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| (From top) Christian worship band Anointing, Park Ji-hun of V.O.S. and gospel choir Heritage were among performers at "Pang Pang Praise Festa in Chilpo." |
By Ko Dong-hwan
While festivals of jazz, rock or hip-hop have been popular options out there for music lovers looking for some summer excitement, Koreans were able to tune into something a little different on Friday ― a Christian festival offering plenty of soul in the port city of Pohang.
As well as the evangelic messages spread by musicians and preachers throughout the two-day event, the holy festivity also aims to offer solace to console residents of the South Gyeongsang Province city, which was hit by earthquakes last November. The disaster coincided with the annual college entrance exam, which was postponed for a day to prevent students from possible injury.
Kim Jung-joo, who leads the preparatory committee for "Pang Pang Praise Festa in Chilpo," said the event "not only unites Christian believers across the country but invites neighborhoods to join the festival full of Christian culture."
Kim continued, "I hope the festival will console Pohang residents who were stricken by last year's earthquake."
A lineup of contemporary Christian music singers and bands provided the entertainment at Chilpo Beach, including Ewha Womans University music school graduates Music For You, CCM singer-songwriter Kim Do-hyun, jazz vocalist Kim Hyung-mi and singer Park Ji-hun from K-pop boy band V.O.S.
Heritage, the only Korean Christian band playing African-American gospel music, and popular CCM worship hosting band Anointing will be on stage on the second day of Pang Pang. Also at the festival are YWAM Heartbridge, a Korean missionary group spreading messages in the U.S. and professor Cho Joon-mo from the Christian school Handong University.
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Pohang in November 2017, the second-biggest since seismic readings across the country began being measured officially in 1978. There were no fatalities, but the earthquake destroyed several buildings at Handong University campus and brought down brick walls and roof tiles in residential districts.
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