Hangang Campus Song Festival to discover talented young artists

Korea Herald

26-03-2025

Festival celebrates its second year, aiming to support young artists
The Hangang Campus Song Festival will take place in May, in the heart of spring, filling the Han River with the fresh music of talented young people.
Now in its second year, following last year's successful debut, the Hangang Campus Song Festival is an original song competition open to university and graduate students. Participants can only apply with original compositions, and winners will be given a chance to release a debut album and perform overseas.
The grand prize winner will receive a prize money of 20 million won ($13,650), while the gold, silver, and bronze award winners will be awarded 10 million won, 5 million won, and 3 million won, respectively. Two additional teams will each receive 1 million won.
While the first Hangang Campus Song Festival held last year took place at a 2,200-sesat venue, the event will move to the riverside stage at Ttukseom Hangang Park, which accommodates up to 10,000 people.
Applications opened Monday, with 300 teams accepted on a first come, first served basis. The competition consists of two preliminary rounds. In the first round, which will take place April 11, music professionals will select 30 teams based on submitted audio recordings and videos. The second round, taking place April 26, will feature live performances from the 30 selected teams.
Judges include composer Kim Hyung-seok, lyricist Kim Eana, Lee Sang-min of Roo'ra and Kang Seung-yoon of Winner, who will determine the 10 finalists to perform on the main stage.
The finals will be held at the riverside stage of Ttukseom Hangang Park, with the performances also streamed online through the Seoul City YouTube channel.
Drone shows and fireworks will entertain spectators between the stages, and special stages of singers will be presented as well.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to provide participants with opportunities to perform on domestic broadcasts, university festivals and various music events, helping them grow into influential artists.
"We aim to establish the Hangang Campus Song Festival as Seoul's representative youth culture and arts festival while developing it into a platform for discovering outstanding musicians," a Seoul official stated. "We hope that many university students with a passion for music will participate and fully showcase their dreams and talents."