Culture

Korean Boy Band Takes Persona Tour Across Asia
By wchung | 07 Jun, 2026

South Korean pop group SS501 poses for photographers during a media event announcing their new album "Rebirth" and concert "SS501 Asia Tour Persona 2009", Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, in Taipei, Taiwan. SS501 concert will be held at Taipei Arena on Oct. 16. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

5-man Korean boy band SS501 (pronounced Double-S 5-0-1) will perform a concert at the Taipei Arena on October 16 as part of their Personal Asia Tour. The tour began in Seoul August 1 and will continue through November 14 in Shanghai.

Since its 2005 debut the group has achieved stardom on the strength of its uniformly pretty-boy looks, slick dance moves and a successful foray into TV drama under the Title Boys Over Flower, an obvious play toward young female sensibilities. The group’s teeny-bopper orientation is also evident in the rationale behind its name. The SS stand for Super Star while the numerals represent “five united as one forever.”