Korean Dream festival brings unification message with music, culture

The 2026 Korean Dream Hangang Festival brought the message of Korean unification to the banks of the Han River on National Foundation Day, seeking to engage the public through music, performances and citizen participation.

Held at Ttukseom Hangang Park in Seoul on Oct. 3, the festival carried the theme “From one beginning to one future,” tracing Korea’s shared origins and history of division while looking toward peace and unification.

The event was hosted by the Korean Dream Hangang Festival organizing committee with support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Organizers said this year’s event was designed to mark National Foundation Day by reflecting on the origins and future of the Korean people. The festival drew on the traditional principle of "Hongik Ingan," broadly translated as “benefiting all humanity,” while seeking to present unification through culture and public participation rather than political discussion alone.

The festival followed last year’s event, held at the same venue as part of celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

According to the organizers, about 30,000 people attended the 2025 festival, which featured a large-scale drone show and choir performances. Some 1,697 citizens contributed about 654 million won ($488,700) to support the event, reflecting its emphasis on public participation.

This year, that participation was expanded through a crossover concert structured as a four-part musical journey tracing the Korean people’s origins, the pain of war and division, aspirations for peace and ultimately hopes for unification.

The program was designed to use familiar songs and cultural symbols to connect different generations around the theme of unification. Rather than treating the issue solely through the lens of diplomacy or security, organizers sought to approach it through shared experiences and memories, with each stage of the concert representing a different chapter in Korea’s history and its aspirations for the future.

The Seoul Grand Philharmonic Orchestra, led by conductor Seo Hoon, anchored the concert, joined by soprano Kim Soon-young, tenor Ahn Se-kwon, North Korean defector singer Jeon Hyang-jin and a range of vocal and choral groups.

The repertoire followed the festival’s narrative arc, moving from pieces representing a shared national heritage to songs reflecting the pain of war, separation and division, including “Imjin River,” “Spring in My Hometown” and music from the film “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War.” The program then turned toward themes of peace and reconciliation with performances of “Nella Fantasia,” “Evergreen” and “Arirang Alone.”

The concert culminated in a mass singalong of “My Country, My People” and “Our Wish Is Unification,” bringing performers, choirs and audience members together for the finale. Lyrics displayed on large screens encouraged spectators to join in, reinforcing the festival’s emphasis on citizen participation.

The program also featured a keynote address by Hyunjin Preston Moon, chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, along with performances by a choir of separated family members, an ocarina ensemble and a taekwondo flash mob.

The evening concluded with a 10-minute fireworks display titled “Light of Unification” over the Han River.

Organizers said the festival sought to bring the idea of unification closer to the public by combining music, shared historical memories and citizen participation, presenting it not simply as a political issue but as a vision for Korea’s future in which ordinary people can take part.