BUSAN — The sound of the waves crashing against the shores of Haeundae Beach filled the air as the salty smell of seawater gently blew past the excited audience’s faces on Thursday night, the first day of the K-Music Season Good Night Concert.

Shining brighter than the fluorescent lights of Busan’s skyscrapers in the background were the different-colored lightsticks held by fans of the K-pop bands that were set to perform on Thursday — an overwhelming majority in neon green to represent boy band NCT Wish’s fans. The color worked in harmony with the other lightsticks for xikers, tripleS, POW, UNIS and NouerA.


The beach was filled with some 10,000 audience members seated along the coastline.

“The waves are just so beautiful. When will we ever get to perform at such a beautiful place?” said Yorch of boy band POW, looking over to the vast dark sea after performing the band’s dance track, “Valentine.” The band also performed its debut and pre-debut tracks, “Dazzling” (2023) and "Favorite" (2023).

“We performed at last year’s Good Night Concert at the Busan Cinema Center,” leader Jungbin said. “This year, we’re here at Haeundae. And I think that we’ll be waiting for the Good Night Concert every autumn.”

This year’s K-Music Season Good Night Concert, hosted by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) and funded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Busan Metropolitan City Government, kicked off its three-day run with performances by six up-and-coming K-pop acts that had all debuted within the last couple of years or will be set to make their official debut soon, which is the case for boy band NouerA.

NouerA is a boy band that was put together from the winning team of KBS2's audition program “MakeMate1,” which aired between May and July this year. The band is set to make its debut in January next year. The band sang a dance remake of rock band DAY6’s “Time of Our Life” (2019) along with two of its own songs “Make It Bounce” and “Higher Wire.”

“I’m so happy to be able to perform our song on this beautiful beach,” member Lin said.

“We’ll be making our official debut next year and we’re preparing so hard for it. We hope you look forward to what we have in store for you,” Jang Hyun-jun said.

Another audition-formed group, UNIS, took the next stage. UNIS was put together from the winning team of SBS audition show "Universe Ticket" (2023) and debuted in March this year with the EP “We Unis.” Member Hyeonju hosted Thursday’s event along with Hyunbin from POW. UNIS performed its songs “Poppin’,” “Superwoman” and “Curious” as well as “Very Very Very” (2016), a song by another audition-formed girl group I.O.I.

“Tonight feels so romantic,” UNIS' Yunha said. “It feels amazing. Thank you for such a wonderful memory.”

Other groups also expressed their amazement at the beauty of the beach, especially its harmony with the evening.

“I’m a Busan person, so it’s so wonderful to be able to perform here so close to my home,” said Seo Da-hyun of tripleS. “It’s my first time performing in my hometown, and it feels so overwhelming to think that I used to be the person walking past the beach when I was in middle school. My parents are here tonight as well, and today will truly be an unforgettable day for me.”

Twelve members of the whole 24-member girl group tripleS came to Thursday’s performance, performing its 2024 hit song “Girls Never Die” along with its iconic, empowering dance tracks “Rising” (2023), “Invincible” (2023) and “Girl’s Capitalism” (2023).

The audience became more heated as the event progressed into the night, with performances from two of the hottest rookies in K-pop, xikers and NCT Wish. NCT Wish made its debut in February this year as the latest subgroup of the NCT franchise, and xikers debuted in March last year as the second boy band from KQ Entertainment, home to boy band Ateez.

xikers performed five songs: "We don't stop," "Do or Die" (2023), "Rockstar" (2023), "Bittersweet" and "Witch."

"I feel like my butt has become flat because we were on a six-hour bus drive from Seoul to come here," leader Minjae of xikers said. "But seeing how beautiful it is here in Busan, all of that fatigue has all gone."

Zealous fans of NCT Wish went into a frenzy when the band stepped onto the stage. Fans moved their plastic chairs closer to the stage, while some even climbed over the chairs to grab some empty seats left by people who left earlier on in the evening.

"I can't believe all the [fan club] NCTzen are here today to see us. Can you wave your hands for us?" Sion said, starting a whole neon green lightstick wave in the crowd. "We're starting our Asia tour soon, and I hope you'll be as enthusiastic as you are tonight."

"We are going to perform our best songs for you, and your support will cheer us up so much," Jaehee said.

NCT Wish closed the night with five of its songs: "Steady," "Dunk Shot," "Wish," "Hands Up" and "Songbird."

The Good Night Concert first began last year with four days of cross-genre performances. The 2024 edition has been held as part of the Busan’s holistic festival integration, dubbed Festival Shiwol, along with 16 other major culture festivals held in the city, such as the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

The remainder of the Good Night Concert will continue with ballads and R&B on Friday, featuring NCT member Doyoung, Ha Hyun-sang, Band Nah, Hynn and Catch the Young. The final day will dazzle, with trot singers Jang Yoon-jung, Kim Hee-jae, Park Ji-hyeon and Hwang Yun-sung.

Tickets for the K-Music Season Good Night Concert are priced at 5,000 won ($3.80) per night, much cheaper than typical K-music concerts. Tickets are also available for purchase on site.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]