Analyzed Through Ticket-Sales Data, KOPIS
Performing Arts Data Team, Korea Arts Management Service
An analysis of the ticket-sales trends in the Korean performing arts market using the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS) showed that the upward tick that began at the end of 2022 as the market was emerging from the shock of Covid-19, and the Korean performing arts market has continued to grow into the first half of 2023.
Performance Information Team at the Korea Arts Management Service analyzed ticket sales of the performing arts during the first half of 2023 in the areas of play, musical, classical music, Korean music (gugak), dance (Western/Korean), and multidisciplinary, excluding popular music, popular dance, circus/dance from the nine genre data collected in the KOPIS.
The results showed that for twenty-six weeks from January 1 to June 30, 2023, a total of 6,707 shows were put on stage 46,394 times. During this period, 7.3 million tickets were reserved, and KRW 304.6 billion in tickets were sold. Compared to the first half of 2022, the number of performances increased by ▲18 percent, and tickets by ▲35.9 percent, and ticket sales by ▲31 percent. Considering the total ticket sales revenue and number of tickets reserved, the average price per ticket was KRW 41,713, which decreased by ▼3.6 percent compared to KRW 43,251 in the first half of 2022.
As for ticket sales during the first half of 2023 by genre, classical musics were the most numerous during that period, at 3,247 shows (48.4 percent). In terms of number of performances, the play shows were put on 22,835 times (49.2 percent). The number of tickets and the ticket-sales revenue of musical shows were 3.9 million tickets (53.4 percent) and KRW 226 billion (74.2 percent), respectively, showing the highest figures in among all genres. The average ticket price was the highest for musicals, at KRW 57,974, and multidisciplinary and Korean music (gugak) shows were the least expensive, at KRW 10,626 and KRW 12,285, respectively.
| Category | No. of Shows (shows) |
Share (%) |
No. of Performances (times) |
Share (%) |
No. of Tickets Sold (tickets) |
Share (%) |
Ticket Revenue (won) |
Share (%) |
| Total | 6,707 (▲18.0%) |
100 - |
46,394 (▲31.0%) |
100 - |
7,301,484 (▲35.9%) |
100 - |
304,568,586,290 (▲31.0%) |
100 - |
| Play | 1,076 (▲15.3%) |
16.0 (-0.4%p) |
22,835 (▲36.9%) |
49.2 (2.2%p) |
1,721,073 (▲61%) |
23.6 (3.7%p) |
33,117,482,535 (▲92.3%) |
10.9 (3.5%p) |
| Musical | 1,540 (▲30.8%) |
23.0 (2.3%p) |
18,129 (▲28.9%) |
39.1 (-0.6%p) |
3,898,770 (▲25%) |
53.4 (-4.6%p) |
226,028,799,975 (▲23.5%) |
74.2 (-4.5%p) |
| Classical music | 3,247 (▲12.1%) |
48.4 (-2.6%p) |
3,640 (▲14.4%) |
7.8 (-1.2%p) |
1,255,837 (▲38.3%) |
17.2 (0.3%p) |
35,435,840,680 (▲38.3%) |
11.6 (0.6%p) |
| Korean music gugak) |
457 (▲19.0%) |
6.8 - |
876 (▲21.7%) |
1.9 (-0.1%p) |
176,137 (▲49.6%) |
2.4 (0.2%p) |
2,163,779,000 (▼-26.5%) |
0.7 (-0.6%p) |
| Dance (Western/Korean) |
243 (▲13.6%) |
3.6 (-0.2%p) |
461 (▲13%) |
1.0 (-0.2%p) |
186,851 (▲40.1%) |
2.6 (0.1%p) |
7,155,191,200 (▲123.1%) |
2.3 (0.9%p) |
| multidisciplinary | 144 (▲84.6%) |
2.1 (0.7%p) |
453 (▲20.2%) |
1.0 (-0.1%p) |
62,816 (▲127.5%) |
0.9 (0.4%p) |
667,492,900 (▲44.6%) |
0.2 - |
Status of the Performing Arts Market in the First Half of 2023 ① Play
The ticket sales for Play in the first half of 2023 grew the most in Seoul compared to the same period the previous year. The number of shows increased by ▲15.8 percent, number of tickets by ▲63.6 percent, ticket revenue by a staggering ▲98.2 percent. By province, the market in Gyeongsangnam-do Province grew surprisingly. While the number of shows did not increase greatly, at 12.5 percent, but the number of performances grew very much, by ▲198 percent, number of tickets reserved by ▲118.2 percent, and ticket revenue by ▲387.2 percent. On the other hand, in Jeju-do Province, the number of stage theater shows increased by ▲81.8 percent, but the number of tickets decreased slightly, by ▼18.9 percent, and ticket revenue by ▼11.4 percent. This appears to be because of performances featured in The 41st Korea Theater Festival in Jeju and The Jeju Haevichi Art Festival(JHAF) from April to June, where the ticket prices were lower or free.
Play is robust on Daehak-ro Street, Seoul’s theater and performing arts district, and there are many “open-run” performances, which caused there to be shows put on smaller stages with fewer than 100 seats and seats between 100-300 seats, with 25.9 percent and 49.2 percent of shows on such stages, respectively. Among all Play , 68.3 percent of the number of performances and 64.4 percent of the number of tickets were from Daehak-ro Street.
Status of the Performing Arts Market in the First Half of 2023 ② Musical
During the first half of 2023, there were 361 musical shows that opened in Seoul, showing an increase of ▲29.4 percent compared to the first half of 2022. The number of tickets reserved increased by ▲22.8 percent and ticket revenue by ▲22 percent. Compared to the same period the previous year, the metropolitan city that showed the highest increase was Busan, which showed an increase of ▲67.7 percent for the number of performances, ▲47.1 percent for the number of tickets, and ▲61.7 percent for ticket revenue. The province that had the highest increase was Jeollabuk-do Province, showing an increase of ▲36.8 percent for the number of performances, ▲51.7 percent for the number of tickets, and ▲64.3 percent for ticket revenue.
The most musical shows were put on medium-sized theaters with between 500 and 1,000 seats, but the most ticket revenue was generated from larger theaters with 1,000 or more seats. The ticket revenue from large theaters with 1,000 or more seats was KRW 166 billion, which was six times higher than medium-sized theaters with between 500 and 1,000 seats. Musical shows on larger stages tended to be blockbusters featuring celebrity casts who could sell tickets or with popular recognition. As such, those shows, had higher ticket prices and more audience members who were willing to buy tickets without discounts. Hence, the share of musical shows on large theaters with 1,000 seats or more was very high, at 73.4 percent.
Status of the Performing Arts Market in the First Half of 2023 ③ Classical Music
Classical music shows had the highest numbers of performances, tickets reserved, and ticket revenue during June in the first half of 2023. In contrast, the number of performances and tickets reserved were the lowest in January. Categorizing classical music into instrumental and vocal-based performances, the number of performances, number of tickets, and ticket revenue all increased compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, only the number of tickets increased for vocal-based
performances, with the number of performances and ticket revenue both decreasing for such programs. Classical-music experts explained that the vocal-based performances (choir and opera) recovered and grew more slowly than instrumental performances (orchestra and recital) because orchestra shows absorbed new audience groups by collaborating with music from films, animation, video games, and popular-music performers. In Seoul, Western music (classical music) had increased numbers for the number of performance, at ▲11.4 percent, number of tickets, at ▲33.2 percent, and ticket revenue, at ▲51.2 percent. On the other hand, for Daegu and Busan, which are metropolitan cities with the highest classical musics next to Seoul, ticket revenues decreased by ▼6.2 percent and ▼49.9 percent, respectively, compared to the same period the previous year.
Medium-sized theaters with between 300 and 500 seats showcased the most classical musics. Small theaters with fewer than 100 seats had the highest fluctuation in terms of number of performance, with an increase of ▲162.6 percent.
Status of the Performing Arts Market in the First Half of 2023 ④ Korean Music (Gugak)
During the first half of 2023, Korean music (gugak) had increased number of performances, by ▲19 percent, and number of tickets, by ▲49.6 percent, compared to the first half of 2022. However, ticket revenue decreased by ▼26.5 percent. The average revenue per ticket for Korean music (gugak) during the first half of 2023 was KRW 12,285, which was a decrease of ▼50.9 percent compared to the same period the previous year. Although the average revenues per ticket during the first half of 202 and 2021 were lower than KRW 10,000, but with performances by artists who gained recognition through television shows such as Pungryu Daejang, the average revenue per ticket increased to KRW 25,008. Seoul had the most performances, with 249 shows. In Gwangju, approximately 10,000 tickets were reserved for 16 shows, but the ticket revenue was KRW 20 million, with the per-ticket revenue very low at KRW 1,961, which represented a decrease of ▼90.9 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
The most Korean-music (gugak) performances were held in small venues with between 100 and 300 seats. In terms of ticket revenue, the highest share was at large theaters with 1,000 seats or more, but the figures decreased by ▼59.9 percent compared to the first half of 2022.
Status of the Performing Arts Market in the First Half of 2023 ⑤ Dance
Lastly, the ticket sales during the first half of 2023 for dance performances increased only slightly by ▲13.6 percent and ▲13 percent, respectively. However, the number of tickets reserved and ticket revenue increased by ▲40.1 percent and ▲123.1 percent, respectively, showing a great change. Per-ticket price was KRW 38,294, which is KRW 14,243 higher than in the first half of 2022. This appears to have been because of the ▲146.7-percent increase in ballet ticket prices.
In terms of specific genres, Korean dance had a share of 41.2 percent, which was higher than that of ballet, but ballet’s share of the number of tickets was 50.5 percent, and the same of ticket revenue was 65.1 percent, which was higher than the share of Korean dance. The top-ten dance performances had a share of 60.2 percent among all ticket revenues, which was 14.6 percent higher than in the musical market. Meanwhile, seven out of the top ten performances were performed by ballet companies such as Paris Opera Ballet, Ballet Preljocaj, Universal Ballet, and the Korean National Ballet, reaffirming the skew towards ballet in the dance genre.
| The Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS) collects distributed data regarding performance ticket reservations and cancellations, providing accurate and reliable performance information and statistics services. The KOPIS is connected to 186 ticketing systems nationwide including major reservation platforms such as Interpark and Ticketlink, as well as independent performance-venue platforms run by the LG Art Center and Sejong Art Center. Beginning last year, the system has been issuing the quarterly Performing Arts Market Ticket Sales Status Report featuring an analysis of the collected data. |
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