Mokpo Music Play Draws Nationwide Attention with National Audition Competition

546 Teams Registered, 232 Participants in Their 20s, 278 Teams from Seoul and Gyeonggi Area, Popular Among Young and Metropolitan Audiences
Music Festival Embracing All Age Groups from Youngest 5 to Oldest 80

[Mokpo=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Hyeong-seok] The '2022 Mokpo Music Play' held in the city of music, Mokpo, is gaining momentum as it attracts nationwide attention.

According to the city on the 22nd, a total of 546 teams applied to participate in the 'National Audition Contest,' one of the programs of Mokpo Music Play, with 460 teams registering through the official website and 86 teams through the content platform Something App.

By age group, there were 49 participants in their teens, 232 in their 20s, 160 in their 30s, 46 in their 40s, 23 in their 50s, 15 aged 60 and above, and 21 other teams, with those in their 20s forming the majority. The youngest participant was 5 years old, and the oldest was 80, covering all age groups.

By region, 278 teams came from the Seoul and Gyeonggi area, 37 from the Chungcheong area, 51 from Gyeongsang Province, 160 from Jeolla Province, 6 from Gangwon Province, 4 from Jeju Island, and 10 from other areas. Many applicants were from the metropolitan area, and 55 teams from Mokpo showed strong interest from local citizens.

Although Mokpo Music Play is being held for the first time, it is evaluated as having established itself as a nationwide event beyond the local level from the outset.

The first round of the preliminary 'National Audition Contest' will be judged on the 24th and 25th at Hunter Global Studio (Gangnam, Seoul), selecting 60 teams. The judges are Lee Si-ha (member of the rock group The Cross), Hong Seong-min (composer), and Kim Young-seo (composer and vocal director).

The second round of preliminaries will be judged on the 3rd of next month at the Mokpo Citizens' Culture and Sports Center, selecting 20 teams out of the 60. The judges are Lee Geon-woo (lyricist), Hong Jin-young (lyricist, composer, music director), Park Hyun-woo (composer), Wi Jong-su (composer), and Son Mu-hyeon (master of Korean bands).

The 20 teams who pass the second preliminary round will compete for the final TOP 5 through offline judging at the Mokpo Music Play event venue. The evaluation will be based on 80% judges' scores and 20% public jury evaluation.

A city official said, "Mokpo is the first to turn a contest that could only be seen on broadcast media into a festival," adding, "Through Mokpo Music Play, we will lay the foundation to establish Mokpo's brand as a city of music."

Meanwhile, the '2022 Mokpo Music Play' will be held for three days from September 30 to October 2 at Gatbawi Culture Town, featuring the National Audition Contest, National Dance Battle Contest, performances by top-tier musicians in Korea, Nanyeong Jazz Theater, Mokpo Music Content Hall, music experience facilities, and other unique features and identities that cannot be seen at other festivals.

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