SUEDE

BUSAN INTERNATIONAL ROCK FESTIVAL, BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA

FRIDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2025

Photographer Yejin Cho turned her lens on Suede at the 2025 Busan International Rock Festival, capturing a set that underlined the band’s enduring allure. Brett Anderson and company brought their theatrical, sinewy energy to Samnak Ecological Park in Sasang-gu, where the annual three-day event once again reinforced its reputation as one of South Korea’s most significant live music gatherings.

Now in its 25th year, Busan Rock Festival has become a cornerstone of the country’s modern music calendar. First staged in 2000, the outdoor festival has welcomed an eclectic mix of rock, metal, and indie acts from around the globe, evolving from a free-admission local event into a ticketed international platform. The shift hasn’t been without controversy — admission, once free, began at 65,000 won in 2019 and has since risen sharply to over 230,000 won — but its commitment to artist exchange and global collaboration remains at the core of its identity.

Against that backdrop, Suede live at Busan Rock Festival was a headline moment on day one, reminding audiences why the UK outfit continues to command festival stages worldwide. Through Cho’s gallery, the drama of the night is preserved: the iconic frontman silhouetted in light, the interplay of band and crowd, and the essence of a festival that has spent decades bridging Busan with the wider world of rock.