Rock festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair coming to Korea in July

Legendary rock festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair is coming to Korea in July, said performance production agency SGC Entertainment during a conference Friday at the Korea Press Center in Jung District, central Seoul. In memory of the 70th ...

Legendary rock festival Woodstock music and art fair is coming to Korea in July, said performance production agency SGC Entertainment during a conference Friday at the Korea Press Center in Jung District, central Seoul. From left, music critic Lim Jin-mo, SGC's CEO Kim Eun-soo and production director Kim Tae-han attended the conference. [YONHAP]

Legendary rock festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair is coming to Korea in July, said performance production agency SGC Entertainment during a conference Friday at the Korea Press Center in Jung District, central Seoul.

In memory of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War (1950-53) reaching an armistice, Woodstock 2023 will take place in Korea from July 28 to 30 under the slogan “freedom, peace and love.”

Under an official copyrights contract, this is the first time that Woodstock will be held outside of the United States, where it started in 1969. Legendary acts such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin have played at the festival.

After the first event in 1969, Woodstock festivals were held in 1994, 1999 and 2009 to each celebrate its 25th, 30th and 40th anniversaries.

“The 1960s saw The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin; it was the heyday of pop music,” said music critic Lim Jin-mo at Friday’s conference. “If I was to choose an intellectual property symbolizing that time period, it would be Woodstock. It’s more than a festival; it’s the symbol of live performances. This is making history.”

There was an attempt to host Woodstock in Korea in 2010, but issues regarding the festival name’s copyrights as well as gathering a lineup of artists meant it never happened.

Woodstock 2023’s lineup has not been revealed yet, but there are plans for some 30 performances, according to SGC Entertainment.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]