This year’s Seoul International Music Fair, or MU:CON, is set to see an impressive lineup of 51 artists, including alternative bands Hyukoh and Kiha & The Faces, K-pop groups B1A4 and GFriend and power vocal acts such as ALi and Mamamoo.

Of the 51 teams set to appear onstage in next month’s event, 16 are rock or alternative rock bands, the organizer Korea Creative Contents Agency said in a press release. The bands include Hyukoh, a four-member act that has recently soared to stardom with its indie pop-rock tunes, the established alternative folk rock band Kiha & The Faces, the hard-rock trio HarryBigButton, the dance-punk band Rock N Roll Radio and more.

Featured in the dance and electronic section are six artists including the quickly rising girl group and vocal powerhouse Mamamoo, synth-pop electronic quartet W&JAS, electro-rock duo Love X Stereo and electronica trio Idiotape, which has gained popularity for its diverse, synth-driven rhythms and performed at the South By Southwest music festival in Texas this March. 

The rap, hip-hop and rhythm and blues section will present the soulful vocalist ALi, eight-member jazz band Soul Train, rapper Deepflow and hip-hop duo Eluphant, while the pop-jazz crossover section will see retro girl group The Barbarettes and nine-member ska band Kingston Rudieska, among others.

Also featured will be foreign musicians such as Joe Flizzow, Hoolahoop and The KDMS, from Malaysia, Indonesia and Poland, respectively.

Artists participating in MU:CON’s showcase will be given the opportunity to attend the “Production Masterclass” and collaborate with foreign producers such as Nate “Danja” Hills, who has worked with world-class artists like Usher and Chris Brown, hip-hop sound engineer Dave Aron and Grammy-winning producer and engineer Mauricio Guerrero.

The annual MU:CON, which is currently in its fourth consecutive year and hosted by the state-run KOCCA, is an international music market and fair that aims to expand the reach of Korean music abroad and bring together industry professionals.

The fair not only offers a chance for established bands to showcase diverse colors of Korean music to the world, but also allows up-and-coming artists to gain exposure to international audiences and industry personnel, artists said.

“For new bands like ours, there aren’t many ways to promote ourselves,” said Song Seul-gi of funk-jazz band A-Fuzz, which was assembled only a year ago. “It’s a great opportunity to experience a large-scale event and network with global industry insiders.”

MU:CON will also be hosting a conference on the Asian music market, featuring industry leaders such as president of SM Entertainment Kim Young-min and Shi Ying, founder of the Chinese portal site Yinyuetai, which is the Chinese equivalent of video platform YouTube.

This year’s event will take place from Oct. 6-8 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. For more information, visit www.mucon.kr.

By Rumy Doo (bigbird@heraldcorp.com)