With over two dozen events occurring each year, South Korea is one of the music festival capitals of the world. Korean music is so popular that K-pop stars host festivals in other countries as well. Of course, due to unforeseen circumstances, many of 2020’s events have been or may soon be cancelled, while others have been postponed. Hopefully, the summer and fall festivals can still go on as planned, but if even these become victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is one unique alternative: online festivals. Many concerts have already moved to the internet. Will festivals follow?
Scheduled Festivals
Music festivals on the docket for 2020 include World DJ Festival, which is slated to run from May 30 to June 7 at Seoul Land amusement park; 5TARDIUM EDM Festival, held on June 27 and 28 at Seoul’s Nanji Hangang Park; WATERBOMB Festival in Seoul on July 17, 18, and 19, and Incheon on August 8; and KB Rapbeat Festival on Sept 19 and 20, also in Seoul Land. Those that have been postponed or cancelled include Lovesome Festival, which was originally set for April 4 but was cancelled outright, and Have A Nice Day and HipHopPlaya festivals, which were both slated for late April, have been postponed. So has Los Angeles’s Korea Times Music Festival, originally scheduled for April 25.The most recent festival to get the red light was Seoul Jazz Festival, which was scheduled for May 23 and 24 in Seoul and is now postponed till autumn.
Can Music Festivals Go Online?
This question is rhetorical, considering that many festivals have already gone online. It’s not hard to get enough artists to participate in a live stream to call it a virtual festival. This is how Trillerfest got organized. Becoming the most successful online music festival of all time, Trillerfest was watched by 5 million-plus people on YouTube over April 10, 11, and 12. Trillerfest served as an online replacement for Coachella which, if it had not been postponed, would have ran on those same days. From the comfort of their homes, viewers watched such performers as Snoop Dogg, Pitbull, and Migos. While viewers couldn’t be outdoors for the event, they could certainly dress like they were. To get into the vibe of a music festival, attendees had the option of wearing their most creative festival attire at home. These would have truly made it an authentic experience. After all, a virtual festival is only virtual on account of the screen.
Online Korean Music Concerts
The real question is whether all upcoming Korean music festivals will go online. There are many precedents for this move. After BTS postponed its Map of the Soul tour, Bang Bang Con, a two-day online concert featuring BTS performances dating back to 2014, was announced. The event will premiere on April 17 on BTS’s YouTube channel. The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra also put on a virtual concert to entertain home-bound Koreans.
As an alternative for in-person music festivals, many of which have been postponed or cancelled, Korean festival organizers can bring their shows online. Online music festivals in America have been resoundingly successful, as have online Korean music concerts. The virtual stage has been set; it just needs to be filled.
It won’t be the same but it’s better than nothing!
It’s the future of concerts coming at you!