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MU:CON festival returns Sept. 10 to 13 in Itaewon and Hannam-dong

Published: 02 Sep. 2025, 14:53 Updated: 02 Sep. 2025, 18:36

KIM MIN-YOUNG
[email protected]

Poster for Mu:con 2025 [KOREA CREATIVE CONTENT AGENCY]

The annual "MU:CON" music festival will take place from Sept. 10 to 13 in the Itaewon and Hannam-dong neighborhoods of central Seoul, and will feature a series of music performances and industry forums by experts.

Organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca), this year’s event will again feature keynote speeches, conferences, business-to-business programs such as networking and meetings for industry professionals, as well as global music showcases open to the public.

The showcases, where musicians perform live on stage, will take place on Sept. 12 and 13 at three venues in Hannam-dong and Itaewon: Blue Square SOL Treble Hall, Blue Square NEMO and Cave House. A total of 46 acts will perform, including 33 MU:CON showcase participants, nine guest musicians and four overseas artists.

Acts including Lee Seung-yoon, Jambinai and Khundi Panda will take the stage on Sept. 12. A total of 16 acts such as Sion, Bulgogi Disco and Jooyoung will perform on Sept. 13. Five musicians who previously took part in Kocca’s rookie discovery project “Muse On” will also join the lineup.

Guest artists include Hong Dabin, Zion.T, 10cm, SAAY and O3ohn.

The “Exchange Stage” program, designed to foster global music and cultural exchange, will feature rising indie pop act I’mdifficult from Taiwan, Japanese indie rock band DYGL, singer-songwriter REJAY and Danish indie band Meejah.

Showcase tickets can be reserved for free in advance through Nol Ticket. On-site reservations will be available if seats remain, and all performances will be livestreamed on Kocca Music’s official YouTube channel (@koccamusic).

Timetable for Mu:con 2025 [KOREA CREATIVE CONTENT AGENCY]

The conference will run from Sept. 10 to 12 at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Hannam-dong, featuring global music industry leaders.

Keynote speakers on Sept. 10 include Ghazi Shami, CEO of Empire Publishing, who will discuss reshaping the industry with data-driven, artist-friendly business models, citing his partnership with G-Dragon as a case study.

Choi Jin-suk, executive director of KMR (Kreation Music Rights) under SM Entertainment, will trace the history of K-pop’s global collaborations and share insights on future creative and distribution trends.

Additional sessions will feature panel talks, open sessions, workshops and deep dive programs led by global music industry experts.

Notable participants include James Matsuki, music supervisor of the Apple TV series “Pachinko” (2022); Thomas Golubic, music supervisor for “Breaking Bad” (2008) and “The Walking Dead” (2010); Ivone Lesan, booking agent for Spain’s Primavera Sound Festival; and Robin Jenssen, the songwriter behind songs for aespa, NCT and Le Sserafim, with more than 160 Billboard chart entries.

“Over the past 14 years, 'MU:CON' has supported both veteran and rookie musicians and connected Korea’s music and entertainment industries with global business opportunities,” said Lee Hyun-joo, director of the content intellectual property division at Kocca. “We will continue to actively support promising musicians and companies in expanding overseas and facilitating global cultural exchanges.”

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]