ReviewSweat, sound and 20 years of Pentaport: Why rock still matters

Heat fades away in the fiery rock vibes as people enjoy Chang Ki-ha’s performance at the 2025 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival held at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon, Friday. Yonhap

The 20th Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival provided a revealing glimpse of how outdoor music events in Korea are evolving — not only in sound, but in spirit, structure and even scent.

Arriving shortly after 7 p.m. on the first day of the festival on Friday Aug. 1, I stepped into Songdo Moonlight Festival Park just as Chang Ki-ha took the stage. Everything felt immediate — not just the music, but the heat, the crowd and the mist of citrus spray in the air.

Unlike many festivals that unfold slowly, Pentaport hurled attendees into a fully activated space — one where preparation, participation and a surprising degree of personal care seemed to converge.

New kind of preparedness

Farming volunteers are seen in this photo from July 1, 2018. Among rock festival essentials, “farming outreach” fashion — practical gear to beat the scorching heat — has become a trend. Korea Times file

Despite the blistering August heat wave, festivalgoers had claimed spots hours in advance, their picnic mats arranged in tight formations across the grass.

Many came dressed not for style, but for survival — or, more accurately, for both.

Outfits followed an unspoken code: lightweight cotton, hiking-grade sneakers and water bottles clipped to utility backpacks. It wasn’t fashion for show but fashion with a function.

Online communities shared detailed outfit guides in the weeks leading up to the event, and the advice was clearly being followed by the crowd.

"You can tell who’s new by their pants," joked Lee Jun-seo, a video producer from Busan. "If they’re dragging in the restroom, it’s their first year." At Pentaport, experience shows not in the number of wristbands you have, but in what you wear, carry and know.

People enjoy Chang Ki-ha’s performance while standing shoulder to shoulder at the 2025 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival held at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon, Friday. Most attendees wear arm sleeves and comfortable, breathable outfits to beat the heat. Yonhap

Lineup and landscape

The music delivered, even amid lineup changes. U.K. indie artist Beabadoobee’s last-minute cancellation disappointed some, but Korean electro-rock group Glen Check stepped in with an energy that fit the mood.

But if there was one act that truly stole the spotlight, it was QWER, a rising Korean girl band blending rock with a sharp edge. Initially met with some skepticism — a girl group at a rock festival? — they quickly won over even the harshest critics with tight instrumentation, fierce vocals and undeniable stage presence. Watching them, you could feel the crowd shift from doubtful to devoted. For many, that set was a turning point, a moment when new fans were born.

And of course, Chang Ki-ha’s voice echoed across the grounds, weaving a familiar thread through the day. His songs, full of wit and warmth, felt like a comforting anchor amidst the electrifying burst of energy.

Crying Nut kicked off the first day with a raw, unapologetic punk set that brought a welcome blast of early-2000s grit. Their sweat-soaked performance had the crowd moshing and singing along, a reminder of the unfiltered spirit that rock festivals are built on.

Then there was the legendary Asian Kung-Fu Generation, whose set was a masterclass in balancing nostalgia and urgency. Their familiar riffs felt like old friends returning, but contained a fresh urgency that kept everyone hooked.

As electrifying as the music was, it almost felt secondary to what the festival truly represented. In a country still finding its footing after the pandemic, the simple act of gathering to sweat together, singing side by side, standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers carried new meaning.

The festival became less about the headliners and more about the shared experience, the unspoken connection that music, in all its noise and chaos, can create.

LUSH, a U.K.-based cosmetics brand known for its handmade, ethical and environmentally friendly products, offers free samples at its booth, Friday. The booth offering LUSH products is open throughout the three-day festival. Korea Times photo by Kim Min-ji

Hygiene and the LUSH effect

More striking, however, was what the festival didn’t smell like.

For once, the portable restrooms were clean, some even astonishingly pleasant.

This was largely due to a high-profile collaboration with LUSH, the British cosmetics brand best known for its fizzy bath bombs and activist campaigns. Their presence, while initially curious, made sense in practice.

Staff members roamed the venue distributing peppermint and bergamot sprays. Rest areas were equipped with mirrors and personal care products. One attendee summed up the surprising effect: “I’ve never smelled this good during a mosh pit.”

In a setting historically defined by dust and sweat, scent became part of the experience — not as an afterthought, but a feature. It was a small Change with outsized impact, suggesting that comfort and chaos aren’t mutually exclusive.

Function, not flash

The emphasis on function extended across the venue. Medical tents were clearly marked and well-manned. Trash bags were distributed and, notably, used. Free water refill stations helped mitigate heat exhaustion.

Shade tents were scattered across the field like small sanctuaries where people could take refuge from the sweaty dance party. While festivals of this scale often overlook logistical basics, Pentaport appeared to have studied failures from previous festivals and learned.

There was a quiet flow of kindness running through the crowd too. When someone tripped, strangers were right there to help them up with no fuss and no questions.

As the sun beat down, people handed out mist sprays and towels like they’d been trained for it. One student from Busan summed it up perfectly: “It’s chaos with a conscience.” It was a wild crowd, but one with a heart.

People enjoy a live performance by the band Touched at the 2025 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival, held at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon, Friday. Yonhap

A music festival that nearly didn’t survive

That sense of presence wasn’t lost on veteran attendees.

“It’s kind of a miracle this festival is still happening,” said Lee Seo-bin, a Seoul-based marketer attending for the sixth time. “There were years it nearly collapsed — financial problems, organizational issues, even years it skipped entirely. But look at it now.”

Pentaport’s trajectory mirrors broader cultural shifts. In 2022, as Korea cautiously emerged from pandemic isolation, the return of live events felt like an exhalation. Three years later, the novelty has faded but something else has taken root: a demand for quality, care and connection.

“Back then, we just wanted to be outside,” said student Kim Hyo-jin. “Now, we want to feel like we’re part of something. Not just consuming, but participating.”

People put their hands up during Chang Ki-ha’s performance at the 2025 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival held at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon, Friday. Yonhap

Rock music, misted with meaning

Pentaport doesn’t offer the largest headliners or flashiest visuals but in its 20th year, it may have found a formula other festivals still struggle to master: how to make people stay, not just for the music, but for the environment it creates.

As a drone show illuminated the night sky on Friday, the crowd fell into a quiet kind of awe.

Sweaty, sunburnt and surrounded by strangers, the sense of discomfort was balanced by something harder to define — a shared understanding that joy, when well-designed, doesn’t have to be messy.

Rock, it turns out, isn’t dead. It’s just cleaner, kinder and slightly scented with peppermint.

Kim Min-ji is a Korea Times intern.