The K-pop industry has come together to rally in support of Hong Kong as the much-sought-after tourist hotspot is in mourning. A star-studded ensemble of South Korean actors and singers were already en route to the city for the 2025 MAMA Awards as the devastating news of an apartment complex fire made shocking headlines.
South Korean entertainment giants HYBE Labels, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, which are collectively dubbed ‘The Big 4,’ and their artists made big, heartfelt donations, offering support to the victims who have been displaced by the fire disaster.
K-pop artists donate to Hong Kong fire relief
1. WayV: SM Entertainment’s Chinese boy group (also an NCT sub-unit) was originally scheduled to drop their special winter album “Eternal White” on November 28. However, they have since postponed the release date to December 1 in light of current developments.
In addition to moving their album release, the group has also made a sizeable donation of $250,000 HKD (around $32,138 USD) to the Hong Kong Red Cross.
The members offered their condolences to the survivors in an official statement. “Upon hearing the deeply distressing news, our hearts are filled with profound sorrow. To do our small part, we have decided to donate HK$250,000 to the Hong Kong Red Cross in the name of WayV, to express our deepest condolences to the victims of this fire, our sincere sympathy to all affected families, and our highest respect to every rescue hero,” WayV said, as per AllKpop’s English translation.
2. i-dle: According to China’s Fosun Foundation, the K-pop girl group made a significant contribution of 1 million CNY (~ 140,000 USD) to support the residents impacted by the Tai Po district fire, K-media reported.
3. YG Entertainment: The K-pop banner took its official Weibo profile on November 28 to share that it was donating 1,000,000 HKD (~ 130,000 USD) to aid rescue efforts.
4. HYBE Labels: The company behind Korean talents like BTS, SEVENTEEN, NewJeans and more also announced today that it was putting together funds worth 2,660,000 HKD (~ 340,000 USD) for the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association in hope of assisting local nonprofits helping out families troubled by the fire.
5. JYP Entertainment: The K-pop banner that once formed the super-hit third-generation music act GOT7 announced via Weibo that it had donated 377 million KRW (approximately 290,000 USD) to the cause through Hong Kong World Vision.
6. Stray Kids: The “KARMA” hit-making group, whose members are listed as JYP artists as well, contributed 1 million Hong Kong dollars to the Hong Kong Red Cross.
7. KickFlip: As Stray Kids’ juniors in the company, the rookie act also donated 18.88 million KRW (around 14,500 USD) to help out those in need. Both groups are expected to perform at the MAMA Awards this year.
8. THE BOYZ: 1 million Hong Kong dollars
9. GOT7’s Jackson and Team Wang: 1 million Hong Kong dollars to a local hospital
10. SUPER JUNIOR: The SM Entertainment boy group donated 1 million Hong Kong dollars
11. Lee Hyeri: Singer-actress donated 200,000 Hong Kong dollars, approximately 38 million KRW (about 28,500 USD), to Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association.
Other artists to join the relief efforts were aespa, RIIZE, ZEROBASEONE’s Zhang Hao, WEi, EXO-CBX and PLAVE. (This list will be updated)
About the Hong Kong fire tragedy
The city dwellers have been subjected to collective pain since Wednesday, when a massive fire spread through the eight high-rise towers of the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in the Tai Po district.
The death toll linked to the tragic unravelling has since constantly and heartbreakingly risen. At the time of writing, international reports suggested that at least 128 people had lost their lives to what had become the city’s deadliest blaze in decades. The shocking tally is expected to grow, as rescue efforts continued even over 24 hours after the the level five fire snatched away any semblance of safety and security from the countless families devastated by it.
Major K-pop event, MAMA Awards, in the same week as the Hong Kong fire
Coincidentally, the fire broke out at the Hong Kong apartment complex in the same week as the city was preparing to host A-list South Korean celebrities at the MAMA Awards 2025. It marked the first time in years that the prestigious ceremony, dubbed the ‘Grammys of Asia,’ had returned to Hong Kong.
Local Chinese-language and Korean media outlets were quick to raise alarms about the the K-pop event’s future being shrouded in uncertainty in the wake of the immeasurable tragedy.
The impact was even more pronounced as leading K-media outlets like the Korea Herald reported that the scarred residential area was just 20 kilometres away from the MAMA venue, the Kai Tak Stadium. With the show set to go live less than 24 hours later, the event organisers made a late night decision to cancel the MAMA Awards red carpet event on both days, November 28 and 29.
While the main ceremony is set to proceed as planned, the production banner CJ ENM issued an official statement addressing the current circumstances.
Dispelling confusion surrounding the show’s broadcast, they said in a statement, “Believing in the healing and unifying power of music, we have carefully planned the overall stage and program to deliver comfort and hope rather than extravagant performances. We hope the music will offer a small measure of solace and courage to everyone,” as per the Korea Herald.
Promising to carry a message of support and comfort for Hong Kong, CJ ENM added, “The 2025 MAMAs will include ways to share in grief and contribute to relief efforts through donations.”
