SM Town Live Tour goes to N.Y.

K-pop groups will fly to New York to hold the SM Town Live World Tour at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 23, after holding a series of concerts in Seoul, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo.

Joint concerts by K-pop groups affiliated with the entertainment agency have played a significant role in creating a new Korean Wave, prompting international fans to demand concerts through flash mob protests.

The upcoming concert in Manhattan will accommodate about 15,000 seats, the company said. The massive concert venue is seen as a “dream stage” for international pop stars, it said.

The SM Town concert, held last September at the L.A. Staples Center, ranked in the Top 10 of the Billboard Boxcore charts by selling out 15,000 tickets. More than 70 percent of the audience was non-Asian, the agency said.

Prior to the New York concert, the SM Town Live World Tour will be held at the Tokyo Dome from Friday to Sunday, attracting a total of 150,000 audience members, it said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)