The First Buskers World Cup in Gwangju

Once again establishing itself as a city of the arts, Gwangju is going to hold the very first Buskers World Cup in October 2022. Artists and musicians from all over the world have applied, and we expect a huge turnout at the event. We at the Gwangju News wonder how this event is being organized and about its backstory. So, we tracked down the people at Gwangju’s Dong-gu District Office – the main organizer of the event – to get more information. Below is our interview.

Gwangju News (GN): Thank you for agreeing to this interview and congratulations on organizing the very first Buskers World Cup competition! This seems to be a very big event. Why Gwangju? Also, how did this event fall into place, and who is responsible for its realization?
Dong-gu: Gwangju has been called Korea’s “City of Culture and Art” because it is a place where people appreciate art and that has produced many artists. Gwangju has its own unique musical characteristics, and it can be said that it is the birthplace of Korean music, from pansori, a traditional form of Korean music, to K-pop.

Gwangju is also a city of democracy, human rights, and peace. It is no exaggeration to say that democracy in Korea began in Gwangju. The May 18 Democratization Movement in Gwangju has had and is having an impact on the world, such as the “Jasmine Revolution” and the “Myanmar Spring.” While busking symbolizes freedom and peace, it interlinks with Gwangju’s values of “democracy and peace.” That is why the “Buskers World Cup,” with the values of “freedom, equality, and peace,” is being held in Gwangju, the “City of Art” and the “City of Freedom and Peace.”

In addition, Gwangju has been hosting the Chungjang Festival for the past 18 years, which is designated as a representative festival by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. We will hold the Buskers World Cup at the same time as the Chungjang Festival as well. The event is being organized by Gwangju Dong-gu District Office and is sponsored by both the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and Gwangju Metropolitan City. The Global Festival Promotion Team of Gwangju City Dong-gu and the Festival Secretariat are working together to coordinate the event. We want to create a festival where many musicians from all over the world come together to sing freedom and peace together. And through music, we would like to highlight the importance of “coexistence” in the world along with many issues like freedom, equality, peace, the climate crisis, etc. We think that is the true prize of the championship.

GN: Being the very first world cup competition for busking, could you tell us more about how people can participate? Is it open to both Koreans and foreigners?
Dong-gu: Any music busker who sings about peace and freedom can apply and join. Also, there is no discrimination between Korean and foreign musicians when it comes to busking.

GN: How do you select the participants, and how will the event take place? Where can we see it?
Dong-gu: Based on the videos submitted to the Buskers World Cup website, in the first round of the preliminary rounds, the jury will comprehensively evaluate the musicality, originality, skill, talent, and popularity of participating teams, and then select teams to advance to the second preliminary round. The teams that pass the first round will need to send their second preliminary song by July 25, and then 120 teams from the final qualifying teams will be determined. The jury consists of six members, including Joo Cheol-hwan (currently an Ajou University professor and former MBC Star PD) as the jury chairperson, Jo Jung-sun (former MBC Radio PD), DJ So Su-ok, Professor Chung Won-young, a jazz pianist, composer and singer, lyricist and composer Lim Heon-il, and singer Kim Won-jung.

Starting with the welcoming ceremony for participating teams on October 7, the finals will be held live on-site from October 8–16. They will compete using their skills on the stage of the May 18 Democracy Plaza. Stages will be set up all over Gwangju, including at May 18 Democracy Plaza, ACC Haneul Madang, Sangmu District Food Alley, Yangrim Five-way Intersection, Chonnam University Back Gate, Gwangsan-gu Ssanam Park, and the former City Hall Intersection.

GN: What has been the reaction from the public so far, and how many participants have applied?
Dong-gu: It has been wonderful. Gwangju residents are very interested in this event, as the Buskers World Cup will be the very first time the Chungjang Festival will be a global one. We hope that the Buskers World Cup will become a global event that extends beyond Korea. As a result of recruiting audition participants from May 2 to June 27, 539 teams from 46 countries applied as participants. And as of the writing of this article, 251 teams consisting of 638 people from 36 countries have been selected for the second preliminary round. They consist of 151 teams of 485 people from Korea, and 100 teams of 153 people from overseas.

The first-place winner will receive a trophy and a cash prize of 100 million won, while the second-prize winner will receive 30 million won. In third place, two teams will receive 10 million won each, and the four teams that come in fourth place will receive 5 million won each. Finally, the eight teams that get fifth place will receive 3 million won each. We will also support the 16 teams that made it to the finals to become stars through invitations to festivals and celebration performances in the future.

GN: We understand that Gwangju is a city of art known worldwide through its Biennale and World Music Festival, but what do you think of Gwangju as a place for musical performers and busking in particular?
Dong-gu: Gwangju played a pivotal role in the history and tradition of Korean music through both the Japanese colonial and democratization periods. Recently, with the strengthening of K-pop and Korea’s status as a cultural exporter, people around the world are increasingly interested in Korea, which has produced numerous world-famous singers such as J-Hope from BTS. Gwangju, which has established itself as a world-class city representing democracy, peace, and human rights, is now hosting the Buskers World Cup, and it is a golden opportunity to spread the core values and spirit of Gwangju to the world through music, the language that unites the global village. In Gwangju, music artists have freedom of expression. Here, many artists are busking all over the city. There are places that require a special permit to perform, but in general, if you are not obstructing pedestrians, and there is not any issue with the content of the performance, you can freely busk. We hope that through the global participation and interest in the Buskers World Cup, the status of Gwangju, a city of culture and tourism, will be raised.

GN: What is your plan for the Buskers World Cup in future?
Dong-gu: We hope to hold the event annually. Invitations to next year’s event will also be given to the 16 teams that make it to the finals this year. This year is the first, so it will probably be an adventure. If we make improvements every year, it may continue for five or 10 years, or maybe 50 or 60 years. We hope that five or 10 years from now, buskers from all over the world will fill Gwangju, and the streets will reverberate with busking, attracting people from all around the world to Gwangju in October to see this festival.