# How to Attend a K-pop Music Show: Only Two Let You Apply Directly

> There are two ways into a K-pop music show audience. The broadcasters take applications directly only for KBS Music Bank (a weekly lottery on the KBS site, two tickets per application) and SBS Inkigayo (a lottery in the SBS Play app). Most pre-recording spots are handed out by the artist's fan club through Weverse or Mnet Plus notices. Either way, nobody under 15 gets in, and ID has to be the physical card or passport, not a photo or copy.

- URL: https://formthrow.com/en/k-culture/kpop-music-show-audience/
- Published: October 30, 2026
- Data as of: October 30, 2026

If you want to know how to attend a K-pop music show, there are really only two routes. The broadcasters take applications themselves only for KBS Music Bank and SBS Inkigayo, and most pre-recording spots are handed out by the fan club of whoever is performing that week, through Weverse or Mnet Plus notices.

So if your favorite act is in the middle of a comeback, start with their fan club notice. If you just want to see a music show in person, whoever is on, start with the broadcasters' own applications. If you are weighing it against a ticketed concert, read [how to buy K-pop concert tickets](https://formthrow.com/en/k-culture/kpop-concert-tickets/) first.

## How to attend a K-pop music show, show by show

Here is each show's day, where it is recorded, and whether the broadcaster takes applications itself.

| Program | Broadcast (live) | Recording location | Broadcaster takes applications |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The Show (SBS Life) | Tuesday, 6 p.m. | SBS Prism Tower, Sangam | None found, fan club notices |
| Show Champion (MBC M, MBC every1) | Wednesday, 5 p.m. | MBC Dream Center, Ilsan | None found, fan club notices |
| M Countdown (Mnet) | Thursday evening | CJ ENM Center, Sangam | None found, fan club notices |
| Music Bank (KBS2) | Friday, 5:05 p.m. | KBS New Wing Open Hall, Yeouido (the Annex on some days) | Yes, lottery on the KBS site |
| Show! Music Core (MBC) | Saturday, 3:20 p.m. | MBC new building open hall, Sangam | None found, fan club notices |
| Inkigayo (SBS) | Sunday, 3:20 p.m. | SBS Open Hall, Deungchon-dong, Gangseo-gu | Yes, lottery in the SBS Play app |

(Based on the broadcasters' sites, fan club notices on Weverse and Sports Kyunghyang. One notice says Music Bank moves to 5:15 p.m. from July 10, so check each episode. Inkigayo's actual start time also moves around between 3:05 and 3:35 p.m. from week to week.)

The Show went off the air last November and came back on June 2 this year on the SBS Life channel. If an older guide says "SBS M The Show", that name is out of date.

I went through the Music Core homepage section by section, and the audience application board is empty. The "viewer committee" it recruits votes on the weekly chart and has nothing to do with sitting in the hall, so getting picked does not get you in.

## Music Bank applications open the Thursday before

Applications for Music Bank run from 9 a.m. on the Thursday a week before the broadcast to midnight on Friday, on the KBS website. You apply logged in as a KBS member, and one application gets you two tickets including your companion, so you enter their name too.

| Step | When |
| --- | --- |
| Apply | 9 a.m. Thursday a week before the broadcast to midnight Friday |
| Winners announced | After 6 p.m. Monday, text messages after 2 p.m. Thursday |
| Pick up your ticket on show day | From 2 p.m. |
| Entry | 4:10 to 4:40 p.m., no entry once the live show has started |

(According to the KBS Music Bank audience guide. Seats are assigned at random.)

I read the audience guide all the way down to the notes at the bottom, and the ID rule is strict. You show a mobile ticket (the KBS+ app or your My Page) or the winning text, plus physical ID for both you and your companion. Photocopies and photos on your phone are not accepted. Anyone under 15 (born in 2010 or later) cannot go in.

Check the location again before you leave. The New Wing Open Hall is about a three-minute walk from Exit 4 of National Assembly Station on Line 9, but the November 6, November 27 and December 4 broadcasts, pre-recording included, are in the Annex (according to a KBS notice). The Annex is right outside Exit 2 of Saetgang Station on Line 9.

## Inkigayo applications go through the SBS Play app

Inkigayo takes applications only in the SBS Play app, not on a website. Pick the broadcast date in the app and tap the apply button. Each person can apply once.

If you win, you find out through an app notification, not a text. The ticket is a mobile ticket inside the app and only the winner can use it. The account has to be identity-verified, and SBS accepts a resident registration card, driver's license, student ID, alien registration card or passport as ID (according to the SBS Play guide).

The age limit is 15, the same as Music Bank, but Inkigayo says outright that coming with a guardian does not change it. Once the live show starts, no one goes in or out, bags are checked at the door, and cameras are not allowed in at all.

The open hall is in Deungchon-dong, Gangseo-gu, about a five-minute walk from Exit 10 of Gayang Station on Line 9 (according to the NOL World venue page). It is not the SBS headquarters in Mokdong, so don't mix them up.

## Pre-recording spots start with the fan club notice

A pre-recording is when an act's performance is filmed before the live broadcast. These spots are handed out by the artist's fan club, not the broadcaster, and the notice goes up that week on Weverse or Mnet Plus. I could not find a broadcaster application window for M Countdown, Music Core, Show Champion or The Show, so the fan club route is the only one for those.

I compared Weverse recording notices side by side, and the scale and timing vary a lot.

| Notice (show) | Recording and ID check | Spots | Application time or conditions |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TXT Music Bank (July 10) | Recording at 11 a.m., ID check 8:10 to 10:10 a.m. | 300, 5 on the waitlist | The day before, 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. |
| SEVENTEEN Music Core (October 22) | ID check 4:20 to 6:10 a.m. | 400 | Membership and album purchase proof |
| KAWAII LAB Inkigayo (October 25) | Recording at 9:45 a.m., ID check 7:40 to 8:40 a.m. | 100, 10 on the waitlist | Two days before, lottery from 3 p.m. to 9:59 p.m. |

(Based on each fan club's Weverse notice.)

The conditions differ a little from notice to notice, but the basics are the same. An official fan club membership is the baseline, and many notices also want proof of an album purchase (a printout of the Melon download history, not a screenshot) and an official light stick. Many notices set the age limit at 15 for Korea and the US and 16 everywhere else.

ID has to be the physical card. Some notices do not take student IDs or expired ID. The official light stick is the only thing you can bring in, so leave slogans and plush dolls behind, and phone lights are out too. You cannot hand your spot to anyone or sell it, and if you apply and don't show up, it counts against you the next time you apply.

## What a pre-recording day looks like for fans who went

The notices don't tell you how the day actually goes, so I searched for English-language write-ups of people who went. Most of what I found is older. The newest I could find that really walks through a day is from 2019, and fan club systems change, so read them for the shape of the day and not the rules.

One fan who went to a Music Core pre-recording for [Stray Kids in 2019](https://thekrazemag.com/latest-updates/2019/10/11/how-to-survive-your-first-pre-recording) met at 8 a.m. near the MBC building, got an attendance card and a number card at the check, and then waited around four hours in total. The recording itself ran 45 minutes to an hour, with the same song performed several times. The rule they stressed above all: "The most important rule is to keep your phone inside your bag at all times during the recording."

At the SBS pre-recording [one fan describes](https://pensivewandering.com/2016/03/02/how-to-get-into-an-inkigayo-recording/), roll call started in the middle of the night and wrapped up around 6 a.m. Their purchase proof was compared against a passport or alien registration card, and a wristband number set their place in line. The fan is also upfront about how much luck is involved, saying people at the back of the line sometimes wait for hours and never get in. In their case it worked out, and they wrote, "I think over 400 fans were there and we all got in!"

The third write-up took a different route entirely: a [fan who got a Music Bank ticket](https://travelwithkarla.com/2017/03/05/kbs-music-bank-2/) from a Korea Tourism Organization contest in 2017 rather than a fan club. They picked up the ticket at 3 p.m., entered at 4, and watched a pre-show before the live broadcast at 5. "It was around 3pm when I got my ticket. I had to show my passport for verification." That contest was a one-off and is not a route I can point you to.

## Can foreigners apply?

Yes for Inkigayo. The SBS Play guide says an account with a registered date of birth is enough, and a passport or alien registration card works as ID. I could not confirm whether you can create an account without a Korean phone number.

The Music Bank audience guide does not mention foreigners at all. Fan club recording notices, on the other hand, often take a passport from foreigners. I read the ID lines of the English Weverse notices for a Music Bank recording and an M Countdown recording. Both accept a passport, and the Music Bank one says that if you entered your name in English when you signed up, only a passport will be accepted. Your membership name has to match the name on your ID letter for letter.

I also looked for any line saying the phone number has to be a Korean one. Neither notice says so, though the Music Bank one collects a phone number for identity checks. It is unconfirmed, so check the notice for the exact week.

Stay away from anyone who offers to get you a seat for money. The KBS Music Bank notice says buying or selling audience tickets is illegal, that anyone caught is refused entry, and that the applicant is barred from future KBS audience applications. It adds that foreign fans are easy targets for this kind of deal.

## Year-end shows: watch for notices from early December

Year-end show applications have short windows, so check the broadcasters' notices often from early December. Last year's KBS Song Festival took lottery applications from December 5 to 7 for its December 19 broadcast, and MBC Gayo Daejejeon took them from December 17 to 22 and announced on the 26th.

This year's SBS Gayo Daejeon is on December 24 and 25 at KINTEX, and the application method hasn't come out yet. The schedules and audience routes for all three broadcasters are in [the year-end K-pop shows guide](https://formthrow.com/en/k-culture/kpop-year-end-music-shows/) and the [SBS Gayo Daejeon post](https://formthrow.com/en/k-culture/sbs-gayo-daejeon/).

Going back over the Music Bank and Inkigayo guides, I noticed neither one mentions an audience fee anywhere. What you will actually spend money on is an early-morning taxi and some hand warmers.

## Frequently asked questions

### Where do I apply to be in a K-pop music show audience?

For KBS Music Bank, use the application board on the program's website. For SBS Inkigayo, use the SBS Play app. I could not find a broadcaster application window for M Countdown, Music Core, Show Champion or The Show, and their pre-recording spots are handed out by the artist's fan club through Weverse or Mnet Plus notices.

### When do Music Bank audience applications open?

From 9 a.m. on the Thursday a week before the broadcast until midnight on Friday. Winners are announced after 6 p.m. on Monday, and one application gets you two tickets including your companion (according to the KBS Music Bank audience guide).

### How do I get into a K-pop pre-recording?

Watch the fan club notice of whoever is performing that week. Most ask for an official fan club membership, and many also want proof of an album purchase and an official light stick. Applications are either a first-come window of 10 to 30 minutes or a lottery that runs for a few hours.

### Can foreigners attend a K-pop music show?

Inkigayo accepts foreigners with an account that has a registered date of birth, and it takes a passport as ID (according to the SBS Play guide). The KBS Music Bank guide does not mention foreigners. Many fan club pre-recording notices accept a passport, and some say that if your membership name is in English, only a passport will do.

### How old do you have to be to attend a music show?

KBS and SBS both turn away anyone under 15. Inkigayo says a guardian does not change that. Fan club notices often set 15 for Korea and the US and 16 for everywhere else.

## Sources

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