After three years of pandemic-related setbacks, the Melon Music Awards are returning offline, according to Kakao Entertainment, which runs Melon, the nation’s largest music streaming platform.

The South Korean entertainment giant said Thursday that the 14th edition of the event will be held at its usual ceremony venue at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, southwestern Seoul, on Nov. 26.

This year’s event will be presented by Kakao Bank, the banking affiliate of the Korean internet firm.

“This year has been busy for Melon as we’ve organized several projects that could enhance the value of music like ‘Melon Spotlight,'" said Lee Je-wook, chief of Kakao Entertainment’s Melon division, via a press release. "We will make MMA 2022 a place where fans and artists and those related to the music industry can shine and harmonize together and decorate the finale of the year in splendor.”

The 2022 award show’s teaser will be released at the end of next month, the firm said, adding that it plans to open various online events to engage more fans in the ceremony, such as allowing fans to choose the top 10 list.

Also, artists and singers selected for Melon’s “Melon Spotlight,” a category on the platform that sheds light on new releases, and indie musicians who took part in the “Track Zero” series throughout the years, are set to attend the music festival.

Nominations for this year’s event and hosts are expected to be unveiled at a later time. Tickets for MMA 2022 will go on sale starting from Oct. 31.

The MMA was first held in 2005 as an online event and has since become an annual music award and one of the biggest ceremonies in Korea. The MMA was run as both online and offline events from 2009 until 2019. The 2020 and 2021 ceremonies were held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Nominees and winners are selected annually through the music streaming service’s usage data, Melon user votes and expert reviews.

(junheee@heraldcorp.com)