NON-CONTACT MUSIC FESTIVAL

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A non-contact music festival is underway this week in the Hongdae neighborhood, the heart of Korea’s indie culture. The festival aims to help out indie performance venues about to close down due to the COVID-19 control measures.

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Lights are back on in this live performance hall. The seats are still empty, but the stage is filled with musicians again. This is an exciting time for independent bands. A chance to perform after a year away from the stage.

[Soundbite] Moon Band : "I feel like a beginner again. I really enjoyed practicing for a show since I haven’t performed for a long time. I hope there will be more shows like this so I wouldn’t feel so nervous anymore, because I’m really nervous now."

These musicians are here for a non-contact show aimed at saving the struggling live performance venues for indie bands. Every night for one week, five performance halls will air indie music shows live on the internet.

[Soundbite] Jeong Yeon-sik(Team Leader, Rolling Hall) : "We were ready to close. But we’re encouraged by seeing people wanting to help us and support us."

Sixty-seven teams are taking part in this event, including Crying Nut, No Brain, Broccoli, You Too? and Car, the Garden. All groups that became household names thanks to Hongdae's outstanding support for indie bands. Nearly 2,000 fans bought tickets, almost reaching the first sales goal of 50 million won. Hard rock band Harry Big Button’s vocalist Lee Sung-soo and non-profit corporation CODE organized these shows.
The proceeds will be used to pay for the venue rentals.

[Soundbite] Yoon Jong-soo(Chairman of the Board, CODE) : "I hope to broaden people’s awareness of indie music. If a lot more people cared and made requests, the government is likely to think more concretely about supporting this industry."]

Back on March 5th, hip hop musicians held an online concert to raise funds for performance halls. Voluntary support from musicians and fans is a godsend to indie concert halls hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Soundbite] "Save our stages!"