Round Festival
Annual music festival involving Southeast Asian and South Korean artists
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The ASEAN–Korea Music Festival (AKMF), branded as the ROUND Festival, is an annual music festival that features performances from artists from South Korea and eleven member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam), with each nation taking turns in hosting the event. Organized and presented by KBS World, the festival aims to promote cultural exchanges between South Korea and ASEAN countries through the medium of popular music.
| ROUND Festival | |
|---|---|
ROUND Festival in 2025 | |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Inaugurated | December 6, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea |
Previous event | April 18–19, 2026 in Quezon City, Philippines |
Next event | TBA |
| Organized by | KBS World |
| Sponsor | ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund |
| Website | https://roundfestival.net/ |
The first edition of the festival was held virtually on December 6, 2020, with its first in-person edition held in Jakarta, Indonesia from October 21 to 22, 2023. The latest edition of the festival was held in Quezon City, Philippines from April 18 to 19, 2026.
Background
The ROUND Festival is organized and presented by KBS World, the international broadcasting division of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), the national public broadcaster of South Korea.[1] It is also supported by ASEAN and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea.[2]
The event is sponsored by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund, a fund established by ASEAN and the government of South Korea aimed to foster regional cooperation between ASEAN and South Korea by advancing sustainable and inclusive development across ASEAN member nations, as well as enhancing people-to-people connectivity through education, cultural exchange and tourism, and strengthening economic resilience and digital transformation in member states, among other objectives.[3]
The first two editions of the festival, held in 2020 and 2021, were organized online due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea and in Southeast Asia, with the 2021 festival being delayed until January 2022.[4] According to KBS World director Lee Han-sol, the COVID-19 pandemic also caused a planned in-person edition of the inaugural 2020 festival to be scrapped, which was originally scheduled to be held in Manila, Philippines.[5] Its first in-person festival was later held in October 2023, hosted in Jakarta, Indonesia at Beach City International Stadium. Since then, editions of the ROUND Festival are hosted in nations that hold the position of chairmanship of ASEAN in their respective years.
Broadcast
KBS World has also broadcast the festival worldwide through its television channel and on YouTube, where the recorded telecast would be split into two parts broadcast in separate days.[6] Previously, the festival was broadcast in South Korea on KBS1.[7]
KBS World's organization and broadcast of the inaugural 2020 festival won the 2021 Digital Content Award from the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU).[4]
Editions
| Year | Date(s) | Host country | Host city | Venue | Host(s) | No. of artists | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | December 6 |  South Korea |
Seoul | Nodeul Island Live House[a] | none | 20 | [8] |
| 2021 | January 9, 2022 | Chuncheon | Chuncheon Performing Arts Theater[a] | Yoon Sang | 15 | [9] | |
| 2023 | October 21–22 |  Indonesia |
Jakarta | Beach City International Stadium | Ji Hyun-woo | 18 | [10] |
| 2024 | July 6–7 | South Korea |
Busan | KBS Busan Hall | BamBam | 17 | [11][12] |
| November 2–3 |  Laos |
Vientiane | National Convention Centre | 13 | [13] | ||
| 2025 | June 21–22 |  Malaysia |
Kuala Lumpur | Zepp Kuala Lumpur | Paul Kim | 14 | [14] |
| 2026 | April 18–19 |  Philippines |
Quezon City | Araneta Coliseum | 10cm and Gabbi Garcia | 17 | [15][16] |
Line-ups
| Year | Performer(s) | Ref. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunei | Cambodia | Indonesia | Laos | Malaysia | Myanmar | Philippines | Singapore | Thailand | Vietnam | South Korea | ||
| 2020 | Dila Junaidi | Smallworld Smallband | Isyana Sarasvati | Aluna Thavonsouk | Zamaera | Thar Dee Lu | Ben&Ben | Charlie Lim | Gam Wichayanee | Vũ. & Skylines Beyond Our Reach | Daybreak, Hoppipolla, Song So-hee & Second Moon, Soran, Elaine, George, Sunwoo Jung-a, Jamie, Leenalchi, 10cm | [8][17] |
| 2021 | Dila with the Stars | Kesorrr | Barasuara | Taiy Akard | Sophia Liana | —[b] | SB19 | Linying | Two Popetorn | Mỹ Anh | Jambinai, Adoy, Sam Kim, Peppertones, Lucy, N.Flying | [18][19] |
| 2023 | Dila Aisyah & TheBoys | One Peace Band | Isyana Sarasvati, Barasuara, Pamungkas, Ardhito Pramono | Black Eyes | Gerhana Skacinta | Velocity x Jewel | SB19 | brb. | ASIA7 | Pháo | SURL, Jimmy Brown, Se So Neon, Galaxy Express, SGO | [10] |
| 2024 (Busan) |
Rizal Rasid | Chet Kanhchna | Nogei | Thinlamphone | Masdo | Bunny Phyoe | Zack Tabudlo, Josh Cullen | Jasmine Sokko | Television Off | Tiên Tiên | Touched, Nerd Connection, H1-Key, Kim Yuna, Nell, BamBam | [20] |
| 2024 (Vientiane) |
Rizal Rasid | Chet Kanhchna | Nogei | Black Eyes, Taiy Akard | Masdo | Bunny Phyoe | Kaia | Club Mild | Dept | Tiên Tiên | Nell, BamBam | [13] |
| 2025 | The Pujanggas | Tep Boprek | Yan Josua | Thay Champasak | Dolla, Marsha Milan | He' Lay | 1st.One | Yung Raja | Retrospect | Minh Tốc & Lam | Dragon Pony, Paul Kim, Touched | [21] |
| 2026 | Syafiq Abdillah | G-Devith | Pamungkas | JoJo Miracle | Mimifly | Velocity | Hori7on, Cup of Joe, Ben&Ben, TJ Monterde Project P-Pop: Rising[c] |
Regina Song | Tilly Birds | Chillies | 10cm, MeloMance | [22] |
Gallery
A live performance at the ROUND Festival in Jakarta (2023).
Indonesian and Korean crews gathered for a group shot after the 2023 show in Jakarta
View from the upper balcony of a live performance in Busan (2024)
View of the control booth and the stage in Vientiane (2024)
Cheering crowd at the ROUND Festival in Kuala Lumpur (2025)
Notes
- Held online with live and pre-recorded content due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Burmese singer-songwriter Wai La was supposed to perform at the 2021 festival as the sole Burmese representative, but the pre-recording of his performance was delayed due to the Myanmar civil war and could not be completed in time for the festival. As a result, Myanmar did not have a representative at the 2021 festival.[9]