Incheon Dream Park’s outdoor pool, indoor club to stay open 24 hours


The upcoming weekend in Incheon will be filled with the energy of youth and rock spirit, as leading bands from overseas and Korea power up the stage of the 6th Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival from Friday to Sunday.

While the rock festival comes into its sixth year, weather during the annual summer festival has been sometimes sunny and sometimes rainy. The weather in Incheon will be cloudy on Friday and Saturday, and rainy on Sunday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration but most rock fans here are not bothered by weather anyway.

More than 100,000 people are expected to descend on the festival venue at Incheon Dream Park over the three-day period, about twice the number that attended last year’s event.

The Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival, the country’s first rock festival, has been introducing indie bands, staging famous Korean bands as well as foreign rock stars.

About 70 musicians and rock groups will be on stage this week at Incheon Dream Park, which is filled with green grass instead of mud.

The organizer Yescom Entertainment said the concept of the festival this year is quite different from previous ones in that it will do away with the old and masculine image, symbolized by “mud and boots.”

The Dream Park is equipped with an outdoor pool and an indoor club, which will be open 24 hours for the festival-goers, the organizer said.

After midnight, there will be a “Midnight Acoustic Stage,” where folk singers will offer soft and quiet music sounds with a campfire.

Three headliners and hot local bands

The three headliners will be hip-hop singer-songwriter B.o.B. on Friday, representative ‘90s metal band Korn on Saturday and Canadian punk band Simple Plan on Sunday.

B.o.B is best known for song “Nothin’ on You” featuring Bruno Mars, which was released from his debut album “The Adventures of Bobby Ray” in 2010. The song was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards earlier this year.

Korn’s performance on Saturday will be all the more exciting with the band’s new single “Get Up,” featuring electro music producer Skrillex.

The act has sold more than 20 million copies in the U.S. alone, been nominated for Grammy Awards six times and won two.

Canadian act Simple Plan is known for its live performance at the closing ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Formed in 1999, the band has released four studio albums.

Meanwhile, hot Korean rock bands are to heat up the stage as well.

Boohwal (Reincarnation), which has released numerous hits in the last 26 years and produced famous solo vocalists such as Kim Jong-seo, Lee Seung-chul and Park Wan-kyu, will join the rock festival on Sunday.

Duo band Spring Summer Autumn Winter and mischievous act No Brain will join the stage, while indie bands such as Galaxy Express, The Black Skirts, Linus’ Blanket will perform their unique music for the audience. 

Transportation and tickets

Incheon Dream Park is close to Geomam Station on Subway Line No. 9 of the Incheon International Airport Railroad, also known as AREX. During the event period from Friday to Sunday, there will be Pentaport Shuttles running between the Dream Park and Geomam Station every 10 minutes, according to the organizer. The subway schedule will also be extended. The last cars from Gyeyang Station on Subway Line No. 1 will leave at 00:40 a.m. and 1:10 a.m., instead of 00:30 a.m.

If you purchase one-day ticket on spot, it will be 88,000 won. A two-day ticket is 132,000 won and three-day, 165,000 won. Camping fee is 10,000 won per person but only those with two-day and three-day tickets are allowed to camp. For more information, visit www.pentaportrock.com or call (02) 3775-1588.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)