"‘Came to See Baek Geon-woo and Cho Seong-jin’... Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation Successfully Concludes Gyechon Classic Festival"

The Gyechon Classic Festival, hosted by the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation and organized by the Korea National University of Arts, successfully concluded in Gyechon Village, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do. Marking its 10th anniversary this year, the festival attracted around 17,000 spectators eager to see performances by Korea’s top three pianists: Baek Geon-woo, Lee Jin-sang, and Cho Seong-jin.

The Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation announced on the 3rd that the Gyechon Classic Festival, held over three days from the 31st of last month to the 2nd of this month, was successfully completed.

On the first day of the festival, pianist Baek Geon-woo met the audience with a Mozart program. On the second day, alumni of the Korea National University of Arts gathered to light up the stage. Pianist Lee Jin-sang (professor at K-Arts) and conductor Jeong Chi-yong performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 together with the KNUA Symphony Orchestra, composed of K-Arts students.

Pianist Cho Seong-jin (left in the photo) and conductor Kim Sun-wook on the stage of the Gyechon Classic Festival
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation]

The festival finale, which drew the largest audience, featured pianist Cho Seong-jin and conductor Kim Sun-wook sharing the stage. Shostakovich’s wit and humor captivated the audience through a musical dialogue between Cho Seong-jin’s piano performance and the trumpet, while Kim Sun-wook’s conducting and the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra’s precise and lively accompaniment created a perfect harmony.

This year’s event also featured various programs that attracted attention, including an outdoor art wall exhibition showcasing the festival’s history over the past 10 years, a classical music caf? where visitors could hear stories from composers, and a silk screen experience conveying environmental messages. Additionally, the Gyechon Starlight Orchestra, which brought together students from Gyechon Elementary School, Gyechon Middle School, and alumni on one stage to display pure passion, received enthusiastic responses from the audience.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Gyechon Classic Festival reaffirmed its status as a leading outdoor classical music festival in Korea. The festival has expanded its public recognition and gained popularity by ranking first in the nationwide festival trend index in April and May, and being selected as one of the 'Local Culture Awards Local 100 (Top 100 Local Cultural Attractions)' by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the second half of 2023.