BTS, KCON부터 CJ ENM 사우디 법인까지 — 케이팝으로 읽는 사우디 '비전 2030' 문화 개방 전략

Saudi Popular Music: Breaking Taboos and Opening the Door to K-pop

Public music performances were once unimaginable in Saudi Arabia. Following the 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the Saudi government reached a compromise with religious leaders, applying Islamic law strictly across society. As a result, cinemas and concert venues were shut down in the 1980s on the grounds that they promoted moral corruption, with the religious police (the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, CPVPV) overseeing enforcement. Public music performances vanished from official venues for decades, surviving only in informal and private settings. However, from 2018 onwards, Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 cultural opening policy gathered momentum: large performance venues were built in Riyadh and Jeddah, and world-class artists began taking to the stage in rapid succession. These changes extended to K-pop, and Korean artists performing in Saudi Arabia became a reality.

Super Junior, BTS, and KCON

On 12 July 2019, Super Junior became the first Asian act to hold a solo concert at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, as part of the Jeddah Season festival. Jeddah — a port city on the Red Sea coast and Saudi Arabia's second-largest city — is considered the frontline of the country's tourism and cultural opening policies. Tens of thousands of fans from across Saudi Arabia packed into the stadium, which has a capacity of around 60,000, to see Super Junior perform.

▲ Super Junior's Jeddah concert poster and performance — Source: Super Junior Facebook (@superjunior)

Then, on 11 October of the same year, BTS performed a solo concert at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh — the first K-pop group to perform a stadium solo show in the Saudi capital. The concert was part of the Riyadh Season festival programme, organised by Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA), the body responsible for implementing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 cultural opening policy. Officially invited by the government, BTS performed at the 70,000-capacity stadium as the first non-Arab act to hold a solo stadium show there, drawing enormous international media attention.

▲ BTS Riyadh solo concert poster — Source: Ticketmaster Middle East X (@TicketmasterME)

▲ King Fahd International Stadium interior, Riyadh — BTS concert in progress — Source: Big Hit Entertainment

Reported audience figures varied between outlets: British newspaper The Guardian cited approximately 30,000 attendees, while local Gulf News reported around 60,000. The numbers differed, but it was undeniable that tens of thousands of fans were present. The concert was broadcast live worldwide and generated enormous resonance. While the event was widely interpreted as a symbolic moment in Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 cultural opening strategy, it also attracted controversy — international human rights organisations criticised BTS for appearing. The BBC analysed the concert as part of a broader trend of Saudi Arabia "seeking to attract global artists as part of its Vision 2030 strategy of economic reform and social openness." It was recorded not merely as an entertainment event but as a symbolic scene in Saudi Arabia's efforts to project an image of openness to the international community.

Then, in 2022 and 2023, KCON — organised by CJ ENM — was held in Riyadh on consecutive years, demonstrating the depth and vitality of the local Hallyu fandom. KCON began in Irvine, California in 2012 as a global K-culture festival; it has since grown into a comprehensive event offering direct experience of Korean popular culture — K-pop performances, dramas, beauty, fashion, and food. That KCON, which has toured major world cities including the United States, Japan, France, and the UAE as a gateway for the global spread of the Korean Wave, came to Saudi Arabia is considered a significant milestone in the growth of K-pop fandom within the Middle East and in cultural exchange between the two countries.

▲ KCON Saudi Arabia 2022 and 2023 performances — Source: KCON X (@KCON_official)

CJ ENM Establishes Riyadh Subsidiary — K-Culture Push into the Middle East Begins in Earnest

On 22 July 2025, CJ ENM announced through a press release the establishment of 'CJ ENM Middle East LLC' in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — the first Korean entertainment subsidiary in the Middle East. Marking its 30th anniversary, CJ ENM declared 2025 the "inaugural year of global expansion," announcing plans to use Saudi Arabia as its base for a full localisation strategy spanning content production, live performances, and distribution. This move carries particular significance given how closely it aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 policy direction. K-content is increasingly being spotlighted as a new growth resource within the national industry, alongside major innovation projects such as the NEOM City media hub. Whether Korean cultural industries — from K-pop to broader entertainment — can establish themselves as a pillar of the new industries Saudi Arabia aims to cultivate is a question drawing considerable attention.