Concerts are an essential element of the K-pop industry since they contribute to the globalisation of K-pop. They can help to expand an idol group within and beyond South Korea (Oh, 2013). K-pop concerts are then frequently held around the world via concert tours, and they can often be conducted indoors or outdoors. Of course, the site will be determined by the musical organisers. As concerts consist of loud music being played in a public space, the issue of noise pollution will then arise. Noise pollution is often not a concern with indoor performances because the noise is limited within the location. However, even if the sound is contained, the volume of it might be considered noise pollution.
On the other hand, if the performances are held outside, there appears to be a problem with noise pollution. An example can be seen in the Seoul Park Music Festival (as seen in the images below) which features K-pop idols, and these are held outdoors every year (BEPCA, N.d.).
Source: BEPCA, n.d.
Environmental noise pollution appears to also be a form of air pollution and, as such, is detrimental to one’s health and well-being. Noise pollution can be defined as any undesired or distracting sound that has an impact on the health and well-being of other living beings (Mohamed, 2021). Varying sounds in the environment can reflect different numerical decibels since sound can be measured in decibels. A thunderclap, for example, has 120 decibels, and sounds with 85 decibels or above can impact and hurt an individual’s ears. Loud concerts such as the Seoul Park Music Festival can reach up to 110 to 120 decibels (Mohamed, 2021). As a result, when K-pop concerts are held all year round, the continuous loudness might have an impact on one’s health and well-being because its loudness goes beyond the stated decibel level that a human can tolerate, and this can thus impact their health.
References:
BEPCA. (n.d.). Seoul Park Music Festival. Retrieved from: http://pmf.co.kr/ (Accessed: 24 January 2023)
Mohamed, M. A. (2021). A Study of Noise pollution and Impact on Human Health. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research. 9(Nov/Dec). Pp. 610-614. Retrieved from: http://ijmcr.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Paper3610-614.pdf (Accessed: 24 January 2023)
Oh, I. (2013). “The Globalization of K-pop: Korea’s Place in the Global Music Industry”. Korea Observer. 44(3), pp. 389-409. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ingyu-Oh/publication/296774877_The_Globalization_of_K-pop_Korea’s_Place_in_the_Global_Music_Industry/links/5827efd908ae950ace6ceb82/The-Globalization-of-K-pop-Koreas-Place-in-the-Global-Music-Industry.pdf (Accessed: 24 January 2023)