15,000 Attend Uijeongbu Black Music Festival, Bringing Music, Experiences and Tourism Together

Zion.T, Giriboy, Gray and others perform
Youth stage and audience participation programs held
Overnight travel packages offered to tourists from 15 countries
Festival concludes with no safety incidents over two days

The 2026 8th Black Music Festival (BMF), featuring hip-hop, R&B and B-boying, drew 15,000 visitors over two days and has come to a close.

The Uijeongbu Cultural Foundation held the Black Music Festival on the outdoor stage at Uijeongbu Arts Center on the 16th and 17th. Photo provided by the Uijeongbu Cultural Foundation.

The Uijeongbu Cultural Tourism Foundation in Gyeonggi Province, led by CEO Yoo Heeseong, announced on October 19 that it held the Black Music Festival at the outdoor stage of Uijeongbu Arts Center on October 16 and 17.

The festival was free to attend and featured Zion.T, Now I'm Young, Giriboy, sokodomo, Gray, Kim Seungmin and Roh Yunha, among others. DJ performances and B-boying shows added to the artists' distinctive performances.

This year, the festival expanded programs that invited audience participation. It held a best-dressed event themed “Black & Military Look,” and offered free activities at the “BMF VIBE ZONE,” including a photo booth, graffiti coloring and temporary tattoo stickers. “BMF CHILL STREET” featured food trucks, a flea market and rest areas.

On October 17, the “UJB Rookie Stage” featured youth clubs from the Uijeongbu area. It gave young people aspiring to become musicians a chance to gain stage experience and meet audiences.

The festival moved from Camp Red Cloud (CRC), a former U.S. military site returned to South Korea where it was held last year, to the outdoor stage of Uijeongbu Arts Center this year. The move was due to construction at the CRC site. The foundation said the new downtown venue made the festival more accessible to residents.

The festival also included programs linked to local tourism. In cooperation with “Day Trip,” a local tour program in Uijeongbu, it offered a one-night, two-day tourism package for international visitors. Around 20 people from 15 countries took part.

The foundation managed pedestrian routes at the venue and operated a safety team and emergency medical services. The Gyeonggi Northern Safety Special Inspection Team conducted an on-site inspection, while Uijeongbu City, police, firefighters and volunteers also took part in safety management. According to the foundation, there were no safety incidents over the two days.

“Building on the musical culture of the U.S. military bases once stationed in Uijeongbu, we linked hands-on activities, events and tourism with music content that reflects the region’s distinctive character,” CEO Yoo said. “We will continue to develop content that highlights Uijeongbu’s unique cultural identity and work to help the Black Music Festival grow into a world-class event.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.