Arirang TV's 'I’m LIVE' to Challenge for Asia's Top Spot in International Grand Final on December 3

Arirang TV's music program 'I’m LIVE', produced by the Korea International Broadcasting Foundation, has been selected as the Korean National Winner in the Best Music or Dance Programme category at the '2026 Asian Academy Creative Awards (AACA)'.

The AACA is an international awards ceremony that selects outstanding broadcasting and video content from the Asia-Pacific region. Winners selected through national evaluations compete in the international Grand Final for the title of the region's best work. With this selection, 'I’m LIVE' will represent Korea and advance to the international Grand Final held on December 3.

A distance of 1m between musicians and the audience... A live stage where even breathing can be heard

'I’m LIVE', which began its first broadcast in March 2017, is a live music program that advocates a 'distance of 1m between musicians and the audience'. Instead of flashy stage production, it is characterized by capturing the musicians' voices and performances exactly as they are in a small concert hall where artists and the audience face each other closely.

In particular, the 'urban music listening room' concept, where the audience wears headsets instead of using speakers to enjoy the performance, is a unique differentiator of 'I’m LIVE'. The audience can vividly feel not only the subtle changes in the musicians' facial expressions but also the breathing between songs. It is conducted in a mini-concert format where artists directly compose the theme of the day and the setlist, allowing for a deep encounter with the musician's musical world in each episode.

A bridge to the global stage for K-indie... Recording over 400 stages over 10 years

'I’m LIVE' was planned to introduce domestic musicians who have excellent skills but relatively fewer opportunities for public exposure to domestic and international viewers. Over the past 10 years, representative talented musicians such as 10CM, Jannabi, AKMU, Jung Seung-hwan, and Lee Seung-yoon have taken the stage, and it has captured the diversity of Korean popular music with a wide lineup ranging from indie bands and singer-songwriters to rising artists, regardless of genre or career.

The broadcast is transmitted to approximately 140 countries through Arirang TV, and on its official YouTube channel, full episodes and live clips for each song are released in both Korean and English, allowing not only domestic music fans but also overseas viewers to enjoy the stages again at any time. The small-scale recording sites receive steady love from music fans, with thousands of applications for audience attendance pouring in for every episode.

The 'I’m LIVE' production team stated, "We are happy that the stages we have built with musicians for nearly 10 years are receiving meaningful evaluation in the Asia region," and added, "We will continue to serve as an archive recording the diversity of Korean popular music and as a channel for good music to reach more people."

'I’m LIVE' is recorded every three weeks at 7 PM at the Arirang TV studio. If you apply for audience attendance through the official Instagram, you can directly enjoy the vivid live performance at a distance of 1m from the musicians, and the recorded performances can be watched again on the official YouTube channel.

Read the original (Korean)