South Korean music festival out against discord in reunification hopes
South China Morning Post
Last updated: June 15, 2026
The DMZ Peace Train Music Festival recently took place near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a heavily fortified border. The festival aims to promote peace and cross-border exchange through music, bringing together international artists and fans.
- This year marked the seventh iteration of the festival, which began in 2018 with the slogan "Let's dance for a world without borders!".
- The event occurs amidst a period where particularly younger generations appear to be losing hope for Korean reunification.
- Festival-goer Jo Seong-bin, a 20-year-old student, expressed a sentiment of realistic hope, stating, "It may be difficult to become one country… but I hope we can at least move forward by letting go of that tense atmosphere and building more peaceful exchanges between each other."
- The festival's location, a zone synonymous with seven decades of conflict, underscores the symbolic importance of its message of peace and coexistence.
