Korea | DMZ Peace Train Music Festival 2019

DMZ Peace Train Music Festival, the largest international music event held near Korea’s demilitarized zone, will return for a second year June 5-9, 2019. DMZ Peace Train Music Festival 2019 will welcome 40 artists from 14 countries, including Korea, the UK, Japan, France, Nigeria and Cuba.

DMZ Peace Train Music Festival 2019 sings songs of peace to transcend politics, economy, and ideology.

Kicking off with a two-day international conference and showcase at Seoul art theater Platform Changdong 61, Peace Train’s three-day main stages are set at the iconic Goseokjeong, in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, located near the DMZ entrance. This is the same region that hosted the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, bringing together North and South Koreans. The festival follows the one-year anniversary of the historic April 27 inter-Korean summit.

Additional performance sites include the broken train tracks at Woljeong-ri Station, the last train station at the northernmost point of the southern boundary line, the collapsed former Korea Workers’ Party Headquarters called Nodongdangsa, and a fantasy theater performance at beautiful Soi Mountain, a long-time strategic military point that was only recently opened to the public.

Ticket reservations for international attendees are free, with a 10,000 won (one-day pass) or 20,000 won (three-day pass) deposit at the entrance exchanged for a gift certificate to support Cheorwon local businesses. 

DMZ Peace Train Music Festival 2018 drew more than 10,000 local and international attendees to see performances by over 20 artists from Korea, France, the UK, Japan, Taiwan and Palestine. DMZ Peace Train Music Festival 2019 will welcome 40 artists from 14 countries, including Korea, the UK, Japan, France, Nigeria and Cuba. Legendary performers include Velvet Underground founding member John Cale, “father of Chinese rock” Cui Jian, 1970s Korean folk duo Jung Tae-choon & Park Eun-ok, and Seun Kuti leading his father Fela Kuti’s Nigerian group Egypt 80. Contemporary rising stars include global touring Korean indie-rock band Hyukoh and Cuba’s first independent record label Guampara Music, led by DJ Jigüe who has collaborated with BBC Radio 6’s Gilles Peterson. Korean-Japanese producer and DJ Little Big Bee, a former North Korean passport holder who was until recently banned in South Korea will return and perform again. Famous North Korean native pianist Kim Cheol-woong will also perform.