Arirang Festival starts Friday at Seoul's Gwanghwamun area

The 2018 Seoul Arirang Festival will be held for three days, starting from Friday, around the Gwanghwamun area in Jongno, Seoul.

The sixth annual festival is held to shed new light on the value of Arirang through dance. The event is co-hosted by the Seoul Arirang Festival Organizing Committee and the Seoul Metropolitan Government and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Arts Council Korea, Korea Tourism Organization and Crown-Haitai Confectionery Group.

Various events will be held Friday to express Korea’s modern and contemporary history via dance and music, including traditional and modern dance, aimed to promote the message of harmony and peace. At the opening performance held in Gwanghwamun Square from 7 p.m., leading musicians including Kim Duk-soo Samulnori and dance group "Just Jerk," will perform.

The following day will be a day for youth artists, where the youth street dance competition will be held for the first time. The final round of the contest for young traditional music performers "Youth in Bloom" will be staged. Aspiring young artists will be invited to busk under the theme of "Gwanghwamun Music Picnic." The Gwanghwamun Music Festival, featuring singers such as rock band YB, Daybreak and Romantic Punch, will bring more excitement to the festive occasion.

On Sunday, a Samulnori group consisting of 1,178 performers will stage a parade joined by some 900 citizens and tourists. A nationwide Arirang performing contest will be held, where artists will express Arirang in their own unique fashion.


imi@donga.com