From the late 1970s to 1990s, one of the most popular Korean television programs was the “MBC Campus Music Festival.” A music festival broadcasted for university students, the program aimed to spread the youthful spirit of the university community. Broadcast nationwide, the festival brought together young talents from many universities through a contest of live performances. However, the festival was canceled in 2012 due to the steadily decreasing viewership amid the growth of new entertainment programs. To make up for the absence of a music festival exclusively for university students since then, MUNIV, as the architects of university entertainment, produce, evaluate and enjoy their own university music culture. MUNIV, a compound term that combines “music” and “university,” gathers university students who aim to create a new sphere of university culture through active production of diverse and unique cultural activities. About 100 students have collectively been part of MUNIV, and about 14 students are currently active members. Hosted every year, MUNIV Concert is one of its staple events. In 2014, MUNIV held a concert under the theme of “Kidults Day,” in a form of a party that continued from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. the next day. The event was comprised of a flea market, a Kidult theater, and various performances of five student musicians. All the activities and events of the day were set to bring nostalgia of their childhood to university students. Likewise, the 2015 MUNIV Concert “ME=[ ]” aimed to free university students from the growing pressures of academic and social competition. “Commission from M,” in 2016 was run by audience participation, with the audience playing detective and searching for the arsonist, who was one of the musicians. This year, 2017 MUNIV Concert “E-pann Sapann (All or nothing)” will be held on April 1 in Hongdae. As a concert planned and enjoyed by people in their 20s, the event is divided into a concert portion and a flea market. “The 2017 MUNIV Concert was titled after the Korean fourcharacter-idiom ‘E-pann Sa-pann’ which means all or nothing,” said Kim Hyeon-kyeong, the public relations manager of MUNIV. “It is a term frequently used express a situation where there is nothing to lose. Although there are tons of entertainment contents that target the 20s, contents directed by people in their 20s are much harder to find due to financial burden. However, despite all those factors, MUNIV Concert is planned exclusively by university students, for university students. As our title goes, we have nothing to lose.” E-pann Sa-pann targets young creators who have just jumped into society and began introducing their works to the public. “E-pann,” the concert portion of the event will be held in a concert hall at Hongdae, with performances by the final five musicial teams who have passed the first and second preliminary rounds. One team among the five will be chosen through audience votes and win a prize of one million won. The musicians were recruited through advertisements posted online, and also live cafés and pubs. Once musicians submitted their résumés and performance videos, the head of a department of MUNIV interviewed them, eventually selecting five teams. Additionally, private invitations were sent out to already established musicians whose work matched the atmosphere of the concert. “Sa-pann,” is a flea market that Muniv will hold in May. The market will be held in an open outdoor space called “Sangsaengjang,” under the theme of “Summer picnic.” The term “Sa-pann” is an acronym of buying and selling in Korean, which is a mixed form of a flea market and concert. In “Sa-pann,” the flea market becomes the venue where young creators could introduce, sell and advertise their various creations to the public. Musicians who have participated in previous “E-pann” concerts will also put on for encore performances. Although the planning for 2017 MUNIV seems smooth on the surface, the planning process had its complications. As a nonprofit organization that is run by university students, the financial issue caused the biggest problem. As a solution, MUNIV collected donations. With the financial support of more than 70 people, it was able to surpass its original donation goal. “Another problem we faced was the difficulties in the planning itself as we are not experts or students who study cultural planning,” Kim said. “Everyone was new to the job, so we had a rather chaotic start. However, as our interest in cultural planning heightened, we began to encourage each other and overcame the problem together.” Kim also emphasized the importance of communication that she learned during planning the MUNIV Concert. Not only inside the MUNIV planning group but communication between sponsors, musicians and audiences who have supported the concert was essential. Lastly, Kim stressed the youthfulness of 20s. “What MUNIV always focuses on is ‘20s’ and ‘youthfulness,’” Kim said. “MUNIV, which students gathered to open a new sphere of university culture, has already reached its fourth concert. I hope people could mark one page of their 20s with MUNIV Concert, a place of vitality and heat of the 20s.”
