An arena dedicated to K-pop performances will be built inside Hallyu World, a theme park for hallyu, or the Korean Wave, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Friday.

Hallyu World, located in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, will host the arena with an 18,000-seat main concert hall, a 2,000-seat hall, a pop music museum, a Hall of Fame and an educational facility for pop music.

The selection was made after the authorities looked into a total of 18 candidate sites bidding for the arena. The turn-key project, totaling 200 billion won, will receive 25 billion won in government subsidies with the rest coming from the private sector.

“The arena will be operated under joint governance by the government and the private sector,” the ministry said in a press release.

The K-pop arena construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)