXQ – “With” Tour

The “With” Tour was one of the biggest tours in Japan. It was to support their 8th Japanese studio album With. It was also to celebrate TVXQ’s 10th anniversary in Japan. The tour went from February of 2015 to April of 2015. They were able to bring over 750,000 fans in only 16 shows in Japan. The tour was a huge success because fans knew that this would be their last tour before going into their mandatory military service

 10.   EXO – EXO Planet 2 

The largest tour by EXO was from March 2015 to March 2016. It was a year-long tour that saw them perform in 12 countries and in 25 cities. These cities included 20 in Asia and 5 in the United States. The tour set a world record by selling out all 5 days in less than a second. The tour saw them perform their three famous albums Exodus, Love Me Right, and Sing for You. In total, the tour brought in over 740,000 fans. In addition, EXO concerts showcase some of the best Kpop fandom lightstick shows of all time.