"77.8% Women" From DAY6 to Cirque du Soleil: Performance Ticket Sales Jump 30%

[Financial News] Driven by the popularity of K-concerts and global musicals, the performance ticket market saw strong growth in 2025. According to data compiled by YES24, annual ticket sales revenue rose by about 30% year-on-year, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth.

On the 4th, YES24 reported that its analysis of 2025 performance ticket sales on its platform showed annual revenue up about 30% from the previous year. This marks five straight years of growth since 2021, with demand expanding across all categories, including concerts, musicals, plays, classical performances, and exhibitions.
Concerts in particular drove overall growth, with sales climbing 36.1% year-on-year. Nationwide tours and large-scale shows by popular artists such as DAY6, Stray Kids, Baekhyun, and Lee Chan-won played a major role. November, when many year-end concert tickets went on sale, recorded the highest monthly sales of the year.
In the theater category, sales rose 21.2%, boosted by the Korean premiere of the West End hit "Mirror" and the 10th-anniversary production of "The Elephant Song."
Exhibitions also posted remarkable gains, with sales surging 406% year-on-year, driven by the popularity of "Mundo Pixar: Into the World of Imagination" and "Van Gogh: The Immortal Painter."
An analysis of buyers showed that people in their 20s and 30s accounted for 70.1% of total customers, while women made up 77.8%. This confirms that women in their 20s and 30s remained the core consumer group in the performance market in 2025.
The top-grossing performance on YES24 in 2025 was the Seoul finale of DAY6’s third world tour, "FOREVER YOUNG." DAY6 placed both its world tour finale and its 10th-anniversary concert near the top of the rankings, underscoring its exceptional box-office power.
Also ranking in the top five by sales were the exhibition "Mundo Pixar: Into the World of Imagination," the musical Cirque du Soleil "KOOZA," and the exhibition "Van Gogh: The Immortal Painter." The lineup highlights a consumption trend that has broadened from concerts to musicals and exhibitions.
Kim Ji-won, Content Marketing Manager of the Ticketing Business Team at YES24, stated, "In 2025, band concerts made significant strides, while large-scale musical premieres and tours, along with well-crafted original productions, all delivered solid results." Kim added, "In 2026, we will continue to broaden our reach to audiences through a wide range of performances and exhibitions across genres."
jashin@fnnews.com Reporter Shin Jin-ah Reporter