As the year concludes, Hallyu fans are immersed in non-stop music festivals and award ceremonies. However, several K-pop and K-drama-related events and promotional activities have been canceled or postponed to honor South Korea’s seven-day national mourning period following the tragic Jeju Air crash.

Major events postponed
On 30 December, MBC announced the postponement of the 2024 MBC Gayo Daejejeon WANNABE. Originally scheduled as a New Year’s Eve event, the show will air as a pre-recorded broadcast at a later, as-yet-undetermined date. MBC confirmed that there would be no changes to the lineup of performers.

“The event itself will go on as scheduled. The stage will be revealed in a later recorded broadcast, including pre-recorded segments. However, the specific date and time of the broadcast have not yet been decided,” the network stated.

KBS also canceled the live broadcast of its drama awards, while SBS postponed its entertainment awards, both planned for New Year’s Eve.

The Jeju Air tragedy
The tragic Jeju Air flight 7C2216 crash on the morning of 29 December shook the nation. The flight, traveling from Thailand, collided with the outer wall of Muan International Airport. Out of the 181 passengers on board, 179 lost their lives, while two sustained injuries. In response, the South Korean government declared a national mourning period from 29 December to 4 January.

MBC extended its condolences, stating, “We pray for the souls of the victims and once again extend our deepest sympathies to the bereaved families.”

Artists and agencies pause activities

Artists such as G-Dragon, Jaurim, and Park Myung Soo publicly expressed their condolences.

K-pop girl group IVE postponed the promotional schedule for their third extended play, IVE EMPATHY. Stray Kids delayed the release of their "SONG by" content, initially set for Sunday. Similarly, Le Sserafim postponed member Huh Yunjin's solo track Jellyfish, with a new release date to be announced later. EVE SEO also postponed the release of her album.

BTS opted not to publish this week’s episode of their YouTube web series Run Jin and other content. The official X accounts of BTS and SEVENTEEN also announced they would forego birthday posts for members V and Joshua, both celebrating on Monday. Instead, the accounts shared heartfelt condolence messages for the victims of the crash.

Numerous artist accounts, including THE BOYZ, PLAVE, VIVIZ, SHINee's Taemin, B.I, Bang Yedam, and members of EXO-CBX, stated they would refrain from posting content until the mourning period concludes on 4 January.