KOREA FOUNDATION

The KF Cheonggyecheon Music Festival was celebrated in the heart of Seoul along the Cheonggyecheon Stream on September 22–24. The annual fall event was held at the open-air stage in Hanbit Plaza in front of the Center One Building. This year’s festival was bursting with international flavor, as artists from seven countries took audiences on a global musical tour, stopping off in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Turkey, Angola, Paraguay, the Netherlands, and France.
   The festival was launched with the opening performance by the up-and-coming jazz group Node Sky. Performers included a Costa Rican duo playing the clarinet and guitar; a famous Ecuadorean singer introducing the country’s traditional music; an Angolan musician rendering fusion numbers combining African folk music with Western pop and jazz; a Turkish band playing the kanun, a traditional instrument from their native land; a Paraguayan orchestra using instruments made from recycled objects related to water; a jazz group from the Netherlands; French musicians playing the 1960s hits of Korean singer Bae Ho; and the Little Harmony choir of Seoul Arts Center.
   The musicians from Costa Rica, Paraguay, France, and the Netherlands also brought joy to the citizens of Cheonan, Suwon, Incheon, Jeonju, and Gwangju, as they performed under the KF banner as part of efforts to promote cooperation with provincial administrations.