Near barbed wire fences of NK, music festival to sing for peace

The DMZ Peace Train Music Festival 2019 will be held from June 5 to 9, taking place across Seoul and near the Demilitarized Zone in Gangwon Province.

On the first two days, events such as a showcase, seminar and conference will be held at culture complex Platform Changdong 61 in Dobong-gu, northern Seoul. 

The rest of the festival, including the main concerts, will be held for three days near Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, not far from the DMZ.

The opening concert will be held on June 7 at the old headquarters of the Workers’ Party of Korea -- the ruling party of North Korea -- in Cheorwon, which had been used by the Workers’ Party of Korea when the area was controlled by communist state.

More concerts will be staged at Goseokjeong Pavilion, a scenic spot near the river, Woljeong-ri Station, South Korea’s northernmost train station, and Soisan, a mountain that offers a wide view of Cheorwon.

At last year’s festival, 34 musical acts from seven countries, including Lee Seung-hwan, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, Kiha & the Faces and Crying Nut, participated.

The lineup for this year’s festival has not been revealed yet. Blind ticket sales open Monday. The preliminary lineup will be released on March 8 and regular ticket sales start March 20.

Admission can be reserved through Naver. Priced at 10,000-20,000 won ($8.90-$17.80), tickets will be refunded in the form of local gift certificates that can be redeemed in the area.

For more information, call the organizers of the DMZ Peace Train Music Festival at 070-8847-0708 or visit the website at dmzpeacetrain.com.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)