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.

The modifiers are 'this year too', 'this year even more' Daegu Hip Hop Festival

“We intend to build history locally. And we will continue to do so.” This is what Yeo Seung-hyun, the representative of the Daegu Hip Hop Festival, said when I met him late last year. It was a promise to continue trying various things in Daegu. And this year, he has already kept that promise. The Daegu Hip Hop Festival was held in Daegu again in 2023. As always, over 20,000 attendees visited over the two days. The number of foreign visitors, which usually hovers around 1,000 annually, reached 2,000 this year. Furthermore, once again this year, it held the number one spot in sales on Melon Ticket for a considerable period. There are two ways to describe the 2023 Daegu Hip Hop Festival: “This year, too,” and “This year, even more.”

There are two ways to describe the 2023 Daegu Hip Hop Festival.

'This year too', and 'this year even more'.

The rappers' affection for the Daegu Hip Hop Festival continued this year as well. Reddy expressed his respect for the festival's long history, while Paloalto introduced himself by stating that this marks his 10th year of attending. Blase said it was a stage he had wanted to stand on since he first started rapping, and Loco took the stage wearing a T-shirt commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, produced by the festival this year. The affection of the audience remained unchanged, not just the rappers. Two audience members who had visited Lee Young-ji's and Lil Malz's stages respectively last year returned to the festival this year. And just like last year, they took to the stage once again to perform (?) with the artists. Although they hadn't made a specific plan, they gathered again this year without fail. It was a moment where the rappers, the audience, and the organizers all became happy. This is the kind of scene that unfolds at the Daegu Hip Hop Festival.

How Korea Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop: Daegu Hip-Hop Festival

The slogan put forward by this year's Daegu Hip Hop Festival was (surprisingly) "The 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop." Hip hop marks its 50th anniversary this year. In the United States, movements to commemorate this began last year. This year's Grammy Awards even organized a special stage dedicated to the 50th anniversary of hip hop. And now, the Daegu Hip Hop Festival in Korea has stepped forward to celebrate hip hop's fifties by even producing commemorative T-shirts. CEO Yeo Seung-hyun explains: “We are the oldest hip hop festival in Korea, after all. So, I felt a sense of obligation. I wanted people to know that this year marks the 50th anniversary of hip hop's birth. That’s why we made the T-shirts. Initially, the purpose was to give them as gifts to artists and staff, but due to high demand, we started selling them as well. I think the very fact that we used the 50th anniversary of hip hop as the festival's title is meaningful.”

I agree. The Daegu Hip Hop Festival is

As a figure who directly commemorated the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop

It will be recorded in the history of Korean hip-hop.

I agree. The Daegu Hip Hop Festival will be recorded in the history of Korean hip hop as an event that directly commemorated the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip hop. Zeebra, who took the stage at this year's festival, is an artist invited for this very reason. In fact, it was I who suggested to CEO Yeo Seung-hyun that we book Zeebra. In the past, we grew up admiring the cutting-edge J-pop and Japanese hip hop. And now, the world is paying attention to K-pop and Korean hip hop. At this juncture, I wanted to foster a bond among Asian hip hop artists to mark the 50th anniversary of hip hop. In this context, I felt that inviting Zeebra—Asia's first rap star and a respected veteran in the Japanese hip hop scene today—to the Daegu Hip Hop Festival would undoubtedly be significant. Fortunately, CEO Yeo Seung-hyun readily accepted my proposal. Thus, Zeebra was added to the lineup as the only foreign artist for this year's Daegu Hip Hop Festival.

Zebra on stage at the 2023 Daegu Hip Hop Festival. Photo courtesy of Daegu Hip Hop Festival

Zebra delivered an excellent performance befitting a veteran. Of course, there were likely many in the audience who did not know who he was. It is perhaps natural that audience members born in the 2000s would not be familiar with Zebra, who debuted in the early 1990s. Nevertheless, class and quality are bound to be conveyed. Reviews appeared online stating, “I don’t know who he is, but it was an impressive performance,” or “He was a Japanese artist, but his rap was clearer than that of other Korean rappers.” Zebra’s T-shirt commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop—which he personally had made in Tokyo and wore, distinct from the commemorative T-shirt from the Daegu Hip-Hop Festival—also drew attention. After the performance, Zebra said in an interview: “It was a great show. Hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. It is all thanks to you. This is an achievement created together by hip-hop fans, rappers, DJs, dancers, and graffiti artists alike. I believe a 100th anniversary of hip-hop is also possible. Let’s meet again in Korea and Japan in the future. Let’s be together within hip-hop.”

It is all thanks to you.

Hip-hop fan, rapper, DJ, dancer, graffiti artist

It is an achievement created by everyone together.

It suddenly occurred to me that the reason this festival was able to use the 50th anniversary of hip-hop as its slogan was precisely because it was the 'Daegu' Hip-Hop Festival. If it had been the 'Seoul' Hip-Hop Festival, would it have been possible to use this non-commercial phrase—which is entirely focused on value and meaning—as its representative slogan? I also believe that the reason they were able to use the 50th anniversary of hip-hop as a slogan was because this was the Daegu 'Hip-Hop' Festival. This is because the people who create this festival truly cherish and sincerely love hip-hop. Choi Hye- yeon (HEYAN) , a concert planner who has been assisting with the Daegu Hip-Hop Festival for several years , also says this: “I agree with the statement that it was possible because it was the Daegu Hip-Hop Festival. It was possible because we truly love hip-hop. The Daegu Hip-Hop Festival is a festival that attracts more fans of the genre than any other.”

The structure in the provinces makes it difficult for music festivals to survive.

However, even in this reality, the festival has been going on for 11 years

It’s amazing that they have been holding it.

HEYAN continued speaking. “The structure of regional areas makes it difficult for music festivals to survive. To stay afloat, we must attract not only locals but also people from Seoul. Even then, it doesn't guarantee a profit every year. However, it is remarkable that we have been hosting the festival for 11 years despite these realities. On the other hand, I think this reality constantly compels us to consider the audience's perspective. Since sustainability depends on creating a festival that audiences want to keep coming back, we find ourselves constantly thinking from their point of view. For example, as far as I know, most festivals do not provide pre-festival training for their staff. However, the Daegu Hip Hop Festival conducts pre-festival training for its staff twice. We complete work materials in advance and send them to each team. I believe this is done for the audience. If the staff does their job well, the audience feels more at ease. In this year's audience evaluations, there was a lot of feedback mentioning that there were many friendly staff members and that they handled the situation well.”

We are not just a festival

I want to create culture and movement in Daegu.

CEO Yeo Seung-hyun says he is still replying to Instagram DMs. Not quite understanding exactly what he meant, I asked him to clarify, and this was his response. I realized exactly what the power of the Daegu Hip Hop Festival is. Daegu is writing the history of Korean hip hop. “We received a lot of DMs from people regarding the festival. There were questions, feedback, and thoughts. Since the festival ended this year, we have replied to over 10,000 DMs. We make sure to reply no matter what, even if it takes time. Come to think of it, there are still a few DMs left that I haven't replied to yet. Actually, we want to create a culture and a movement in Daegu, not just a festival. I think it is fortunate that people are gradually starting to associate hip hop with 'Daegu.' We are also working to turn the Daegu Hip Hop Festival’s social media into a medium for delivering hip hop news. Posting updates on social media serves as promotion for the artists. What would I do if a rookie rapper asked me to promote them first? Of course, I’d upload it no matter what!”

Illustration | Artist Zebra, who took the stage at this year's Daegu Hip Hop Festival as an icon of the 50th anniversary of hip hop and the bond of Asian hip hop.

**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*.