A true definition of what K-pop is and what it should be — girl group 2NE1's celebratory concert proved that it is neither the size of the venue nor the near-acrobatic dance moves that make the ultimate performance, but good music. The sincerity of the singers and the pure joy of dancing along to the same beat as everyone else epitomized the collective nostalgia for a group that genuinely ruled an era.

2NE1 held its “Welcome Back” concerts from Friday to Sunday at the Olympic Hall in southern Seoul. It was 2NE1's first concert in 10 years and six months since the group's “All or Nothing” tour held from March to October 2014, and also the first since the bandmates parted ways after their contracts with YG Entertainment expired in 2016.


The concert came as a celebration of the quartet’s 15th anniversary of debut.

“You know what to say at the beginning of our concerts, right?” Sandara Park, who also goes by the stage name Dara, shouted to an excited crowd on Friday. “Let’s hear it, ‘2NE1, nolza!’”

Nolza is the name of 2NE1’s first tour, held in 2011, and means “let’s play” in Korean. The four members have been known to huddle and shout “nolza” before performances, and it soon became tradition for 2NE1 and its fan club, Blackjack, to shout the word before starting a concert.

“Do you remember that we held our very first concert, ‘Nolza,’ here at the Olympic Hall? Were any of you here back then?” Dara asked the audience, who answered back with enthusiastic hollers.

“It’s so meaningful to be back here with everyone, where we held our first concert,” leader CL said, amped up with even more charisma than a decade ago. “Thank you all so much for being here on this special occasion.”

2NE1 ignited its concert with “Fire” (2009), immediately pulling the crowd up from their seats, jumping to the beat of the girl group’s iconic electro, hip-hop track. The heat only escalated higher with each hit song that the quartet performed, including “Clap Your Hands” (2010), “Can’t Nobody” (2010), “I Don’t Care” (2009), “I Love You” (2012), “Ugly” (2011), “Come Back Home” (2014) and “I Am the Best” (2011).

Leader CL held two special performances of solo tracks “GZB” (2013) and “MTBD” (2014), followed by a calmer turn to 2NE1’s emotional R&B tracks like “Missing You” (2013), “It Hurts” (2010), “If I Were You” (2014) and “Lonely” (2011).

When the members walked off the stage after a climactic performance of “Go Away” (2010), the crowd loudly chanted “ deo nolza,” meaning “let’s play more,” instead of the shouts of “encore” that come at the end of K-pop concerts.

“Wow, I could hear you from all the way back at the waiting station,” Dara said. “It feels just like 10 years ago when you used to shout ‘deo nolza’ to call us up for our encore performances."

The quartet brought the concert to a close with a medley of hits, such as “Crush” (2014), “I Don’t Care,” “Ugly,” “Go Away” and “Can’t Nobody, with the group promising to hold an encore concert after the tour “at an even bigger venue,” according to Dara.

“I know that getting the tickets to this concert was hectic,” she said. “Don’t you think that calls for an encore concert? In fact, we should have en-en-en-encore concerts. And if we do, they should be at a bigger place than this. You all have to be there again, O.K.?”

The “Welcome Back” Seoul concerts were planned to be “the most 2NE1” instead of showing something new, according to CL.

“We felt greedy about what we wanted to show you guys, but we decided that we just want those of you, who have been our fans for a long time, to relive our memories together, and those who didn’t know us that well, to just know that there’s a group like us,” CL said.

“So tonight, it’s just the classic 2NE1 and who we are,” she continued. “We hope that you take home memories as great as the energy that we’ve received from you guys.”

The “classic 2NE1” was indeed shown during the concert, with the band drawing from its energizing and invigorating vibe that it flaunted during the seven years its members stayed with YG Entertainment, from 2009 to 2016.

The quartet’s uniquely empowering, slightly tomboyish, pop-slash-hip-hop tracks went directly against the grain at a time when soft or bubbly femininity was the dominant vibe of girl groups, shown by the likes of Girls’ Generation and Wonder Girls. In fact, 2NE1 dared to face society's beauty standards head-on with the track “Ugly.” The song's candid lyrics became a critique on society and opened up the way for more artists to pursue a career in K-pop, even if they weren’t considered “pretty,” according to conventional standards.

The girl group’s legacy was proven by the congratulatory video messages sent by IU, NewJeans, IVE, Twice, BabyMonster, aespa, Stray Kids, (G)I-DLE, Kiss of Life, BoyNextDoor, Zico, Treasure, G-Dragon of boy band Big Bang and even pop star Pharrell Williams.

Multiple celebrities were also spotted at the concert over the weekend, including Daesung of Big Bang, Se7en, Gummy, Kim Jin-woo and Song Min-ho of boy band Winner, Stray Kids and NewJeans.

“One of the greatest things about this tour is that we get to meet with everyone that we worked with in the past, including the staff,” Minzy said on Friday. “It feels amazing to be back together and I’m just so grateful for all the help that they’ve given us after 10 years. I feel like I’ve spent my whole life with Blackjack ever since I was a 16-year-old girl to the woman I’ve become now. It’s like you all raised me.”

2NE1 will continue the “Welcome Back” tour with concerts in Manila on Nov. 16, Jakarta on Nov. 23, Hong Kong on Dec. 8, Singapore on Dec. 21, Bangkok on Jan. 25, 2025, and Taipei on Feb. 8, 2025. 2NE1 will also hold six concerts in Japan, with three in Kobe on Nov. 29, 30 and Dec. 1 and three in Tokyo on Dec. 13, 14 and 15.

The tour comes as a celebration of the girl group's 15th anniversary since debut and a partnership between YG Entertainment, Live Nation and avex.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]