SMTOWN LIVE unites K-pop generations in Mexico after years of waiting

SM Entertainment artists who took part in "SMTOWN LIVE in Mexico City" pose after the concert at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Friday. Captured from SM Entertainment's X account

MEXICO CITY — After years of waiting, Mexico was finally part of an SMTOWN LIVE event. The city was included in the highly anticipated "SMTOWN LIVE" tour, alongside Los Angeles, London and Tokyo, making it the only Latin American country to experience this unique moment in the history of K-pop in the region.

The dream of seeing some of the most remarkable idols in the industry in one place finally became a reality for fans here. The show attracted thousands from nearby countries, including Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.

This year's lineup was a journey through the generations, with more than 70 SM Entertainment artists who have shaped the history and origins of K-pop for two decades.

Super Junior members; SHINee's Key and Minho; EXO's Suho, Kai and Chanyeol; and Red Velvet's Seulgi, Irene and Joy all returned to Mexico for the first time in years, along with aespa, NCT 127, NCT DREAM and RIIZE. The surprise of the night was the long-awaited appearance of TVXQ. WayV, NCT WISH, DearALICE, Hearts2Hearts and the rookies of SMTR25 made their debut appearances in Mexico as well.

Mexican fans cheer for artists ahead of "SMTOWN LIVE in Mexico City," Friday. Courtesy of Hannia Yael

Mexico goes 'pink blood'

Ahead of the concert, the Palacio de los Deportes Pavilion hosted an exclusive Pink Carpet experience, where the artists walked the carpet and shared their excitement for performing in front of Latin American fans.

Red Velvet's Irene, Seulgi and Joy reminisced about the last time they visited Mexico for KCON 2017. "I remember it like it was yesterday. I know it's been a while, but expect a lot of energy from us," the members shared.

After 11 years of waiting, SHINee's Minho and Key brought a fresh sense of excitement to their long-waiting fans and promised to return: "I want to be honest, I apologize for taking so long. ... We promise we'll be back," Minho said.

Fans adorned in SMTOWN's signature pink color pose ahead of "SMTOWN LIVE in Mexico City" at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Friday. Courtesy of Hannia Yael

Super Junior wasn't far behind on bringing excitement to fans. The pioneering group, which held massive K-pop concerts in Latin America, used Spanish phrases to share that they are preparing "Super Show 10," and hope to include the region where they have a large fan base.

"Mexico is beautiful, the food is excellent. Being here is like being at home. They are kind, sensual and very nice people," said Eunhyuk.

TVXQ legends Changmin and Yunho were on hand to open the show with a "Viva México" (Long Live Mexico), and not even the rain could stop the fans' energy and excitement.

Choi Si-won of Super Junior takes a selfie with fans during "SMTOWN LIVE in Mexico City" at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Friday. Captured from Choi's X account

Reviving classics

As the sun set at 8 p.m., the lights of the GNP Seguros Stadium went out. Screams of excitement echoed through the venue and lightsticks moved in unison. Suddenly, TVXQ's "Rising Sun" played, marking the beginning of a night that will go down in Mexican K-pop history.

Four hours of the show flew by, with old-school classics like Super Junior's "Sorry, Sorry," TVXQ's "Mirotic," SHINee's "Lucifer" and EXO's "Growl" taking fans on a journey back in time.

The presence of third-generation groups had the stadium belting out songs like Red Velvet's "Bad Boy," NCT 127's "Walk" and NCT DREAM's "Smoothie." Meanwhile, the younger generation sang along with their fans to songs like aespa's "Whiplash," RIIZE's "Impossible" and NCT WISH's "Steady."

"The 11 years it took for us to return to Mexico feel like a sin," said SHINee's Minho.

One of the most anticipated acts of the night was TVXQ. With their iconic performances, they made it clear that their music is more than just songs, but rather anthems. "Mirotic" was one of the songs that the audience sang the loudest.

Yunho and Changmin were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from fans who had waited more than a decade to see them live. Visiting the country for the first time, they finally experienced the full passion and devotion of their Mexican audience.

"It's our first time in Mexico, but I think it's enough to know that Mexico is full of passion," Yunho said.

The event also included special performances showcasing the history of SM Entertainment. TVXQ performed Red Velvet's "Psycho" and EXO's Kai, Chanyeol and Suho delighted the audience with their performance of H.O.T's "Get It Up." Red Velvet didn't disappoint with their cover of Girls' Generation's "Run Devil Run."

A fan of Super Junior distributes blue balloons to fellow fans in celebration of "SMTOWN LIVE in Mexico City" at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Friday. Courtesy of Hannia Yael

Surprised by Mexican energy

Just three months after Hearts2Hearts' official debut, the Mexican stage welcomed them with open arms, marking the first time the fifth-generation girl group performed in a foreign country.

Among the other groups arriving in the country for the first time were NCT WISH, SMTR25, WayV and dearALICE — a British K-pop boy band developed in collaboration with SM that unexpectedly confirmed their attendance just days before the highly anticipated event.

"I've followed WayV since their debut in 2019, and in these six years, I never thought I'd see them live here in Mexico," said fan Ximena Pérez.

Kun, the unit's leader, said that they didn't expect to be so well-known on this side of the world and would do their best to come back and do a concert of their own.

"Hope for Kwangya" played as the concert neared its end, but the most emotional event of the night began with the encore.

TVXQ's Changmin closed by saying, "May all these moments and memories remain in your hearts, for centuries and centuries."

Fans of NCT 127, dressed in the group's fan color of neon green, pose ahead of "SMTOWN LIVE in Mexico City" at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Friday. Courtesy of Hannia Yael

Strategic growth in fast-expanding market

The history of K-pop in Mexico and the region began two decades ago, thanks to the forums and blogs that fans themselves created to follow the music of TVXQ, Girls' Generation and Super Junior.

The story changed when Super Junior included countries like Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil and Mexico on their "Super Show 5" tour in 2013, which became an unexpected sellout. This would mark a new direction and open the doors for other artists from the same agency to break into a new market.

SHINee, EXO and Red Velvet added performances in the region. The most recent shows include names like aespa, who performed in the country just three months ago, along with NCT DREAM and RIIZE, who have further established K-pop in the region in recent years.

K-pop group aespa poses during "SMTOWN LIVE in Mexico City" at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Friday. Captured from SM Entertainment's X account

This is no coincidence. The Mexican promoter, OCESA, has included K-pop in its business model.

“We are very proud to have been able to bring one of the most important K-pop festivals to Mexico. Our country has established itself as one of the fastest-growing markets for Korean artists, and at OCESA we reaffirm our commitment to continue presenting top-quality live events, fostering our relationship with an agency as important and historic as SM Entertainment," said Andrea Melo, K-pop promoter at OCESA. "Mexican fans proved to be the epicenter of K-pop in Latin America and we are thrilled to know that they thoroughly enjoyed connecting with their idols."

According to the Korea Foundation, there was an increase of 225 million "hallyu" (Korean wave) fans worldwide in 2023, with Mexico showing an 80 percent growth and boasting nearly 27.8 million, placing it behind China, the United States and Thailand.

With this historic show held in Mexico and the annual increase in passion for Korean pop culture, Mexico is positioning itself as an essential market for Korean cultural products.

This article was written by Alix Perez Saavedra and Hannia Yael and edited by Lucero Santiago for Kmagazine, a Mexican media outlet specializing in Korean and Asian culture, with over nine years of experience covering the hallyu scene in Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries. It was translated and published as part of a collaboration between The Korea Times and Kmagazine. The spanish version of the article is available at kmagazine.mx.