Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival marks 20th year with global acts, strong attendance
Fans dance through the night as Chang Ki-ha performs at the 2025 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival in Incheon, Friday. Yonhap
The Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival, one of Korea’s most iconic music events, kicked off its 20th edition, Friday, at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park, drawing thousands of fans despite high temperatures and weather concerns.
Running through Sunday, the three-day festival features 58 artists from around the world, including Britpop legends Pulp, marking their first-ever performance in Korea since their formation in 1978, and Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter Beck, performing here for the first time in nine years.
Opening day highlights included Korea’s punk pioneers Crying Nut, who were celebrating their 30th anniversary, and Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation closing out the show. Rising hip-hop artist Audrey Nuna, known for her work in Netflix’s "KPop Demon Hunters," will perform Sunday.
Timetable for the 2025 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival / Courtesy of 2025 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival organizers
With heat wave alerts issued around the country, the city of Incheon expanded medical cooling zones to 2,225 square meters and distributed 35,000 free water bottles to prepare for high temperatures. Incheon officials also said safety consultations and contingency plans were in place in the event of storms and strong winds.
The scents of sweat and beer were not the only thing in the air — thanks to the festival's collaboration with British cosmetics retailer Lush, which brought a hint of bath-time luxury to the festival field.
Lush products were available around the field, with portable restrooms even carrying bath and fragrance products for attendees.
The collaboration was lauded by many festivalgoers on social media, as it helped keep the crowd refreshed and ready for the summer night.
Lush products at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2025 / Korea Times photo by Kim Min-ji
“Honestly, the Lush booth this year? That was such a nice surprise,” Kim Hyo-jin, a 28-year-old student from Seoul, said. “I’ve been coming to Pentaport for years, and this time I really noticed how much the facilities have improved. F&B (food and beverage) stalls, restrooms — everything felt more organized.”
Kim, who attended her first Pentaport in 2022, said that one of the major pain points of previous years — sold-out food stalls — was now a thing of the past.
“Three years ago, I remember trying to get a bowl of the famous kimchimari-guksu, cold noodles with kimchi broth, and they were out before it even got hot outside. But this year, they were well-stocked throughout the day,” she added.
“There were cooling zones, medical tents … it felt like a real leap forward in terms of infrastructure,” Kim added.
Diverse crowd
For other longtime festivalgoers, it wasn’t just the logistics that felt different — it was the crowd.
Lee Seo-bin, a 26-year-old marketing professional also from Seoul, noticed a cultural shift among attendees.
“There were definitely more people this year who seemed new to rock culture,” she said. “What we call ‘muggles’ — people who aren’t into rock but just came to enjoy the atmosphere — made up a noticeable portion of the crowd.”
Lee, who’s been attending rock festivals since the late 2010s, said seasoned festivalgoers have seen this trend grow since the pandemic.
“People who have been going since the 2000s said that ever since COVID, the percentage of non-rock fans has gone up. And you feel that during the shows — especially in the pit. There were more people who didn’t understand pit etiquette or basic festival manners, like not tossing trash on the ground.”
Still, both Kim and Lee view the change as part of a larger, hopeful trend.
“I think if more people come to enjoy even just the rock vibes — the fashion, the energy, the community — that’s how we might get a real rock boom again in Korea,” Kim said. “So even though some of the mosh pits were a little chaotic this year, I’m staying optimistic.”
As Pentaport continues to evolve, so too does its audience — and that’s exactly what keeps its rock spirit alive.
This year’s line-up includes global names like Little Simz and Tempalay, as well as domestic favorites like Jaurim, Nerd Connection, Rolling Quartz and 3rd Line Butterfly. Deafheaven and Beabadoobee, who canceled their appearances, were replaced by Korean artists Lee Seung-yoon and Glen Check.
Launched in 2006, the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival marks its 20th edition this year. The event is hosted by the Incheon Metropolitan Government, co-organized by the Incheon Tourism Organization and Gyeonggi Ilbo, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 3.
Kim Min-ji is a Korea Times intern.