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The DMZ Peace Train Music Festival will be held from June 5 to 9 in Cheorwon County

Musicians from around the world will be performing at a festival for peace that will be held near the demilitarized zone, or DMZ, which symbolizes the division of the Korean Peninsula.

Gangwon Province announced on Feb. 24 that the DMZ Peace Train Music Festival will be held on June 5-9 around the ruins of the former headquarters of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WKP) in Cheorwon as well as near Woljeong Village train station and Mt. Soi.

This public music festival is being organized by Gangwon Province, Cheorwon County and the city of Seoul to extend the mood for inter-Korean peace that has been sustained since the Pyeonchang Winter Olympics. Held for the first time last year under the tagline of “experience freedom and peace and transcend nations, politics, economy, ideology and race through music,” the festival was a big hit, with a lineup of 34 groups and artists from seven countries, including Lee Seung-hwan, Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, Kang San-ae and Jang Gi-ha and the Faces.

Once again this year, the main festival will be preceded by events aimed at giving audiences a sneak peak of the performers and fostering a discussion about the significance of bringing together musicians to play at a festival dedicated to peace on the border with North Korea. A lecture and debate will be held at Chang-dong Platform 61 in Seoul on June 5, and an announcement of the acts performing for Peace Train will be held at the same venue on June 6.

Gangwon Province. (provided by the DMZ Peace Train Music Festival secretariat)

The real Peace Train will roll out on June 8. For 170 minutes, the Peace Train will travel from Seoul Station to Baengmagoji (White Horse Hill) Station in Cheorwon County, where fierce fighting took place during the Korean War. A variety of performances and lectures about peace will take place on the train.

From June 7 to 9, various performances will be held in a number of sites around Cheorwon County. One of these sites is the former WPK headquarters, which was gutted during the Korean War, leaving just the framework of the building, which is still visible today. Another is Woljeong Village station, which is no longer in operation because it’s located closer to the southern edge of the DMZ than any other station in the country. The number of foreign music groups participating in the festival will increase from 12 last year to 17 this year, further enhancing the variety of music on the stage.

This year, the festival will be charging deposits to promote the local economy and prevent no-shows. Tickets can be bought for 10,000 won (US$8.92) per day and 20,000 won (US$17.84) for the full three days. Upon arrival, festival goers will be given vouchers equivalent to the value of their tickets that can be used at local businesses.

At 2 pm on Feb. 25, Naver will be hosting a special sale of 500 three-day tickets for just 10,000 won. The initial lineup will be announced on Mar. 8, and normal tickets (one-, two- or three-day tickets) will go on sale on Mar. 20.　

By Park Soo-hyuk, Gangwon correspondent

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