18
The First Buskers World Cup in Gwangju
Gwangju News, August 2022
gwangjunewsgic.com
FEATURE
Once again establishing itself as a city of the arts, Gwangju is going to hold the very first Buskers World Cup in October 2022. Artists and musicians from all over the world have applied, and we expect a huge turnout at the event. We at the Gwangju News wonder how this event is being organized and about its backstory. So, we tracked down the people at Gwangju’s Dong-gu District Office – the main organizer of the event – to get more information. Below is our interview.
G
wangju News (GN): Thank you for agreeing to this interview and congratulations on organizing the very first Buskers World Cup competition! This seems to be a very big event. Why Gwangju? Also, how did this event fall into place, and who is responsible for its realization? Dong-gu: Gwangju has been called Korea’s “City of Culture and Art” because it is a place where people appreciate art and that has produced many artists. Gwangju has its own unique musical characteristics, and it can be said that it is the birthplace of Korean music, from pansori, a traditional form of Korean music, to K-pop.
Gwangju Dong-gu District Office and is sponsored by both the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and Gwangju Metropolitan City. The Global Festival Promotion Team of Gwangju City Dong-gu and the Festival Secretariat are working together to coordinate the event. We want to create a festival where many musicians from all over the world come together to sing freedom and peace together. And through music, we would like to highlight the importance of “coexistence” in the world along with many issues like freedom, equality, peace, the climate crisis, etc. We think that is the true prize of the championship.
Gwangju is also a city of democracy, human rights, and peace. It is no exaggeration to say that democracy in Korea began in Gwangju. The May 18 Democratization Movement in Gwangju has had and is having an impact on the world, such as the “Jasmine Revolution” and the “Myanmar Spring.” While busking symbolizes freedom and peace, it interlinks with Gwangju’s values of “democracy and peace.” That is why the “Buskers World Cup,” with the values of “freedom, equality, and peace,” is being held in Gwangju, the “City of Art” and the “City of Freedom and Peace.”
GN: Being the very first world cup competition for busking, could you tell us more about how people can participate? Is it open to both Koreans and foreigners? Dong-gu: Any music busker who sings about peace and freedom can apply and join. Also, there is no discrimination between Korean and foreign musicians when it comes to busking.
In addition, Gwangju has been hosting the Chungjang Festival for the past 18 years, which is designated as a representative festival by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. We will hold the Buskers World Cup at the same time as the Chungjang Festival as well. The event is being organized by
2022�08��.indd 18
GN: How do you select the participants, and how will the event take place? Where can we see it? Dong-gu: Based on the videos submitted to the Buskers World Cup website, in the first round of the preliminary rounds, the jury will comprehensively evaluate the musicality, originality, skill, talent, and popularity of participating teams, and then select teams to advance to the second preliminary round. The teams that pass the first round will need to send their second preliminary song by July 25, and then 120 teams from the final qualifying teams will
2022-07-26 �� 3:50:18
