DMZ Peace Train Music Festival | |
---|---|
Genre | Rock, Alternative rock, Indie rock, World music, Punk rock, Electronic music, Folk music |
Dates | September 2-3, 2023 |
Location(s) | Cheorwon, South Korea |
Years active | 2018 - present |
Website | DMZ Peace Train Music Festival |
DMZ Peace Train Music Festival is a music festival held in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is held close to the border with North Korea, and is intended to promote peace and unification at a place symbolizing division of the Korean Peninsula. [1] It was held as relations between the two Koreas warmed up. [2]
Hosted by Seoul City, Cheorwon County, and Gangwon Province, the event was created when Glastonbury Festival and The Great Escape Festival main booker Martin Elbourne visited Korea in 2017 and visited the DMZ with Zandari Festa organizers Dalse Kong Yoon-young and Lee Dong-yeon. Elbourne returned in January 2018 and convinced Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Gangwon Governor Choi Moon-soon and Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan to fund the festival. [3] In 2019 the event has additional sponsorship support from the Korea Tourism Organization. The festival is managed domestically, while Elbourne serves on the advisory committee alongside Stephen Budd of Africa Express and Martin Goldschmidt of Cooking Vinyl. [4]
The festival was held in various locations in Seoul and Cheorwon in its first two years. Seminars were held at Seoul's Platform Changdong 61, June 21-22, prior to the main festival days. On June 23-24, Goseokjeong Pavilion in Cheorwon right outside the DMZ served as the main venue for the free festival, with smaller limited-access events held within the DMZ at Woljeong-ri station and the ruins of the Workers' Party of Korea headquarters. Some participants took the DMZ Train to Cheorwon for a special program. [5] [6]
For 2019, DMZ Peace Train Music Festival was held on June 5-9 at Goseokjeong, as well as around the ruins of the former headquarters of the Workers’ Party of Korea as well as near Woljeong-ri station and Soisan mountain. [7] Talks were held at Platform Changdong 61 on June 5 and 6. [8] [9]
North Korea was alerted about the festival so the noise would not be misunderstood. [10]
Contrary to many participants' expectations, they reported the festival was light-hearted and the location peaceful. [11]
The first year was free entry, with 12,000 attendees RSVPing their attendance. [12] For the second year, tickets are being sold in order to help the local economy and prevent no-shows. Festivalgoers receive vouchers equivalent to the ticket price which may be redeemed at local businesses. [13]
Sex Pistols founding bassist Glen Matlock made headlines when he agreed to perform the festival, requesting organisers only cover his airfare. [14] [15] Matlock performed solo, as well as with Korean punk bands Crying Nut and No Brain member Cha-Cha. [16] [17]
It was reported the organizers wanted to invite North Korean musicians to perform, although that ended up not happening. [18]
Saturday, June 23 |
|
Sunday, June 24 |
The second festival took place during a stall in US-DPRK negotiations. [19]
The number of foreign acts increased from 12 to 17. Seoul Community Radio hosted a new dance stage at the event. [20] [21]
Former Velvet Underground member John Cale was announced as one of the foreign headliners, along with Korean-Chinese rock legend Cui Jian and Seun Kuti, son of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, and Danish punk band Iceage. [22] Additionally two former North Koreans performed: pianist Kim Cheol-woong and Korean-Japanese producer DJ Little Big Bee, who was banned from visiting South Korea until recently. [23]
The following performed in the main festival site at Goseokjeong.
Friday, June 7 |
|
Saturday, June 8 |
|
Sunday, June 9 |
|
There were also special performances held at more sensitive locations within the DMZ, including a 10-person band featuring indie musicians and dancers inspired by military music. [24]
Friday, June 7 | 1600 | Soisan Mountain | |
Friday, June 7 | 1900 | Workers' Party HQ |
|
Saturday, June 8 | 1300 | Woljeong-ri station |
|
The 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival was changed to a fee, and all-day tickets were sold for 66,000 won [25]
The following performed in the main festival site at Goseokjeong.
Saturday, October 1 |
|
Sunday, October 2 |
|
As in 2019, there was also a concert at Woljeong-ri station, and two artists participated. It received only 150 audiences. [26]
Saturday, October 1 | 150 | Woljeong-ri Station |
|
In 2023, they moved the festival week to September, and announced the first line-up involving HMLTD and Mild High Club. [27] Also Neu!'s Michael Rother was included in the lineup later. [28] From that year, the festival run a new camping site called Peace Camp. [29]
The following performed in the main festival site at Goseokjeong.
Saturday, September 2 |
|
Sunday, September 3 |
|
Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Panmun-guyok, Kaesong, North Korea, was a village just north of the de facto border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War was signed. The building where the armistice was signed still stands.
Gangwon State is a Special Self-Governing Province of South Korea and the least densely populated subdivision of the country. Gangwon is one of the three provinces with special self-governing status, the others being Jeju Province and Jeonbuk State. On the east bound by the East Sea, it borders Gyeonggi Province to its west, North Gyeongsang Province and North Chungcheong Province to its south, and the Military Demarcation Line to the north, separating it from North Korea's Kangwŏn Province. Before the division of Korea in 1945 Gangwon and Kangwŏn Provinces formed a single province.
The Korea Railroad Corporation (Korean: 한국철도공사; Hanja: 韓國鐵道公社, branded as KORAIL, is the national railway operator in South Korea. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, managed by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation.
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a heavily militarized strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It was established to serve as a buffer zone between the countries of North Korea and South Korea under the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, an agreement between North Korea, China, and the United Nations Command.
Cheorwon County, also spelled Chorwon, is a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located right next to the border with North Korea.
Hwacheon County is a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea. The northern border is, in some places, within nine kilometres of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Neighboring counties are Cheorwon to the northwest and north, Yanggu to the east, Chuncheon to the south, and the Gyeonggi-do province to the southwest. The county consists largely of mountains and rivers, between which are small farming communities, military bases and military training grounds. The area is renowned for its rivers, lake trout, indigenous otters, and natural scenery.
Chuncheon is the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea. The city lies in the north of the county, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River. There are some large lakes around the city, most notably Soyang Lake and Uiam Lake. The area has small river islands, such as Sangjungdo, Ha-Jungdo, Bungeodo, and Wido.
Sokcho is a city and major tourist hub located in the northeast of Gangwon Province, South Korea.
The United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a sub-unified command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-ready fighting forces and components under the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) – a supreme command for all of the South Korean and U.S. ground, air, sea and special operations component commands. Major USFK elements include U.S. Eighth Army (EUSA), U.S. Air Forces Korea, U.S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK), U.S. Marine Forces Korea (MARFORK) and U.S. Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR). It was established on July 1, 1957.
Woljeong-ri station is a closed railway station on the Gyeongwon Line in South Korea. It was closed by the Korean War. It is a noted place in the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
Stephen Budd is a British music industry executive based in London. He is a director of artist and producer management company Stephen Budd Music Ltd, the OneFest Festival, the Africa Express project and is the co-founder of the NH7 Weekender festivals in India. He is a recognised TV commentator on music industry issues, regularly appearing on a variety of British TV news shows. In June 2017 he completed his 3-year term as co-chairman of the MMF. He is a co-executive producer of Amnesty International and Sofar Sounds' ‘Give A Home’ global concert series. His current management roster includes the artists Dry The River and Nubiyan Twist, along with the record producers Rob Ellis, Tore Johansson, Valgeir Sigurdsson, Nick Zinner, Mike Hedges, and Arthur Verocai.
Baengmagoji station is a railway station on the Gyeongwon Line in South Korea. The station opened on 20 November 2012. This station is named after Baengmagoji, the site where the Battle of White Horse took place in 1952, during the Korean War.
DMZ Train is a South Korean excursion train operated by Korail. The train began operations in 2014 and transports tourists from Seoul to train terminals closest to the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The service was suspended in 2019 and has not yet resumed operation. Due to the aging issue of the trains, the DMZ Train ended its operation on 28 December 2023.
The September 2018 inter-Korean summit was the third and final inter-Korean summit in the 2018-19 Korean peace process.
NST & the Soul Sauce(노선택과 소울소스) is a South Korean reggae band formed in 2014. They have received critical attention for their unique blend of Jamaican genres such as reggae and dub, as well as jazz, afrobeat, funk, soul, and psychedelic, with traditional Korean music, especially pansori. Members of the band have also been part of reggae band Windy City, retro rock band Kiha and the Faces, Kingston Rudieska, and I&I Djangdan, qualifying them for "supergroup" status. They received international attention at Fuji Rock Festival for their song dedicated to late great trombonist Rico Rodriguez.
Zandari Festa is a three-day music festival and showcase held in various live music venues and other locations in the area around Hongik University in Seoul.
The Korean Workers' Party Headquarters, Cheorwon, also known as Nodongdangsa, is a three-storey building formerly occupied by North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea. It was initially situated in North Korea, but after the Korean War came under South Korean control. It is now located in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province.
Kim Jimin, better known by her stage name Meaningful Stone, is a South Korean indie rock musician. She has released her studio album: A Call from My Dream (2020).
Silica Gel is a South Korean indie rock band. The band currently consists of Kim Geonjay, Kim Chunchu, Kim Hanjoo and Choi Woonghee. Since their formation in 2013, the band has released a studio album Silica Gel (실리카겔) (2016). They won the Rookie of the Year in 2017 and the Best Modern Rock Song in 2022 and 2023 at the Korean Music Awards.