MMA 2026 (Melon Music Awards): Line-up, Tickets & Booking for Foreigners

Every year at the end of the year, K-pop gathers for its big awards ceremonies, and the Melon Music Awards (MMA) are among the most closely followed. For its 18th edition, the ceremony is changing format: for the first time, it will be held over two nights, Saturday, Nov. 14, and Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, with 26 artists on the bill and a slogan that sets the tone: “K-POP CONNECT: The New Pulse.”

Line-up night by night, hosts, awards up for grabs, tickets, and above all the question we get asked the most: can you still get a seat if you don't live in Korea? Here's the rundown, with an honest answer.

What are the MMA?

The Melon Music Awards have been organized since 2009 by Melon, Korea's biggest music streaming platform, now owned by Kakao Entertainment. Their distinctive feature: the results are based primarily on actual listening data. For most awards, 60% of the score comes from streaming and download data on Melon, 20% from a jury and 20% from public votes. It's therefore a fairly faithful snapshot of what Koreans have actually been listening to throughout the year.

Not to be confused with the MAMA Awards, the other major year-end ceremony, organized by CJ ENM, which this year takes place on Nov. 20–21 in Osaka, Japan.

What's changing in 2026

• Two nights instead of one, each with its own line-up and hosts: a first in 18 editions.
• A new “Global TOP10” award, calculated from the Global-K Chart, a ranking shared equally between Melon (Korea), Tencent Music (China) and LINE MUSIC (Japan).
• A title partner, KakaoBank, which lends its name to the Album of the Year award.

The line-up, night by night

Melon unveiled the 26 artists in waves between mid-September and mid-October, then announced their split across the two nights. The performance order has not yet been released.

Saturday, Nov. 14 (Day 1): 14 artists

• I.O.I: the short-lived group born from the show Produce 101 in 2016, reunited nine years after disbanding. The comeback everyone's talking about.
• aespa, NCT DREAM and RIIZE, three pillars of SM Entertainment.
• ATEEZ, highly anticipated for their stage performances.
• TWS, YENA, RESCENE and Hearts2Hearts, the girl group launched by SM in 2025.
• Rounding out the bill: Dragon Pony, IDID, AEN, TUIDE and HANA.

On the hosting side, 17 personalities will take turns that evening, headlined by actress Lee Young-ae (Dae Jang Geum), Jang Keun-suk, Yoo Seung-ho, Lee Do-hyun, Roh Yoon-seo and Shin Ye-eun.

Sunday, Nov. 15 (Day 2): 12 artists

• IVE and NCT 127, Sunday's headliners.
• PLAVE, the virtual group whose members perform as animated avatars in real time.
• CORTIS, the boy band launched by BigHit Music (HYBE) in 2025, and ILLIT.
• NCT WISH, KiiiKiii, hrtz.wav and 82MAJOR.
• ALPHA DRIVE ONE, the group formed on the show Boys II Planet, along with LNGSHOT and AND2BLE.

Sunday features 20 hosts, including singer Lee Seung-chul, Byun Yo-han and Tiffany Young, Lee Se-young, Choi Daniel and comedian Jang Do-yeon.

Awards up for grabs

The main awards are Album of the Year (KakaoBank Album of the Year), Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Global-K of the Year. On top of that are the TOP10 (the ten most beloved artists of the year), the new Global TOP10, category awards (best solo artist, best group, best OST…) and a series of special jury awards.

Fans have their say: voting for the TOP10 is open on Melon until Oct. 29, then category voting runs from Oct. 30 to Nov. 13. Tracks released between Nov. 20, 2025, and Oct. 14, 2026, are eligible.

Tickets: how it works

• Price: ₩65,000 for one night, on the floor (“ground”) or in the stands. Every ticket is a numbered seat.
• Sales: exclusively on Melon Ticket, and only for holders of a paid Melon subscription. Maximum 2 tickets per account, across both nights combined.
• Timeline: a first presale on Oct. 19 for loyal subscribers (GOLD tier and above, with at least one year of subscription), a second on Oct. 22 for all subscribers. Both have already taken place.
• Last chance: seats freed up by cancellations go back on sale on Melon Ticket. Sales and cancellations close at 10:59 a.m. the day before each show (Korean time).
• Bonus: an LED light stick in MMA2026 colors awaits you at every seat.

A trick known to regulars: cancellations mostly happen just before cancellation fees go up, that is, 10, 7 and 3 days before the date, then on the morning of the day before, ahead of the 10:59 a.m. cutoff. Those are the moments to keep refreshing the page.

Booking as a foreigner: what's possible, and what isn't

Let's be honest: MMA2026 isn't designed for an international audience. As far as we know, as of Oct. 25, no sales through Melon Ticket Global nor any quota for foreigners have been announced. Everything goes through the Korean Melon Ticket site, requiring a Melon account and an active Melon subscription. Depending on your situation, here's what's still feasible.

You live in Korea

With a resident card (ARC) and a Korean phone number, you can create a Melon account, subscribe through the app and pass the identity verification required by the Korean site. All that's left is to watch for cancellations at the times mentioned above.

You're just visiting

• The Korean site will almost always block you: it generally requires Korean identity verification (본인인증) via phone, and the payment methods offered are mostly for Korean cards.
• A Korean friend can book for you, using their own account and subscription, up to a limit of 2 tickets. But be careful: at the box office, the ticket is collected upon presentation of the booking confirmation and the buyer's original ID (no photocopies or photos). Your friend will therefore need to come with you to pick it up.
• Beware of resales. Melon Ticket forbids reselling or exchanging tickets, and since pickup requires the buyer's ID, buying a ticket from a stranger is very risky. A seller on social media who “has two extra seats” is often a scam.
• Keep an eye on specialized agencies for foreign visitors (Creatrip, for example): they sometimes secure quotas for ceremonies. Nothing has been announced for MMA2026 so far, but that could still change.

Plan B: the livestream

If you don't have a ticket, the ceremony will be broadcast live worldwide on both nights, at 6 p.m. Korean time (9 a.m. GMT, 4 a.m. ET):

• YouTube, on the Melon and 1theK channels, for free (some countries are excluded);
• U-NEXT in Japan and TVBS in Taiwan;
• Melon and Wavve in Korea, with Wavve also airing the red carpet and offering a replay.

Practical info for the big day

• Getting there: Gocheok Sky Dome (430 Gyeongin-ro, Guro-gu) is about a 3-minute walk from Guil Station (Line 1, Exit 2). Come by subway: parking around the dome is very limited on big event nights.
• Schedule: doors are announced to open from 4 p.m., the show starts at 6 p.m. and lasts about 3 hours.
• Age: ages 7 and up.
• Good to know: the staging uses strong lights, flashes and lasers; photosensitive individuals should take note.
• On your way out: Guil Station gets crowded quickly after the show. Guro and Gaebong stations, on the same Line 1, are a 15–20 minute walk away and are often faster options.
• Weather: in mid-November, Seoul evenings are chilly. The dome is covered, but bring a warm layer for the wait outside.

Are you in Seoul that weekend? Find everything happening in the city on the November calendar and in Seoul's events.

Poster © Kakao Entertainment / Melon, reproduced for informational purposes. Information verified against Melon's official MMA2026 page, the Melon Ticket listing and announcements relayed by the Korean press as of Oct. 25, 2026; the program may change.