MAMA Awards and MMA: Domestic and International K-pop Award Ceremonies Strengthen Fandom Bonds Through Platforms

[Financial News] The season of year-end K-pop award ceremonies has returned. With growing anticipation for the lifting of the ban on Korean content in China following Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Korea, attention is focused on whether the 26th annual global K-pop event, the '2025 MAMA Awards,' set to be held in Hong Kong for the first time in seven years, will help turn the tide.
At the end of December, the 17th Melon Music Awards will continue its legacy in Seoul. Both ceremonies plan to strengthen K-pop fandom unity by leveraging their own K-pop content platforms, 'Mnet Plus' and the K-culture fandom platform 'Berriz.'■ MAMA Awards Return to Hong Kong After 7 YearsTo mark the 30th anniversary of the music channel Mnet, the MAMA Awards will be held in Hong Kong—the city that has hosted the most editions—on the 28th and 29th.
At a recent press conference at CJ ENM in Mapo-gu, Seoul, Park Chan-uk, head of the convention business division at CJ ENM's music content business headquarters, stated, "The MAMA Awards, which began in 1999 as the 'Mnet Video Music Awards,' made its first overseas debut in Macau in 2010 as the first K-pop award ceremony to do so. Since then, it has been held in various Asian countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Japan, as well as in the United States. This year, the ceremony will take place at the newly completed Kai Tak Sports Park, a new landmark in Hong Kong, offering a stadium-scale K-pop awards experience."
Kai Tak Sports Park is a large venue with a standing capacity of about 50,000 people and is known for hosting Coldplay's opening performance.
Park explained that while the decision was not made solely with the Greater China market in mind, expectations for the Chinese market cannot be entirely dismissed. He added, "Hong Kong, which hosted the MAMA Awards from 2012 to 2018, is one of the most accessible locations for K-pop fans worldwide and is a symbolic mega-event hub in Asia. By utilizing the unique features of the newly completed Kai Tak Sports Park, we hope to deliver a differentiated production and iconic K-pop performances unique to the MAMA Awards."
This year's concept slogan is the onomatopoeic 'UH-HEUNG,' inspired by a tiger's roar. Chief producer Ma Du-sik noted, "We are introducing the MAMA house band to elevate performances, and both visuals and sound have been further enhanced. The event will be broadcast live in 4K worldwide via Mnet Plus."
The hosts will be actors Park Bo-gum and Kim Hye-soo. Park Bo-gum has served as host since 2017, while Kim Hye-soo joins for the first time this year. The presenter lineup includes 25 stars who have shone this year, such as Go Yoon-jung, Shin Seung-hun, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Kwang-soo, Im Si-wan, Jang Do-yeon, Jeon Yeo-been, Ju Ji-hoon, Cha Joo-young, and Hyeri. Notably, Michelle Yeoh, who became the first Asian actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2022, will also participate as a presenter.
The MAMA Awards' signature collaboration stage will feature a total of 27 teams, ranging from K-pop rookies and second-generation legends to Hong Kong artists. Super Junior will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a 'legend homage stage,' and Stray Kids will unveil a new track from their latest album for the first time at MAMA. An official collaboration stage with the Netflix animation 'KPop Demon Hunters' is also planned, where real K-pop artists will reenact the animated showdown between 'Saja Boys' and 'HUNTR/X' live. The final lineup for each member is currently being finalized.
Meanwhile, Melon's music platform, operated by Kakao Entertainment Corp., will host the '2025 Melon Music Awards' (2025 MMA) at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul, on the 20th of next month. Jay Park will return to the stage for the first time in 16 years since 'MMA2009,' and G-Dragon, a symbolic figure in K-pop, will perform for the first time in 10 years. Zico and Exo will also return to the MMA stage after nine and six years, respectively. IVE, Plave, Illit, and BoyNextDoor are also set to appear. This year's main slogan, 'Play The Moment,' emphasizes sharing every moment and story that is connected and recorded through music.■ Fandom Cohesion on K-pop PlatformsThis year, the MAMA Awards will broadcast a 4K live stream via Mnet Plus for the first time. Mnet Plus is an all-in-one fan-interactive platform where K-pop fans worldwide can enjoy content, vote, support, and participate in community activities all in one place. In just three years since its launch, it has surpassed 40 million cumulative subscribers and recorded 7.62 million daily active users (DAU).
Currently available in 251 countries, over 80% of its total traffic comes from overseas users, reflecting the rapid growth of its global user base. This year, the number of 'super fans' applying for the MAMA Awards reached 650,000. With 68% from Asia and about 8% each from North America and Europe, users in their teens and twenties account for 83% of the total. These fans are expected to further expand the depth and breadth of fandom within Mnet Plus.
Meanwhile, the Melon Music Awards will actively utilize the global K-culture fan platform 'Berriz,' launched in March. Through the 'MMA2025 with Berriz' segment, legendary performance videos, diverse content, and special community launch events will be featured.

[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter