"I promised my mom we would travel to Europe last year, but it clashed with the music camp schedule. I gave up the trip, but I’m happy it led to such a great outcome and motivated me to pursue my dreams," said Kim Ji-woo, a vocalist from PLAYB4CK.
At the SK Broadband '2026 Blossom Youth Music Festival' held on August 8 at the CTS Art Hall in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, the announcement of the top prize winner, the band PLAYB4CK, brought tears of joy from the students.
PLAYB4CK is a band composed of students from Sejong Arts High School, ranging from first to third year. They participated in this year's festival with their original song 'comp4ss.' Team member Lee Won-ho stated, "After being eliminated in the preliminaries last year, I thought we should really give it our all this time. I personally sought out friends who harmonized well to form the team."
The preparation for the finals was not smooth. Instead of their originally planned song, they had to rewrite and compose a new piece that aligned with this year's festival theme of 'youth' within a tight timeframe. Kim Ji-woo explained, "I included messages in the lyrics that I want to convey to all young people, including those of us who feel anxious about the future."
Now in its fifth year, the Blossom Youth Music Festival is an ESG program initiated by SK Broadband to discover young creators in the popular music field. This year, 142 teams participated, resulting in a competitive ratio of about 18 to 1. Over the past five years, approximately 1,300 young people have taken part.
Participants underwent two rounds of preliminary evaluations and attended a music camp, where they experienced the actual music production process, from expert mentoring to recording.
The original songs from the eight finalist teams will be officially released on major domestic music platforms in September. Kim Ji-woo expressed, "I want to bring happiness and comfort to people through the music I create," while Lee Won-ho shared his aspiration to become a producer who creates music that people can easily sing along to.
Lee Jong-ho, head of the Corporate Center at SK Broadband, congratulated the award-winning youth, stating, "I sincerely congratulate the young people who won. We will continue to listen to their genuine stories and strive to support their dreams."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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