Yang Bang-ean's 30th-anniversary concert opens NOL Ticket sales today, with 7 VIP seats left

Key points

• Pianist and composer Yang Bang-ean marks 30 years since his solo debut with UTOPIA - New Horizon, two concerts at 6pm on Saturday 28 November and 4pm on Sunday 29 November at the Haeoreum Grand Theater of the National Theater of Korea. The National Theater and Endorph Music co-present it as part of the theater's 2026-2027 repertory season.
• The theater's own website has been selling since 14 July. As of 17 September it showed 7 VIP seats, 47 R seats, 36 S seats and 22 A seats left. A separate allocation opens on NOL Ticket at 2pm on Thursday 17 September.
• Tickets are 99,000 won for VIP, 88,000 won for R, 66,000 won for S and 55,000 won for A seats. Yang plays piano and keyboards with an orchestra and a band, and gives the first performance of new songs from his forthcoming album New Horizon.

With Yang Bang-ean's 30th-anniversary concert UTOPIA - New Horizon two months away, the ticketing platform NOL Ticket opens sales at 2pm on Thursday 17 September. The National Theater's event page had said that "seats sold through NOL Ticket will open in early September", and the NOL product page now gives the opening as 2pm on the 17th. The concert is given twice, at 6pm on Saturday 28 November and 4pm on Sunday 29 November, at the Haeoreum Grand Theater of the National Theater of Korea, and runs 110 minutes without an intermission.

The NOL opening is in effect a second sales channel. The National Theater opened package tickets for this concert on 10 July and general tickets on 14 July, so it has been on sale for more than two months. On 17 September the theater's website showed 7 VIP seats, 47 R seats, 36 S seats and 22 A seats remaining, with the top grade almost gone. Those numbers are a snapshot and change in real time, but because NOL is opening its own allocation, anyone who missed out on the theater's site gets another chance. On NOL, a 10% early-bird discount runs until 30 September, alongside 30% off for Artist Pass holders and for the Culture Pass (those born in 2001 or later, and university students), and 50% off for seniors, national merit holders and people with disabilities.

The stage is built around Yang at the piano and keyboards, with an orchestra and a band. The programme published by the National Theater includes Frontier, the official theme of the 2002 Busan Asian Games; Flowers of K, drawn from the beauty of Korea; Sayu, the theme of Theater of Contemplation, a production inspired by the pensive bodhisattva statues at the National Museum of Korea; and We, Hope, Peace, dedicated to UNESCO. The Tower of Eternity, the theme of the game AION, returns in the AION2 version made with Simon Franglen, composer of the Avatar films. New songs from the album New Horizon, released alongside the concert, are heard here first. The theater notes that the programme may change during preparation.

The National Theater describes the concert as a chance to hear 30 years of repertoire in today's arrangements and as the starting point for what comes after the anniversary. It uses the Haeoreum Grand Theater's immersive sound system, together with lighting and video, to extend the sound across the whole auditorium. Min Sae-rom is dramaturg and art director, Yang Jung-hyun directs, and Yang Bang-ean himself is composer and music director.

Yang wrote and arranged the official theme of the 2002 Busan Asian Games, served as artistic director of the National Theater's Yeowoorak Festival, was music director for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and was music director of Exhibition Hall 1 of the Korea Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. He has been a goodwill ambassador for the Korean National Commission for UNESCO since 2014. Given that history with the National Theater, an anniversary concert inside its repertory season is a natural fit.

The concert is open to primary-school age and up (born on or before 31 December 2019), and the theater says proof of date of birth may be requested on the day. Group enquiries go to Endorph Music on 02-733-4699 and booking enquiries to the National Theater's customer center on 02-2280-4114. As of 17 September the concert is not registered in KOPIS, Korea's performing-arts database.

Performance details

Ticket prices

On NOL Ticket: 10% early-bird discount until 30 September, 30% for Artist Pass holders, 30% Culture Pass (born 2001 or later, or university students), 20% for large-family card holders, 50% for seniors (born before 1961), national merit holders and people with disabilities, and 20% for groups of 20 or more.

Programme

The programme may change during preparation.

When do NOL Ticket sales for Yang Bang-ean's 30th-anniversary concert open?

The seats allocated to NOL Ticket open at 2pm on Thursday 17 September. The National Theater's own website has been selling since 14 July.

When and where is the concert?

Twice: at 6pm on Saturday 28 November and 4pm on Sunday 29 November, at the Haeoreum Grand Theater of the National Theater of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul. It runs 110 minutes with no intermission.

How much are tickets?

99,000 won for VIP, 88,000 won for R, 66,000 won for S and 55,000 won for A seats. Booking on NOL Ticket by 30 September earns a 10% early-bird discount.

Are there still seats left?

As of 17 September the National Theater website showed 7 VIP, 47 R, 36 S and 22 A seats remaining. Those numbers change in real time, and a separate NOL Ticket allocation opens at 2pm on 17 September.

Is there an age limit?

Primary-school age and up, meaning those born on or before 31 December 2019. The National Theater says it may ask for proof of date of birth on the day.