First Large-Scale K-POP Festival in Bali, “Waterbomb Bali 2025,” to Take Place in September

“The Waterbomb Bali 2025” festival, the first large-scale K-POP event held in Indonesia’s Bali, is scheduled to run for two days on September 6 and 7 at Bali’s famous GWK Cultural Park. The local event organizer, WAAO Entertainment, signed a waterbomb licensing agreement on December 27, 2024, and began full preparations shortly after. This event holds significant symbolic value as it marks the 10th stage for the K-POP fan group “Red Angels,” following nine previous K-POP concerts they have held in countries such as Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia since 2006. Park Jae-hyun, CEO of WAAO, stated, “This is the first full-scale K-POP concert to be held in Bali,” adding that “September is the peak tourist season in Bali, making it the ideal time to host the Waterbomb event.” A total of 40,000 tickets are planned to be sold over the two-day event, with 10,000 of those reserved as special travel packages for tourists from around the world. Various merchandise, water guns, food, and drinks will also be available for purchase on site. Unforeseen difficulties arose during the event preparation process. Park revealed, “There are baseless false claims being spread by extortion and blackmail gangs who are trying to hinder the project and demand money.” He explained that some individuals pretended to be police or immigration officers to threaten them and even visited the venue illegally to pose psychological pressure. WAAO has filed criminal complaints against these individuals at the South Jakarta Police Station for charges of murder threats and special robbery. Additionally, they are pursuing further complaints with the South Korean National Police Agency and the Jakarta Police regarding fraud, extortion, blackmail, defamation, privacy violations, identity forgery, and attempts at money laundering. Park emphasized that “this issue is unrelated to the concert itself and has nothing to do with Waterbomb’s headquarters, the performing artists, or their agencies.” He added, “The concert is being prepared safely and smoothly as planned, with the protection of all artists’ activities and reputations as the top priority.” Building on the difficult experience of canceling a concert in Jakarta in 2022, WAAO successfully held the “Free Christmas K-POP Concert” in Jakarta in December 2023, featuring EXO’s Chen, ASTRO’s MJ, Secret Number, and others. Park described this event as “not just a regular concert but a platform that conveys an international message of global sharing and unity.”