South Korean music festival plays out against discord in reunification hopes

A stone’s throw from the barbed wire and minefields that separate the two Koreas, thousands gathered for a music festival this weekend to sing about peace in a place synonymous with conflict.

The DMZ Peace Train Music Festival, named after the demilitarised zone that has separated the neighbours for seven decades, gathered artists and fans from around the world.

It was the seventh instalment since the inaugural festival was held in 2018 under the slogan: “Let’s dance for a world without borders!”

But it came at a time South Koreans, especially younger ones, seem to be giving up on the possibility of reunification.

“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,” said Jo Seong-bin, a 20-year-old student who came to celebrate the end of his midyear exams.