MBCs Music Core Broadcasts Ulsan Music Festival Highlights on June 20

When the sun dipped behind the Taehwa River, 28 of South Korea’s most promising fifth‑generation acts took center stage at the newly christened Ulsan Music Festival. On Saturday, June 20, 2026, MBC’s flagship program Show! Music Core followed them home in a pre‑recorded special that brought the festival’s energy into living rooms across the country.

The episode, the show’s 951st, was filmed on site at the Taehwa River National Garden on June 14‑15, the festival’s two‑day run. The venue, a public space that hosts the annual Cheoyong Culture Festival and the Ulsan World Music Festival, provided a lush backdrop for the event. The festival itself had recently shed its former name, the Ulsan Summer Festival, and moved to the cooler early‑summer window to better showcase the city’s growing cultural profile.

Unlike the program’s usual Saturday live broadcast from MBC Dream Center in Goyang, this episode was a pre‑recorded showcase. It aired at 7 p.m. KST and featured a lineup that spanned the breadth of the current K‑pop landscape—from established acts such as Billlie and N.Flying to newcomers like BOYNEXTDOOR, whose debut studio album Home arrived earlier that year. The hosts—A‑Na, Dohoon, and Kim Gyu‑vin, who have led the show since March 2025—guided viewers through each performance, which consisted of a single or a set of tracks from the artists’ latest releases.

The festival’s new name and schedule are part of Ulsan’s strategy to position itself as a cultural hub in South Korea’s southeastern corridor. According to a Chosun report, organizers aimed to draw visitors from nearby Busan, Changwon, and Jinju by featuring high‑profile artists and securing a national broadcast. The event’s success, reflected in a noticeable uptick in attendance, suggests that the approach is working.

The Show! Music Core special brought a wide array of acts to the screen. BOYNEXTDOOR delivered a high‑energy rendition of “VIRAL”; RIIZE performed “Bag Bad Back” and “Do Your Dance”; MEOVV sang “DDI RO RI.” Other performers included KiiiKiii’s “404 (New Era),” STAYC’s “2 LOVE,” fromis_9’s “LIKE YOU BETTER,” ALPHA DRIVE ONE’s “OMG!,” AND2BLE’s “Curious,” KickFlip’s “Eye‑Poppin’,” izna’s “METRONOME,” Billlie’s “WORK,” tripleS’s “Baby Flower,” N.Flying’s “In Between Seasons,” xikers’ “OKay,” CLOSE YOUR EYES’ “POSE,” Baby DONT Cry’s “Bittersweet,” EPEX’s “ECHO,” IDID’s “FLY!,” LUCY’s “All Ages,” Park Ji Hyeon’s “Mu,” dodree’s “LILAC,” and Mighty Mouth’s “Tok Tok” featuring Soya.

The partnership between a regional festival and a national broadcaster carries several implications. First, it offers a high‑profile platform for emerging acts such as BOYNEXTDOOR and RIIZE, helping them reach audiences beyond their home markets. Second, the exposure benefits Ulsan’s local economy by attracting tourists to its cultural venues and stimulating related businesses. Third, the collaboration reflects a broader industry trend in which regional events partner with major broadcasters to expand viewership.

Industry observers note that the festival’s lineup mirrors the current K‑pop ecosystem, with acts from a diverse range of labels—including KOZ Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and others—highlighting the genre’s pluralism. The broadcast also showcased evolving performance styles: BOYNEXTDOOR’s choreography‑heavy show leaned heavily on visual storytelling, while N.Flying’s set underscored a more rock‑oriented sound.

Viewership data, released shortly after the broadcast, shows that the special drew millions of viewers across South Korea and abroad. Ulsan’s tourism department reports increased attendance compared to previous years, and MBC has yet to announce a follow‑up episode. However, the success of the June 20 broadcast suggests that a similar partnership may be explored for future festivals.

In sum, Show! Music Core’s June 20 special served as a televised showcase of the Ulsan Music Festival’s performances, bringing together a wide array of fifth‑generation K‑pop artists and reinforcing Ulsan’s status as a cultural destination. The collaboration underscores the growing trend of cross‑platform promotion in the Korean music industry, where regional festivals and national broadcasters join forces to reach wider audiences.