Seoul Forest hosts nighttime traditional Korean music concerts
People walk through Seoul Forest in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul in May. Yonhap
Seoul Forest will trade the rush of the city for the quiet pulse of traditional Korean music this fall, with free concerts planned every Friday and Saturday for more than six weeks.
The Korea Heritage Service said the Heritage Garden Rest Concert will run through Oct. 24 at K-Heritage Garden in Seoul Forest, where the Seoul International Garden Fair is underway.
Friday evening performances will begin at 6:30 p.m. in September and at 6 p.m. from October, offering fusion gugak designed as a gentle end to the workweek.
Saturday performances will begin at 3 pm and focus on families, couples and visitors of all ages, with folk songs and traditional Korean music intended to turn a walk through the garden into a cultural outing.
The concerts are part of an effort to showcase K-Heritage Garden, created as the first demonstration of research into modular traditional garden design, and to make its work accessible to the public as a place for rest.
The performances will be presented by Bidan, a fusion gugak group affiliated with a cultural arts planning company designated as a national heritage social enterprise.
The group includes traditional musicians, including performers trained in Jongmyo Jeryeak, Korea’s royal ancestral ritual music, and combines pansori, daegeum, haegeum and gayageum with contemporary arrangements.
Organizers said Friday performances will emphasize relaxation, while Saturday programs will offer more lively music suited to families spending the weekend at Seoul Forest.
No reservations are required, and admission is free for anyone visiting K-Heritage Garden.
The Korea Heritage Service said it hopes the concerts will offer visitors a moment of warmth and respite as Seoul Forest takes on its autumn colors.
The agency said it plans to expand programs that allow people to experience traditional landscape design and national heritage in everyday life.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.