Annual music festival binds Korea, China

From left, Ailey and members from AOA and f(x) on stage of the 17th Korea-China Music Festival held in Beijing on Nov. 4 / Screen capture from YouTube, Courtesy of Twitter

The 17th Korea-China Music Festival

, held in Beijing on Nov. 4, aired Sunday on KBS, showing more than 20 “musical units” from both countries performing in front of 1,200 people.

The annual festival was held at Star Park Stadium, with 11 teams of musicians from each country. Korea sent soloists Lim Chang-jung, Seo In-guk, The One, Ailey, Ali, Roy Kim, as well as idol bands f(x), BTS, AOA, VIXX and Red Velvet.

Chinese musicians included SNH48, Lay Zhang, Shang Wenjie, Liu Yan and Tan Weiwei.

During the 100 minute concert, the singers not only performed their own numbers but also collaborated with other musicians from China.

Lim performed “Gone with the Wind” and “Dance with the Wolf” with Chinese band SNH48, and The One and Tan performed an original sound track from Korean romance film “Classic.”

The artists held Korean and Chinese flags as they marched into the stadium to start the festival, while 360-degree screens showed images of the fluttering flags of the two countries.

Co-hosted by KBS and Chinese TV network CCTV, the festival is considered crucial in strengthening cultural ties between the two nations by exchanging commodities and ideas related to TV broadcasting and music.