One of the most popular year-end music festivals SBS Gayo Daejeon 2023 took place on December 25 at Inspire Arena. It was praised nationally and internationally for its star-studded lineup including aespa, NewJeans, TXT, Stray Kids, The Boyz, ZEROBASEONE, NCT, and more.
The show also promised some never-seen-before collab stages and performances that fans were excited about. However, the broadcast was heavily marred by accidents and failures. Here’s what happened.
All accidents at SBS Gayo Daejeon 2023
1. Officials called over fraud cases
https://twitter.com/blue_summer814/status/1739160506160828586?t=N8bYsEIPP91DbzErRGnk3g&s=19
The first cracks in the show’s management started to show when fans couldn’t enter the Arena due to fake tickets. Many of the international fans who traveled to South Korea specifically for this event had to wait outside while the management called officials to investigate the incident.
As per the reporting of the Korean news outlet Xports, organizers of SBS Gayo Daejeon are currently assessing the scale of damage with police. However, whether they will compensate the victims of fraud hasn’t been revealed.
2. aespa Winter was almost attacked by an alleged Sasaeng fan
A strange man with a camera ran towards winter🤮When he was caught by security, he still tried to take photos…it's scary…#aespaXSBSGayoDaejeon#aespa #에스파 #WINTER #윈터 pic.twitter.com/Lp2gJRLgmU
— Turleymoon (@0506Hwz) December 25, 2023
Another concerning incident occurred when an unidentified man ran towards aespa Winter during the red carpet event. He was holding a camera and allegedly wanted to click some inappropriate images of the 22-year-old K-pop idol.
Fortunately, the security promptly went into action and managed to detain the man, who continued to click images of the star from the ground. This incident raised many concerns regarding the inadequate security measures at high-profile events.
3. NCT Ten falls down an open stage lift
NCT Ten fell from the stage elevator at Gayo Daejeon today, Knetz react https://t.co/8OAinvjMaR pic.twitter.com/zfI5O4lvhe
— Pannkpop (@pannkpop) December 25, 2023
The security concerns of the attending artists continued on the stage of SBS Gayo Daejeon as NCT‘s Ten suffered a fall. He was climbing upon the stage for his ‘Baggy Jeans‘ performance when he slipped into an open lift causing panic among the fans.
Many attending audiences pointed out that the stage was poorly lit and there weren’t any staff guiding the artists. This incident also resurfaced Red Velvet Wendy’s accident at the same show in 2019 when she suffered several injuries after falling down an open shaft on the stage.
4. Stray Kids perform amid multiple technical failures
https://twitter.com/AnnMarieSKZ/status/1739267099430699309?t=gBtqwpO6Zk9VakKdbK3ctw&s=19
The incidents threatening the well-being of the artists were already concerning enough when the show’s poor camera work and technical mishaps began to enrage the fans. Firstly, the show misspelled the group’s name as ‘Stary Kids’ in the introduction box and later played the NewJeans song during their stage.
The camera also failed to capture the group’s performance several times as it kept turning towards the audience. At one point, the camera also captured an empty stage on the opposite side of the performance. These underwhelming preparations at the music festival greatly disappointed fans.
5. Camera fails to capture THE BOYZ performance
2023 SBS Gayo Daejeon fails to capture The Boyz Juyeon's special stage due to poor camera workhttps://t.co/cLxtGmNQZP pic.twitter.com/WQvuK0WtdK
— pannchoa (@pannchoa) December 25, 2023
The poor camera work continued during THE BOYZ performance. Juyeon had teased a special solo dance sequence featuring cartwheeling over an LED rope. However, the music festival failed to capture it as the camera turned towards the audience right at that moment.
This mishap particularly disappointed fans as it highlighted the organizers’s failure at basic preparations. Most of the events that feature high-profile artists go through rounds of pre-performance check-ups where they discuss the important parts of the performance.
Failing to capture those significant moments and ensure the safety of the attending artists showcases great mismanagement on the organizers’ part.
