It’s that time of the year again. The MAMA Awards, one of K-pop’s largest music events, is back with an ambitious lineup after a landmark year for Korea’s cultural expansion, marked by the global phenomenon “KPop Demon Hunters.”

This year’s ceremony will feature a reality-meets-fiction spectacle spotlighting HUNTR/X and Saja Boys from Netflix’s hit animated film, the appearance of Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, and special performances by Stray Kids, Super Junior and more.


“In an official collaboration with ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ we will present an original stage that transcends the boundary between reality and animation,” said Ma Doo-sik, the chief producer of this year’s MAMA Awards, during a press conference at CJ ENM headquarters in western Seoul on Tuesday.

“The iconic battle between Saja Boys and HUNTR/X will come to life on stage, creating a special performance that would unite all K-pop fans around the world,” Ma said, adding that K-pop idols will appear on stage to portray the film’s fictional acts — though casting has yet to be finalized.

Hosted by CJ ENM, the annual MAMA Awards this year will be held for two nights on Nov. 28 and 29 at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, which opened in March this year. The event is expected to attract 70,000 concertgoers over the two-day run.

“In 2018, we hosted the event at a venue that held about 10,000 seats,” noted Park Chan-uk, head of convention business at CJ ENM. “This means that [MAMA] has grown sevenfold compared to seven years ago.”

The MAMA Awards will mark the first K-pop award show ever to take place at a stadium, Park added.

Launched in 1999, the MAMA Awards is known as one of the largest and most influential awards ceremonies in K-pop. Previously known as the Mnet Asian Music Awards, CJ ENM rebranded the event to the MAMA Awards in 2022.

It first went global in 2010 with an event in Macau, and has since been hosted in various locations overseas, including Hong Kong, the United States, Japan and Vietnam, except during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year’s theme, “Hear My Roar, Uh-Heung,” takes its name from an onomatopoeic word resembling a tiger’s roar in Korean, while also incorporating the word heung, meaning joy. The concept centers on the energy and excitement that comes from freely singing and dancing together, said CJ ENM.

“This represents a confident roar, a declaration to embrace oneself as they are, transcending regions, race and culture,” said Lee Young-joo, producer of the MAMA Awards’ first-day production.

Actor Park Bo-gum will host the opening night, marking his seventh time hosting the event, while actor Kim Hye-soo will take the helm on the second day. Michelle Yeoh, the Malaysian actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2023, will appear on stage as a special presenter.

A total of 27 K-pop acts are to perform, including G-Dragon, aespa, Allday Project, Cortis, Riize and Alpha Drive One.

Exclusive stages include Stray Kids’ first-ever live performance of “Divine,” the lead track from the group’s upcoming album, and Super Junior’s special performance celebrating its 20th anniversary.

“This year, the whole world went crazy for K-pop — it created a global syndrome and set new records,” said Park. “We’ll continue to put everything into making this year’s MAMA Awards, which is both the most Korean and the most global award show, a true festival where everyone can enjoy altogether.”

This year’s MAMA Awards will be livestreamed on Mnet’s Mnet Plus platform.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]