With the school season coming to a close, May is always the spring university festival rush in Korea, where dozens of K-pop artists, groups, and bands perform across various local college campuses. Over the last few years, these festivals have become increasingly popular within the K-pop industry to the point where it’s become one of the most crucial marketing tools for artists to gain immediate exposure and Internet buzz. From NCT Wish to LE SSERAFIM, BIBI, and even Zion.T, if a Korean artist is not taking advantage of university performances, they’re missing out.

But when did university festivals become such an integral part of the Korean music scene, and is it possible to recreate a similar formula overseas? Here’s how the popular college-focused trend got its start.

Before university festivals became synonymous with idol groups and pop culture, they were originally intended to foster community across campuses. The first was held by Kyung Hee University in 1956, becoming a symbol of youth, according to The Kookmin Review. As they became more common throughout the ‘60s, students would visit other universities and build friendships, while also being introduced to forms of Western culture like folk dancing and costume processions.

However, by the time we get to the ‘70s, the festivals became divided into academic and art festivals, and increasingly more political. After the Yushin Constitution was passed in 1972 — an authoritarian document pushed by President Park Chung-hee to establish a dictatorial regime — life on university campuses became much more grim. To exercise their right to protect freedom among citizens, universities began to use festivals to raise awareness of the political state and fight back against the government.

Alternatively, on the arts side, the atmosphere was much brighter and more festive, in comparison. Traditional Korean dances such as Ganggang-suwolrae and Korean fan dance became prominent forms of entertainment, which helped kickstart renewed interest in traditional folk culture for a younger audience. The ‘70s is also where we start to see the first wave of popular Korean singers appearing at universities, with youth singers such as Yang Hee-un invited as guest performers. But as we enter the 1980s, civil unrest would grow even stronger, with many university festivals focusing on the pro-democracy movement in a country that was rapidly trying to silence them.

The May 18 Democratization Movement — also known as The Gwangju Uprising — was a string of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea in 1980. The movement went against army general and fifth president of South Korea, Chun Doo-hwan, who successfully pulled a coup d’etat on May 17th and ruled the country as a military dictator. However, the uprising was violently put down by the Korean military who retook Gwangju, killing between 600 and 2,300 people in the process.

Although the government tried to suppress news of the slaughter from spreading, college campuses caught wind and used the festivals as a means to revolt against the military dictatorship. The Kookmin Review notes that in response, students held mock trials and conducted mock hearings in order to raise the social issue of tyranny. Additionally, they held photo exhibitions and memorial ceremonies for the casualties for the Gwangju Democratization Movement, and held demonstration parades on the last day of festivals.

While traditional culture was emphasized to resist the military dictatorship, masked dance and pungmulnori (Korean folk performing art that combines energetic drumming, dancing, and singing) were typically performed during the festivals. As far as popular Korean entertainers, legendary balladeer and pop icon Lee Moon-sae and singer-songwriter Song Chang-sik frequently made appearances as the festival’s main musical guests.

It wasn’t until the ‘90s that university festivals began shifting away from political matters and traditional Korean culture, and leaned more into modern pop culture. This was mostly due to the country finally transitioning to a democracy in 1987. Now that South Korean citizens no longer had to fight to be free, things began to loosen up and the music industry was suddenly thriving with the introduction of K-pop and other popular genres. To keep up with the times, universities began holding cultural events such as school band concerts to engage the new generation of students.

Not everyone was on board with this shift, however, as the 2000s saw university festivals become heavily criticized for their commercialization compared to its traditionalist and political roots. Not only that, but universities also began to see it as a competition of who could book the most popular singers. But frankly, even as schools began hosting K-pop idols such as TVXQ, 2NE1, the Wonder Girls, and popular Korean comedians, they were still upholding the same fundamental values of building community among students. From 1956 to the 2000s, that was always the main goal, whether it was banding together to fight against a military regime or gathering to watch their favorite performers. Sure, the times had changed, but the festivals’ primary function did not.

This brings us to the 2010s, when university festivals had officially solidified their reputation as celebrity-driven events that bridge the gap between student culture and the commercial K-pop industry. With many of the festivals open to the public, these concerts would draw in massive crowds beyond the student body, maximizing the amount of eyes and attention on the artists invited. Departments and clubs would set up tent bars, serving food and alcohol to really cement the social aspect of attending the festival. Many notable performances included PSY, who has been dubbed one of the “Festival Kings,” and legendary hip-hop acts like Dynamic Duo, who were highly sought throughout the decade.

Fast-forward to the 2020s, university festivals are now seen as a surefire opportunity for an artist to go viral, with anywhere up to 10,000 phones recording and posting the performances in real-time. It’s not just about promoting a new song or album; it’s about authentic fan engagement and increasing cultural presence in the public eye. Although many of today’s artists like aespa, TXT, and IVE all have strong, dedicated fanbases, the allure of university festivals lies in gaining the respect and adoration of the general public. Interestingly enough, aespa was actually the most in-demand university act of 2025, following the success of their singles like “Supernova,” “Armageddon,” and “Whiplash.”

With how quickly an artist or group can go viral these days from fancams, most agencies don’t even mind that university festivals typically pay less than the average commercial gig. For example, if a group normally earns 100 million won ($73,000) per event, they could settle for 50 million-80 million won at a university show, according to The Korea Herald. But it’s only a small price to pay when looking at the big picture and realizing one university performance could change the trajectory of an artist’s career — imagine what that could do, especially for a rookie group or an artist from a smaller label.

“It’s a rare opportunity for artists to connect with the general public, even those who aren’t already fans,” an official from a major K-pop agency told The Korea Herald. “University festivals draw a young crowd, making them the ideal stage for artists to engage with new audiences and build buzz. In this age of one-person media, if the performance is strong, word-of-mouth spreads naturally.” Besides, a local performance might be just the kind of practice an idol group needs before setting off on a world tour or other globally renowned festivals.

In May 2024, former ADOR CEO, Min Hee-jin, said: “Of all the stages, college campuses feel most like Lollapalooza or Coachella. The students’ energy inspires the members. It’s a great opportunity to promote new songs, improve stage skills and give back to fans.” It’s also important to note NewJeans donated all its earnings from seven university festivals to the Korea Student Aid Foundation in 2024, showing the importance of supporting student culture.

No matter the decade or generation, young people truly are the tastemakers who dictate and drive societal trends. With how massive K-pop has become outside of South Korea, it makes you wonder how feasible annual university festivals would be in the Western market. While we already have things like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and other global-scale events, the concept of connecting K-pop groups — especially lesser-known ones — with Western colleges and providing an intimate and affordable concert experience could ultimately pique the interest of many passive students on campus, who maybe otherwise wouldn’t have attended a standard K-pop concert.

Groups like AMPERS&ONE (who recently performed a free show at the Mall of America in Minnesota), 82MAJOR or even Hearts2Hearts would be great candidates for introducing K-pop culture to Western universities. After all, K-pop labels have increasingly prioritized global dominance, so this feels like a natural next step — it just depends on whether or not they see the value in non-Korean university concerts. Either way, South Korea is still holding down the market on university festivals, and letting its youth be the deciding factor on who becomes the industry’s next big thing.