The old stars who created and founded K-pop gathered together to show that the masterpieces and emotions of those days remain the same even if the years change. Friends’ Lee Chi-hyun, Hwibus’ Lee Myung-hoon, Gun-ah’s Kwak Kyung-jae and Kim Hak-rae will hold a “Back to the Radio” concert at the Chiak Art Museum in Wonju, Gangwon-do, hosted by DJ Cho Jung-hyun.
The original 80s sentimental band, Lee Chihyun and his friends, Lee Chihyun
Lee Myung Hoon of Hwibus who made me cry
To the end of the world, “I” Kim Hak-rae, “I,” find Kwak Kyung of the “young smile” Guns who overcame everything with a smile
The emotions of the 1980s, presented by four bands with different personalities, will be filled with DJ Cho Jung-hyun’s hosting and guest Sunny Groove’s stage to showcase our brilliant 80s emotions. Singer Cho Jung-hyun, who was in charge of the concert, said, “It is regrettable that singers who made a big mark in the music industry in the 70s and 80s gradually disappear as the stage of their performance decreases, so we made a performance of talented singers who were active at the college song festival in the 80s.”"We also hope to offer a 7080 concert stage to all trot episodes to provide opportunities for senior citizens in their 60s and 70s to watch various music programs,” he said.Meanwhile, Lee Chi-hyun, the eldest member of the cast, said that with the full support of incumbent radio DJs who welcome the 7080 concert stage, they can receive invitations to perform on transportation broadcasts “Won Mi-yeon’s K-pop,” KBS 2 “Im Baek-cheon’s Back Music,” and SBS Love FM’s “Choi Baek-ho’s Romantic Era.”Tickets are on sale at Interpark and the travel app “Waffle Stay.”

TED PARK

ASIA JOURNAL

The Korea Women’s Baseball Federation said, “On June 18, the 2022 Women’s Baseball Festival will be held for women in the first baseball field of Nanji Hangang Park in Seoul. If you’re a woman who likes and enjoys baseball, you’re the star of this event.”

The event is hosted and organized by the Korea Women’s Baseball Federation under the purpose of “activating women’s baseball and expanding the base,” and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. In line with the purpose of the event, various experiences and events were held so that women could not only watch baseball but also participate in person.It has already been 15 years since the federation was formed, and festivals are held steadily every year. Led by the sixth chairman (Jung Hee-hwang), the vice president of the administration, the advisors of the first to fifth former chairmen, and former professional baseball leaders are composed of advisors.

Among several countries (US/Korea/Japan/Taiwan) where Korean players play in the U.S. Major League and have professional leagues, popular sports baseball will already be of constant interest to the public. Of course, it may be considered a spectator sport, but the U.S./Japan, which already has a solid foundation and base beyond women’s participation and fostering sports as players, has a considerable number of domestic leagues and players. It is regrettable that in Korea, it is still supported by the government as part of social sports, or hobbies.

However, even with poor support such as players and coaches, passion and effort can be felt great. Of course, the annual women’s baseball festival is seen as a representative event for it

The opening ceremony was held at 1 p.m. on the 18th. Various events and events are held before and after the opening ceremony. Women’s baseball promotion and experience zones and flea markets were held at the square around the first baseball stadium in Nanji Hangang Park. Then, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 18th, the Women’s Baseball Promotion and Experience Zone will be operated, allowing various people, including women’s baseball players as well as family and friends, to enjoy baseball together. The federation gave small souvenirs to participants who participated in events and experiences

After the opening ceremony, there was a friendly match between women’s national baseball players and youth baseball players, and it was a place where you could see the present and future of women’s baseball in one place.

The festival lasted until the 26th. On the 19th, 25th, and 26th, women’s baseball players played as scheduled at Nanji Hangang Park 1st Baseball Stadium and Hwaseong Dream Park Women’s Stadium. The game was watched for free.

KILSUNG CHOI

ASIA JOURNAL

The ‘World Music’, as one of the music genres, broadly speaking, refers to the music of the world’s cultures, including indigenous or traditional folk music. In the 1980s, the term was used to characterize non-English recordings that were released in the UK or the US. Previously, international music had limited terminology as a catch-all term for its roster of international artists from Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. There have been some critics about the term’s exclusive implication which is just a subtle way of reasserting the hegemony of western pop culture, as David Byrne said through his writing in the New York Times.

Now, however, with the internet and streaming services providing endless hours of musical discovery, the audience can reach far beyond the meaning of “world music”. Sometimes the term ‘world music’ can be toxic for them, but marginalized genres still need a term which can characterize them. If you want to meet the artists and music effectively, Jeonju International Sori Festival would be the best choice.

Jeonju International Sori Festival has put together world music from around the globe. Artists playing different and diverse genres could exchange their music, inspiration, experiences and ideas. The Festival, founded in 2001, is an international music festival where people can experience a variety of performances in one place, including master-class artist performances that are gaining global fame in each field without being biased to specific music genres. When the festival first started, nobody paid attention to this new challenge. However, it became one of the “Best 25 International Festivals” selected by Songlines, a renowned British world music magazine, for the fourth consecutive year – from 2012 to 2015.

The festival was held from Sept 29 to Oct 3, which was full of traditional, religious, classical music and experimental and modern music suitable for all generations. All of these music are a truly huge festival, tightly organized for five days. The main theme – “To preserve is the same as to revamp. Because they both make us alive.” – left huge cultural implications to the participants.

The festival also has presented Korean traditional music including Pansori which was registered as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO and promotes exchange with other musics. As the historical records say, the Korean people have been renowned for their enjoyment of song and dancing since ancient times. Pansori – the epic chant of Korea – is a traditional folk music played from hundreds of years ago, which stirred the hearts of Koreans for ages. “Pan” signifies the place of performance while “sori” means the sound. This indigenous and traditional music is often compared to Western operas with a huge stage, orchestra and a chorus, but it is a storytelling performance created only by a solo vocalist and a drummer. Pansori does not have a musical score and has only been transmitted orally. Its story also mainly originated from orally transmitted folk tales. One interesting point is that sometimes the singer improvises in accordance with the instant feeling or the situation at that moment. At the festival, sorikkuns – the singers of Pansori – showed cross-genre performances in the collaboration with pop or contemporary rhythms.

The Jeonju International Sori Festival 2021 offered a greater cultural experience with diversity. Participating artists said that they could be inspired while listening to other artists’ music and that it was great because they each had unique style and culture. Artists and audiences shared the real value of each traditional music of today but also preserving its original forms, and dreaming of the tomorrow through creative challenges and collaboration with other genres. Audiences are already looking forward to the next festival which will have so much to enjoy without masks on their face.

Kayla Hong

Asia Journal

Along with the spread of Iron Age culture and the formation of farming society, powerful kingdoms such as Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla gradually were established in Manchuria and on the Korean Peninsula. This era dominated by the three kingdoms is called ‘The Three Kingdoms Period of ancient Korea (57 BCE – 668 CE)’. These states were in constant rivalry, and so they formed ever-changing alliances one with another.

Gwanbukri Historic Sites in Buyeo

An 8.3m high five-story stone pagoda in Jungnimsa temple site in Buyeo

Archaeological Site in Wanggung-ri in Iksan

Naseong City Wall in Buyeo

Stone pagoda in Mireuksa Temple Site in Iksan

Goguryeo was the first of the three to strengthen a king-centered sovereignty and was a highly militaristic state. Silla had the slowest development of the three and took the last-mover advantage. On the other hand, Baekje, which is in the limelight of this writing, was the cultural powerhouse of the three kingdoms. Three successive capitals of Baekje divide the history into three periods: Hanseong Period (present-day Seoul, 18 BCE– 475 CE), Ungjin Period (Gongju, 475 – 538 CE), and Sabi Period (Buyeo and Iksan, 538 – 660 CE). Unfortunately, there are few surviving buildings from this ancient period. However, archaeology and surviving tombs and their artefacts have led historians to identify the principal characteristics of palace and temple architecture throughout our period.

Dong-ju Lee Ph.D, the director of Baekje World Heritage Center

The art and architecture of the Baekje kingdom are generally considered the finest of the three. According to Dong-ju Lee Ph. D, the director of Baekje World Heritage Center, Baekje harnessed the ‘Soft Power’ approach to foreign policy and played a critical role as a hub of the development of ancient culture on the Korean Peninsula. As the superiority and historical value of its relics were internationally recognized, Baekje Historic Areas became the most recent addition to Korea’s UNESCO World Heritage catalog, being put on the famed list in July 2015.

Gonsanseong Fortress in Gongju

Neungsanri ncient Tombs in Buyeo

Baekje Historic Areas, located in the mid-western region of the Republic of Korea, is a serial nomination of archaeological resources that are intimately associated with the capitals of Baekje particularly related to the Ungjin and Sabi periods. The eight components includes Gongsanseong Fortress and royal tombs found in Gongju; the Busosanseong Fortress and Gwanbok administrative buildings, Jeongnim Temple, Neungsan royal tombs, and the Naseong city wall located in Buyeo; and the Wanggung Palace and Mireuksa Temple in Iksan.

Royal tombs of Songsan-ri in Gongju

These nominated properties, according to UNESCO, are an exceptional testimony to the active interchange that evolved between Korea, China, and Japan during the ancient times. Despite the conflicts between China and the various Korean states over the centuries, Baekje and China were frequent trading partners and close cultural ties with free-willing agents. Baekje adopted literature, burial practices, religion and elements of art and construction from China, further developed them by itself, and transmitted them to Japan and other neighboring countries. Many surviving wooden buildings in Japan contain elements of Baekje architectural design as a great number of Baekje craftsmen went there when Wa Japan was an ally.

Bakje World Heritage Festival 2021

Descents from Baekje gather to reincarnate the glory of Baekje arts this summer.

Festival Director Jung-min Byun

Based on the historical facts, Baekje Heritage Center holds “ Baekje World Heritage Festival ” from August 13th to 29th. It consists of 22 different events. Dynamic performance was organized under the baton of Jung-min Byun director to express four values of Baekje relics ㅡ ‘dynamics’, ‘revival’, ‘coexistence’, and ‘harmony’ ㅡ into four different scenes. The choreography was directed by a rising choreographer, Hyo-jung Ahn who is also the CEO of ‘The Creative Pan’. According to director Byun, music and performance were arranged and recreated from the traditional styles of Baekje. The closing ceremony shows the crystal ball of light, the heart of Baekje’s heritage, being delivered to the children of the future, conveying a message that now is not the end, but the beginning. You can enjoy the festival both online and offline in Korea so that it can be an opportunity to resound the superiority of Baekje Historic Areas to global populations.

As evidence of the unique cultural traits and traditions that differed from China and Japan and that flourished on the Korean Peninsula, Baekje Historic Areas should be considered as ‘world heritage’ not as a local or regional relics. Under conservation management, this heritage should be passed down to the next generations. Baekje World Heritage Festival 2021 will let the legacy continue for ages.

Kayla Hong

Asia Journal