Located on opposite ends of the country, the Demilitarized Zone and the southeastern city of Pohang are emblematic of two contrasting features of the Korean Peninsula: the tension of a frozen conflict and the prosperity of South Korea as an industrial powerhouse.

The DMZ stands as a stark reminder of the Korean War, while Pohang is a bustling coastal city of about 500,000 people, whose identity is deeply intertwined with heavy industry, particularly steelmaker Posco, which was founded there in 1968. Neither place has been widely associated with the peace and serenity of classical music.

Now, however, both are turning dissonance into harmony through music festivals.

Music Festival Pohang

The closing concert of 2023 Music Festival Pohang takes place at Pohang Culture and Art Hall in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province on Nov. 9. (Music Festival Pohang)

From Nov. 1 to 8, Music Festival Pohang returns for its fourth edition under the theme "Song of the Sea," with a special focus on the German composer Robert Schumann.

“For those who are not familiar with classical music, the least unfamiliar part is the composer’s name. Shedding light on a composer’s life through the music festival would be memorable,” Park Yoo-sin, a cellist and the artistic director of the festival, said during a press conference on Monday, adding that "it is a rare chance to deal with a composer’s life in Pohang. Previously, the festival focused on Dmitri Shostakovich and Franz Schubert."

While its official English name remains unchanged, the festival's Korean name has been updated to include "International" starting this year, reflecting its aim to showcase Pohang's evolution in both international and cultural contexts, according to the festival's artistic director.

The opening concert on Nov. 1 will be led by conductor and composer Yoon Han-kyeol, winner of the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award in Salzburg in 2023. Yoon made his professional conducting debut at this year's Salzburg Festival, leading the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna in August.

"I believe that the continued emergence of international music festivals in Korea is incredibly important, not just for Korea's music scene but for the overall cultural landscape as well," Yoon said.

The opening concert will kick off with Mendelssohn’s “Meeresstille und gluckliche Fahrt” Op. 27 ("Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage") and include Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” a symphonic suite based on “One Thousand and One Nights.”

Conductor and composer Yoon Han-kyeol and cellist artistic director Park Yoo-sin talk during a press conference on Monday in central Seoul. (Music Festival Pohang)

Another star of the opening concert is Kim Yu-been, principal flute of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Kim will perform Carl Reinecke’s Flute Concerto in D Major, Op. 283.

The eight-day festival, organized by the Pohang Cultural Foundation, includes performances by renowned Korean and international musicians, such as pianists Paik Hae-sun, Sunwoo Ye-kwon, Kim Da-sol and Ilya Shmukler; violinists Tobias Feldmann, Kim Young-uk, Kim Jae-young and Stella Chen; violist Adrien La Marca and Lee Han-na; cellist Julian Steckel, horn player Kim Hong-park, flutist Cho Inn-hyuck, oboist Yoon Sung-young, and French quartet Quatuor Arod.

Several concerts will take place at various venues across the city, including Pohang City Hall, the Poeun Central Library, Yeonorang Seonyeo Theme Park, the Pohang Museum Of Steel Art and ChangeUp Ground.

DMZ Open International Musical Festival

A concert takes place inside the former ammunition depot at Camp Greaves in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Sept. 19, 2023

Now in its second year, the DMZ Open International Music Festival aims to share its hopes for peace and emphasize the importance of ecology through music, featuring many of the world's top classical artists.

"The DMZ is not just Korean territory, but the territory of all humankind, and we must remember the significance of this music festival in its pursuit of a greater peace," Choe Jae-chun, an ecologist and the chair of the organizing committee of the DMZ Open International Music Festival said during a press conference, adding that "spreading the message of ‘greater peace’ in harmony with nature from here holds great meaning."

The music festival takes place at the Goyang AramNuri in Goyang, which is located near areas of controlled space close to the DMZ.

The DMZ Open International Music Festival is the finale of the seven-month DMZ Open Festival, organized by Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, which includes forums, hackathons, lectures, walking events, marathons, art exhibitions and more.

Starting with the opening concert on Nov. 9, titled “A Beginning Long Underway,” the music festival will feature world-renowned artists, such as the KBS Symphony Orchestra, pianists Paik Kun-Woo and Dmytro Udovychenko, conductors Leos Svarovsky and Jurek Dybal, soprano Park Hye-sang, violinist Valery Sokolov and trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov, along with emerging performers from Korea and abroad who are attracting significant attention.

(From left) DMZ OPEN International Music Festival organizing committee chairman Choe Jae-chun, Ukraine violinist Dmytro Udovychenko, and artistic director Im Mi-jung pose for photos during a press conference on Sept. 30 at the Press Center in central Seoul. ( DMZ OPEN International Music Festival)

A highlight of this year's event is the “Ammunition Depot Series” at Camp Greaves, located in the civilian control zone, which began in October. The series features weekly performances by winners of international competitions. This concert series aligns with the World Federation of International Music Competitions' antiwar stance and invites laureates from competitions within the federation.

“It’s meaningful to me that I have a chance to participate in a festival dedicated to peace. It’s relevant to today’s reality,” Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Udovychenko, this year's winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, said during the press conference.