2025 APEC Music Festival to Take Place in Gyeongju on October 10 – Highlighting K-POP’s Global Influence

The 2025 APEC Music Festival will be held in Gyeongju on October 10. As South Korea serves as the APEC chair country, this event functions as an official cultural initiative designed to showcase Korean popular culture to world leaders and international media representatives. It is jointly organized by Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongju City, operated in collaboration with the APEC Summit Preparation Committee, with KBS serving as the main broadcasting partner. Thirteen diverse artist groups will perform on stage, including Billlie, NCT WISH, YENA, ONF, ONEUS, WEi, USPEER, IZNA, JUNG DAE HYUN, KickFlip, HA SUNG WOON, H1-KEY, and Hearts2Hearts. This lineup spanning different generations and musical styles aims to demonstrate the broad reach of K-POP worldwide. The performances will be broadcast simultaneously both live in person and online. It will be streamed in real time via KBS Kpop’s YouTube channel, which has 9.91 million subscribers, and aired globally through KBS2 at 11:10 p.m. on October 21, as well as on KBSN and KBS World channels. As a special program, “Woman On Music (WOM)” will be held on Friday, October 24, at 5 p.m. on a floating stage by Boumun Lake. Featuring representative female artists from five countries—South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and Vietnam—the approximately 90-minute event is expected to serve as a symbolic platform for international cultural exchange during the APEC Summit. An event official stated, “The 2025 APEC Music Festival will go beyond being a simple concert to become a venue that showcases South Korea’s cultural strength to the entire world.” The official added, “Central government agencies, local governments, and private sector entities are working closely together to create a stage that translates the core themes of the APEC Summit—‘connection, innovation, and prosperity’—into the language of culture.” Concert tickets will be distributed free of charge to applicants starting at 5 p.m. on the 30th through NOL Interpark. Meanwhile, the Silla Culture Festival will also take place in Gyeongju from October 10 to 12 of the same month, creating a unique festival atmosphere where history and popular culture coexist.