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Vietnam's Concert Boom in 2025: G-Dragon, 2NE1, and Jisoo All Showed Up

2025 was the wildest year in Vietnamese concert history.

From January to December, K-pop acts and international stars lined up one after another, giving Vietnamese fans a reason to stop envying their neighbors. Here is a full rundown.

K-pop invades

The year's biggest show belonged to G-Dragon.

On June 21, the "King of K-pop" performed at Ha Noi's My Dinh Stadium for the VPBank K-Star Spark concert — his first return to Vietnam in 13 years. All 40,000 tickets sold out instantly. In November he came back with his Ubermensch world tour, playing two nights in Ha Noi. Tickets sold out in three days, setting a Vietnamese music sales record.

2NE1 kicked off the year. The legendary girl group brought their Welcome Back tour to TP. Ho Chi Minh's SECC on February 15–16, playing two consecutive nights. The reunion moved countless fans to tears.

On March 30, BLACKPINK member Jisoo's Lights, Love, Action! Asia tour reached Ha Noi's My Dinh Stadium as its final stop. She put on a non la (Vietnamese conical hat) and wrote "Yeu Viet Nam" onstage — images that went viral on social media.

In May, BIGBANG's Daesung brought his D's WAVE Asia tour to TP. Ho Chi Minh — the tour's first overseas date. Later that month, rising girl group BABYMONSTER's Hello Monsters world tour also landed at SECC.

8Wonder: Vietnam's own mega music festival

Beyond individual concerts by international artists, Vietnam's homegrown 8Wonder festival delivered its own highlights.

In March, "Road to 8Wonder" was held at Vinhomes Royal Island in Hai Phong, headlined by Korean artist BI. On August 23, "8Wonder Summer: Moments of Wonder" took over the National Exhibition Center in Ha Noi, with DJ Snake, J Balvin, The Kid LAROI, and DPR Ian drawing more than 50,000 attendees.

On December 6, "8Wonder Winter: Symphony of Stars" featured 18-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys on her first-ever visit to Vietnam, performing alongside Kazakh vocalist Dimash — a fitting finale to a landmark year.

Why now?

The explosion of Vietnam's live-entertainment market was no accident. Several forces converged.

First, spending power. Vietnam's GDP has grown steadily, the middle class is expanding, and young consumers are willing to pay for experiences. Second, policy. The government has been promoting the "night-time economy" and streamlining approval processes for large events.

Venue upgrades matter too. Ha Noi's My Dinh Stadium was renovated, TP. Ho Chi Minh's SECC has modern facilities, and new sites such as 8Wonder Ocean City have come online — finally giving Vietnam the capacity to host arena-scale international tours.