SM Global Audition scouts for new talent, with preregistration partially opening on Dec. 1

SM Entertainment will host the “2026 SM Global Audition,” a large-scale global audition to search for fresh talent, the K-pop powerhouse announced on December 1.

The audition will begin in Busan on January 10; move to other Korean cities, including Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon; head to Jeju Island; and finally stop in Seoul.

Following the Korean leg, the audition will travel to 21 locations worldwide, including Bangkok; Fukuoka, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka in Japan; Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Beijing, Changsha and Chengdu in China; Los Angeles and New Jersey; and Sydney and Brisbane in Australia.

Preregistration for Asian countries began on December 1 on the SM Audition website. Anyone born between 2007 and 2015 is eligible to apply.

Applications for the United States and Australia will open on March 23.

The SM Global Audition began in 2006, and those who pass have been met with considerable success, including girl group Red Velvet’s Wendy and Joy; boy band NCT’s Johnny, Yuta, Ten, Mark, Renjun, Kun, Yangyang and Riku; and girl group Hearts2Hearts’ Carmen.

The audition series has garnered significant attention from aspiring K-pop stars as well as domestic and international K-pop fans. The website for the auditions has also been revamped for this year and has won numerous design awards, said the agency.

Further information regarding the auditions can be found on SM Entertainment’s social media accounts, including @smaudition_official.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]