The Weeknd Returns to Korea With 39-Song Stadium Spectacle
The Canadian pop star performed a nearly two-hour, 39-song set for about 54,000 fans in Goyang, opening a pair of sold-out Korean concerts eight years after his last appearance in the country.
Canadian pop star The Weeknd returned to a Korean stage after an eight-year absence, delivering a nearly two-hour stadium concert built around 39 songs, large-scale visual effects and a sustained acknowledgment of his local audience.
The first of two sold-out Korean dates on his After Hours Til Dawn tour took place Wednesday at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi Province. About 54,000 people attended the opening night, with a combined audience of roughly 108,000 expected across the two concerts. The performances mark his first appearances in Korea since a 2018 show in Seoul.
The singer opened with “Baptized in Fear” and moved rapidly through “Open Hearts,” “Wake Me Up” and “After Hours.” Songs often flowed directly into one another, creating a continuous set rather than a sequence broken up by long pauses. Early crowd energy rose further when “Starboy” arrived, while later performances of “I Feel It Coming,” “Die For You,” “Save Your Tears” and “Blinding Lights” prompted stadium-wide singalongs.
After performing “Faith,” The Weeknd removed the silver mask he had worn at the start of the show and became visibly emotional while greeting the crowd. He told fans he was happy to be back and described Korea as an important place in his career, recalling that his 2018 Seoul appearance was his first stadium concert as a solo headliner. He repeatedly thanked the audience for selling out both dates and promised to return.
The production centered on a cross-shaped stage and a 12-meter metallic female statue. Dancers in red robes, flames, lasers and fireworks added scale, but the performance remained driven by the singer’s vocals as he moved along the stadium runway. He maintained a fast pace through tracks including “Sacrifice,” “How Do I Make You Love Me?,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” “Kiss Land” and “Less Than Zero.”
The closing stretch culminated with “House of Balloons” and “Moth to a Flame,” accompanied by fireworks over the stadium. A second sold-out performance was scheduled for Thursday. The Weeknd is then set to continue the Asian leg of the tour in Bangkok on Oct. 11, followed by stops in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.