Starbucks Korea opens store stages to young artists in Starlight Live series
In short
Starbucks Korea said it is running its youth arts support program “Starlight Live” at five stores nationwide from this month through March next year, giving young artists performance stages inside its cafes. The company said the performers were selected from about 650 teams that applied in an August open recruitment, and that the first show was held on Oct 4. Further performances are scheduled for Oct 10, 17, 24 and 31 at stores in Yeosu, Sejong, Osan and Gyeongdong.
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Starbucks Korea said it will run its youth arts support program “Starlight Live” at five stores nationwide from this month through March next year, turning cafe space into performance stages for young artists. The company said the program is operated with the Korean Culture and Arts Committee and is intended to give young artists with relatively few performance opportunities a stage, while offering customers access to culture in daily life. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Starbucks said it selected this year's performers through an open recruitment in August and that about 650 teams applied. The selected musicians work in acoustic, jazz, classical and gugak genres, according to the company and the reports. ZDNet Korea said the performances will run for about six months, from this month to March 2027. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The first performance was held on Oct 4 at the Jangchung Lounge R store. The company said further performances are scheduled for Oct 10 at The Yeosu Dolsan DT store, Oct 17 at the Sejong Arts Center store, Oct 24 at the Bukosan IC DT store and Oct 31 at the Gyeongdong 1960 store. It said the schedule and artist information can be found on the Starbucks app and website. [ 1 , 2 ]
Starbucks said the program has held more than 550 performances since 2018, with about 1,000 young artists having taken part. Kim Ji-young, head of the company's ESG team, said Starlight Live gives young artists a stage where they can meet customers directly, and that the company will continue supporting young cultural and arts talent so they can show their abilities. [ 1 , 2 ]
Maeil Business reported that the industry is watching how the company combines cultural and arts support with a strengthened in-store experience, and described cooperation between a public institution and a private company as a model. Parts of its copy were written in promotional language about the program. [ 3 ]
Newsis's headline said Starbucks is continuing Starlight Live in October with young artist stages. The article text carried by the service was about a separate story on hacking in the financial sector and did not cover the program. [ 4 ]
Why it matters
The program is a corporate cultural-support effort that places young musicians in front of cafe customers rather than in concert halls, and Starbucks said it has already run more than 550 such performances since 2018. One business outlet framed it as a way for the chain to combine arts sponsorship with a stronger in-store experience, a combination other retailers may watch. The event's relevance to readers outside Korea is limited.
Key facts
- Starbucks Korea said it is running the “Starlight Live” performance program at five stores nationwide from this month to March next year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The program is operated with the Korean Culture and Arts Committee and provides store space as a stage for young artists. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Starbucks said more than 550 performances have been held since 2018, with about 1,000 young artists taking part. [ 1 , 2 ]
- About 650 teams applied in the August open recruitment for this year's performances. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The selected artists perform acoustic, jazz, classical and gugak music. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The first performance was held on Oct 4 at the Jangchung Lounge R store, with further shows scheduled for Oct 10, 17, 24 and 31. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Kim Ji-young, head of Starbucks' ESG team, said the program gives young artists a stage to meet customers directly. [ 1 , 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Starbucks Korea said it is running the Starlight Live program at five stores from this month to March next year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The program is run with the Korean Culture and Arts Committee. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Starbucks said more than 550 performances have been held since 2018 with about 1,000 young artists taking part. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The first performance was held on Oct 4 at the Jangchung Lounge R store. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Kim Ji-young is head of Starbucks' ESG team and gave the company's comment on the program. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- How many artists or teams were selected for this year's program. The documents give the number of applicants (about 650 teams) but not the number selected; Maeil Business describes choosing outstanding artists from among the 650 teams without a figure.
- The full content of Newsis's report on the program. Only its headline concerns the event; the article text carried by the service is about a separate story on hacking in the financial sector, so it could not be used.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- ZDNet Korea reports that Starbucks Korea will continue Starlight Live performances from October, naming the five stores and the Oct 4 first show. [ 1 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports the program will run from this month to March next year at five stores nationwide. [ 2 ]
- Maeil Business reports the program and notes industry attention to combining arts support with store experience. [ 3 ]
- Newsis publishes a headline saying Starbucks is continuing Starlight Live in October with young artist stages. [ 4 ]