Korean Music Festivals to Go to if You Visit This Summer

South Korea is a great travel destination, even during the scorching summer, not only for its cultural spots and historical attractions but for how many unique events and activities are available to those who like music, art, and celebrating in general.

For those of you who are going to South Korea this summer, or the next one, here are five great Korean music festivals you cannot skip!

The first one is probably one of the most famous Korean music festivals on the list, especially among foreigners, since many idols participate every year, giving us great performances and eye candy too!

During the Water Bomb festival, in fact, not only will the public have the chance to take part in dynamic water fighting armed with great water guns and divided into teams, but they will also experience super refreshing water bombs, a great way to survive the summer heat!

Idols, as well, while performing, will take part in the games and get visibly wet; for this reason, they usually wear swimsuits and white t-shirts.

Also here Kwon Eunbi recent performance at the festival:

Here are AESPA members playing with the water guns during their performance:

This Korean music festival touches multiple cities around South Korea and some cities in Japan. If you want to know more about it, visit the Waterbomb websit and discover all the incredible K-pop and K-Hip-Hop artists who will perform this year!

The second of the Korean music festivals on the list doesn’t take place in Seoul but in Daegu, the third largest city in the country.

This festival combines two of the most beloved things in South Korea: fried chicken and beer (치맥 or chimaek is the union of the Korean words 치킨, chicken, and 맥주, beer) and, as a plus, during the festival various EDM parties and performances take place.

This year, in particular, it will be held from the 30th of August until the 3rd of September in Duryu Park.

You can find the events and the artists and DJs’ performance dates on the Chimac festival page.

Here is a video of DVWN during last year Chimac festival:

Here is also a video about the Chimac festival 2019’s edition, one that was particularly special since it was the first after the pandemic:

I couldn’t skip this fantastic Hip-Hop and R&B music festival, which takes place in Seoul between the 2nd and 3rd of September.

Rapbeat has a unique lineup of well-known artists like Taeyang, Zico, and DPR Live and less-known artists like AP Alchemy, Damiani, and Able.

Here is the full list of artists for this year edition:

Here is a video presentation of the RAPBEAT festival:

As well as this video of last year B.I’s exhibition, who will also be part of this year’s event:

Among the Korean music festivals if you like Hip Hop this is the one you cannot skip!

This one will not be everyone’s cup of tea since it is a classical music festival, but I think Music in PyeongChang deserves mention!

The festival was formerly the Great Mountains Music Festival & School and has occurred yearly in Pyeongchang since 2004.

This year it will be held from the 26 of July to the 5 of August; among the guests are Korean and International musicians and orchestras.

You can find the full list of artists on the PyeongChang Festival website.

This Korean music festival is the perfect way to spend a few days days enjoying some of the most incredible music ever while relaxing surrounded by a great view (the Taebaek mountains and the many Buddhist temples of the area).

Here is the teaser for this year edition:

And a beautiful performance from the 2018 edition:

If you like Classical music definitely you have to add this one to your Korean music festivals go-to list!

The last of the Korean music festivals on the list is the Busan Rock Festival which, this year, will take place between the 7th and the 8th of October, a bit further from summer but still a significant period to go on vacation in South Korea.

The festival started in 1999 as the Asian Rock Festival and was renamed a year after as we know it today; it offers a variety of genres like rock, metal, and indie.

The artists are both international and Korean, many are underground less-known musicians, but there are also better-known artists like Bastille and Woodz, who participated in last year’s event.

The lineup has still to be revealed, but you can wait for any updates on the Busan Rock Festival website.

Here is a video of LUCY’s performance last year:

Here are some pictures from last year's Woodz performance:

What are you waiting for? If you like rock music add this to your Korean music festivals list!

This year's Dream Concert, one of the biggest K-pop joint music festivals in South Korea, has already taken place on the 27th of May, but I couldn't skip it!

This year's concert lineup included well-known K-pop groups like ITZY, Dreamcatcher, Oh My Girl, BTOB, and ONEUS, and the four rookie groups JUST B, MIRAE, Lapillus, and NINE.i.

Here is a video uploaded by the official Instagram page of the event:

Hope you can visit the Dream Concert next year! Definitely a must-go among the Korean music festivals.

I’ve tried to include Korean music festivals of different genres to satisfy every reader and future tourist!

If you have any other festival in mind, let us know in the comments, and if you have the chance to visit any of the ones on the list, let us know.