[Hanteo News = Reporter JUNG JUNHWA] Fans waiting to purchase tickets never even got the chance to open the booking page. NCT WISH's first concert at Gocheok Sky Dome sold out before general ticket sales could begin. Domestic fan club presales opened on November 2, followed by global fan club presales on November 3. That was all it took. Within those two days, every seat for both performances was gone.

NCT WISH will hold the Seoul concerts of its second concert tour, ‘INTO THE WISH : Face Our WISH’, at Gocheok Sky Dome on January 15 and 16, 2027. Both shows sold out entirely during the presales conducted through Melon Ticket. It will be the group's first dome concert since debut, and its first dome concert will begin with a completely full audience.

▶︎ Starting at a Dome, Returning to a Dome

NCT WISH's very first stage was also at a dome. On February 21, 2024, the group performed at ‘SMTOWN LIVE 2024 : SMCU PALACE’, a joint concert featuring artists from its agency, at Tokyo Dome. That day, NCT WISH performed three songs alongside its senior artists. It was not a concert under the group's own name, and the audience had gathered primarily for the established acts. The group's debut single ‘WISH’ would not be released digitally until a week later.

It took two years and 11 months to get from that stage to Gocheok Sky Dome. In a sense, NCT WISH is returning to where it began. But there is one crucial difference. This time, the people filling the seats are coming specifically to see NCT WISH.

▶︎ Climbing the Ladder One Step at a Time

What stands out most about NCT WISH's growth is that there are no missing steps along the way.

In March 2025, the group held its ‘LOG in SEOUL’ Asian tour concerts at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Seoul, a relatively small venue by idol concert standards.

In October of the same year, NCT WISH moved to INSPIRE Arena in Yeongjongdo, Incheon, for three performances as part of its first solo concert tour. Every ticket sold out, including seats with restricted views.

In April 2026, the group held three encore concerts at KSPO DOME in Seoul's Olympic Park. This time, all seats sold out during fan club presales alone.

And in January 2027, NCT WISH will take the stage at Gocheok Sky Dome.

In approximately two years, the group has climbed four distinct levels. It has neither skipped a step nor moved backward.

In K-POP, concert venue capacity is perhaps one of the most tangible measures of a fandom's size. Unlike album sales or streaming figures, concert seats can only be filled when individual fans physically show up to occupy them.

The fact that NCT WISH has consistently filled every seat at each stage of its growth helps explain why its latest concerts sold out so quickly.

▶︎ Album Sales Have Grown at the Same Pace

It is not only the concert venues that have grown larger.

NCT WISH achieved its first million-selling album with its second mini-album ‘poppop’, released in April 2025. According to Hanteo Chart, the album recorded initial chodong sales of 1,087,838 copies.

The group subsequently maintained its million-selling streak with its third mini-album ‘COLOR’, first full-length album ‘Ode to Love’, and fourth mini-album ‘I SPY’, released on October 12. That makes four consecutive million-selling albums.

The latest figures offer the clearest illustration of its upward trajectory.

‘I SPY’ sold 1,200,086 copies on its first day alone. In other words, NCT WISH surpassed in a single day what ‘poppop’ had sold over an entire week just a year and a half earlier.

The album went on to record first-week sales of 1,559,051 copies from October 12 to 18, topping Hanteo Chart's weekly Album Chart. It also claimed the No. 1 spot on the daily chart during the same period.

▶︎ What Made Such Rapid Growth Possible?

The first factor is how the group began.

NCT WISH was formed through the survival program ‘NCT Universe : LASTART’. This meant that fans had been following the members' selection process even before their debut.

There is a difference between being introduced to an already completed group and watching a group take shape before its official debut. The latter can create a more deeply engaged initial fandom.

The second factor is the group's lineup.

Of its six members, SION, RIKU, YUSHI, JAEHEE, RYO, and SAKUYA, four are Japanese. NCT WISH made its debut stage appearance at Tokyo Dome and pursued activities in Japan from the very beginning.

In other words, neither Korea nor Japan was a market the group needed to "break into" later. Both were part of its activities from the outset.

The inclusion of Tokyo, Hyogo, Fukuoka, and Aichi in the upcoming tour is a continuation of that approach.

The third factor is the foundation established by the NCT brand.

However, that explanation alone is insufficient. Not every group under the same brand reaches dome-sized venues at the same speed.

An established brand may give a group a head start, but everything that follows must be built through its own achievements.

For NCT WISH, that accumulation is evident in its record of achieving its first million-selling album just one year and two months after debut and maintaining that milestone across four consecutive releases.

What matters is not one exceptionally successful release, but a record of success that has remained consistent.

▶︎ What Comes Next

Seoul is only the beginning.

The upcoming tour will continue across Asia, beginning with Kaohsiung on January 23, followed by stops including Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo, Hyogo, Fukuoka, Aichi, Macau, Taipei, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong.

With both Seoul concerts selling out during presales, there is reason to believe that similar demand could emerge in other cities.

For fans who failed to secure tickets, however, there are currently no alternatives.

A general ticket sales schedule has yet to be announced, and it remains unclear whether additional performances will be added. There has also been no confirmation of live broadcasts or theatrical screenings, options that sometimes accompany major dome concerts.

That is why the sellout is not necessarily good news for everyone.

Still, the significance of these numbers is unmistakable.

In February 2024, NCT WISH began its journey by performing three songs at a dome filled by its senior artists.

Before reaching its third debut anniversary, the group has filled a dome of its own.

And along the way, it has never taken a step backward.

When the lights come up at Gocheok Sky Dome on January 15, the audience will be filled with fans who have climbed every step of that journey alongside NCT WISH over the past three years.

joonamana@hanteo.com