Hip-hop journalist Kim Bong-hyun, who has been examining and documenting Black music in Korea, headed to Daegu. In Daegu, a city where the culture of records and music appreciation matured early on, who did he meet, and what did he see and hear? We present a two-part reportage of Daegu, the city of music, as witnessed by Kim Bong-hyun.

Hip-hop journalist Kim Bong-hyun, who has been examining and documenting Black music in Korea, headed to Daegu. In Daegu, a city where the culture of records and music appreciation matured early on, who did he meet, and what did he see and hear? We present a two-part reportage of Daegu, the city of music, as witnessed by Kim Bong-hyun.

Hip-hop and local

Hip-hop tends to be obsessed with place. Representing the neighborhood where one was born and raised is a long-standing tradition in hip-hop. Even without being asked, rappers shout out their hometowns on stage. Where was I born? Where do I represent? When a rocker asks the audience where they are from, rappers tell them where they are from.

No one even asked

Rappers shout out their hometowns on stage.

It is an undeniable fact that Korean hip-hop is concentrated in Seoul. However, aside from Seoul, the region in Korea where hip-hop is most naturally discussed is undoubtedly Daegu. If you arrive at Dongdaegu Station, you need to mutter to yourself at least once: "Is this the city of MC Meta, E SENS, Mino's, and Basick?"

Daegu Hip Hop Festival

Speaking from my own experience, when I think of hip-hop and Daegu, the first thing that comes to mind is the 'Daegu Hip-Hop Festival.' The Daegu Hip-Hop Festival was held this October and concluded with great success. Countless hip-hop and R&B artists took the stage over the two days. Of course, this wasn't the first time it was held. It has a long history. To trace its roots, one must go back as far as 10 years. Yeo Seung-hyun, the planner of the Daegu Hip-Hop Festival, explains.

The Daegu Hip Hop Festival began in 2013. Back then, it was called the 'Dokdo Defense Hip Hop Festival.' We wanted people to enjoy hip hop performances while simultaneously reflecting on the fact that Dokdo is our land. About 6,000 people attended, which surprised the local government officials. They reportedly realized, "Young people aren't very interested when we talk about Dokdo, but they gather in such large numbers because we discuss it through hip hop performances." However, we didn't make any money. In fact, we suffered a deficit of about 30 million won. The ticket price was 18,000 won. Still, I wanted to keep going, and fortunately, we made a small profit for the second edition. The ticket price was 27,000 won. Then, in 2015, we changed the festival's name to the 'Youth Daegu Hip Hop Festival.' The exodus of young people living in the provinces to Seoul is a social issue, isn't it? We reflected that in the spirit of the festival. After that, we couldn't hold it for a while due to COVID-19, but we held it again this year. Come to think of it, we no longer need a separate meaning or justification. I realized there wasn't anything else. Since it's been 10 years, I thought that 'Daegu' and 'hip-hop' alone would be enough. That's how it became the Daegu Hip-hop Festival.

We ranked second overall on Melon Ticket this year.

IU is first, and we are second.

And so, the Daegu Hip Hop Festival established itself as one of the oldest and largest hip hop festivals in Korea. Or perhaps, the words I just uttered stemmed from my own arrogance. "One of the biggest hip hop festivals"? As a Seoulite, was I perhaps prematurely and arrogantly saying it was "on par with, or comparable to, the hip hop festivals held in Seoul"? Sure enough, my prediction was correct. "We ranked second overall on Melon Ticket this year. IU is first, and we are second. Regardless of whether it is Seoul or not, and regardless of the region, if we speak based on data and facts, we are number one among Korean hip hop festivals."

Rappers' Respect with a Reason

There is another reason why I remember the Daegu Hip Hop Festival so vividly. It is because of the rappers' 'respect.' I think I have consistently seen it through platforms like Instagram—the rappers' affection and respect for the festival. Strangely enough, that stuck in my memory. Planner Yeo Seung-hyun explains: “There are many people who came to our festival as audience members and became rappers. For starters, Woo Won-jae is a former winner of the Daegu Hip Hop Contest we hosted in 2015. Thankfully, he mentioned that to the audience on stage. I felt incredibly proud. Loco also said he could never forget being invited to our festival during his difficult times. Jo Won-woo, who appeared on *High School Rapper* and joined Hi-Lite Records, is another case of someone who started out as an audience member before becoming a rapper.”

He continued speaking. “It is thanks to the hearts of the audience that we are able to hold the festival again this year. I conducted a survey on Facebook earlier this year regarding hosting the festival. The responses were incredibly touching. So many people gave warm answers, such as someone who had been attending our festival regularly but has now become a mother, someone who said they could never forget the 'Dokdo Defense Hip Hop Festival' because it was their first festival to participate in, and someone who expressed pride that the festival continues to be held in the Daegu region.”

I want to contribute to Daegu hip-hop.

A question suddenly crossed my mind. I know he was born in Daegu. But why doesn't he live in Seoul like so many other young people? Of course, that isn't the issue. However, what exactly is on his mind? Then, Planner Yeo Seung-hyun gave a well-organized answer, as if he had prepared it beforehand. “People in the provinces don't have many opportunities to experience live performances. The Daegu Hip Hop Festival also started from the awareness that there were no proper festivals in the provinces. In fact, people from the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions make up half of our festival attendees. I want to contribute to Daegu hip hop, and I believe I am contributing. If you look at Korean hip hop as a whole, wouldn't it probably be about 10%? I want to continue holding festivals in Daegu in the future. I want to create a festival that audiences want to attend even when they turn sixty, and I want us to be the first thing that comes to mind when people want to experience hip hop in Daegu. We intend to build history locally. And we will continue to do so.”

Illustration | The endless communion between listeners and musicians standing in front of Daegu's landmark. The illustration was created based on live photos from the Daegu Hip Hop Festival.

**External contributions to the Editorial Department are intended to provide a multifaceted perspective on local culture and industry and may differ from the views of the Editorial Department.

Kim Bong-hyun

A person who stirs up trouble with hip-hop. He is a hip-hop journalist who has been writing about music domestically and internationally since 2003, as well as a planner who organizes film festivals and produces albums. He builds his daily life by planning the話題-generating hip-hop video for the Korea Tourism Organization, running the 'Poetic Justice' project connecting poetry and rap with poet Kim Kyung-ju and MC Meta, and selecting songs for the Kakao Friends playlist. His representative works include *Korean Hip-hop, Footsteps of Passion*, *Hip-hop: How Black Conquered the World*, and *Korean Hip-hop Evolution*.