The nine starlets of girl group Girls’ Generation are set to kick off their fifth concert tour and first world tour this weekend.

Titled “Girls & Peace,” the tour will begin in Seoul with live performances on Saturday and Sunday at Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium. This weekend will also mark the first time in two years that the ladies are holding a dedicated concert for local fans. 

Representatives of S.M. Entertainment have offered special global package deals exclusively for international fans wishing to attend one of the Seoul performances. The package deal includes hotel accommodation, concert tickets and souvenirs for the out-of-town concertgoers.

Following in the footsteps of the group’s male counterparts and label mates Super Junior, who are currently wrapping up the remaining leg of their “Super Show 5” world tour, Girls’ Generation’s inaugural world tour will also take the group all across Asia, the Americas and Europe with specific dates and countries to be announced in the future.

In April the girls wrapped up their most recent concert tour, “Girls’ Generation II ― Girls & Peace ― Japan 2nd Tour,” in which the group performed 20 shows in seven cities, attracting approximately 200,000 fans in total.

Girls’ Generation made their comeback earlier this year with the release the group’s fourth full album “I Got a Boy.” The album was the first that Girls’ Generation had released in more than a year after third album, “The Boys,” released in October 2011.

Although the girls had previously been best known for their cute and innocent image, they have taken on a group identity by showing off a more energetic vibe, along with heavier hip-hop and upbeat dance choreography with their latest release.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)