1. As part of the Mutual Cultural Exchange Program, aimed at introducing foreign cultures to the Korean people, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold the “Visegrad Music Festival” in Seoul, Daegu and Busan from September 4-9, 2015.

* Overview of the festival

- Date and venue
September 4 (Fri.) 20:00 Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall
September 8 (Tue.) 19:30 Daegu Citizen Hall Grand Concert Hall
September 9 (Wed.) 19:30 Busan Cultural Center Medium Theater

- Host: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Sponsors: Embassy of the Czech Republic in the ROK, Embassy of Hungary in the ROK, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in the ROK, Embassy of the Slovak Republic in the ROK, Daegu Metropolitan City, Busan Cultural Center

2. The “Visegrad Music Festival” aims to celebrate the official launch of the cooperative mechanism between the ROK and the Visegrad Group (V4), and advance ROK-V4 relations by expanding bilateral ties, which have been focused on trade and investment, into the area of cultural exchanges.

o The ROK-V4 cooperative mechanism was officially launched at the first ROK-V4 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, held in Bratislava, Slovakia, in July 2014. At the meeting, the parties agreed to hold music festivals and send Korean performance groups to the V4 countries.

3. The upcoming festival will consist of Korean conductor Gum Nanse’s introduction to classical music and joint performances by the Korean chamber orchestra Camerata S and classical music players from the V4 countries, who are world-renowned and have performed around the world.

o The festival will feature solo and ensemble performances by the piano trio “Trio Martinu” of the Czech Republic, string quartet “Mucha Quartet” of Slovakia, glass harp players “Glass Duo” of Poland, and violinist Sandor Javorkai of Hungary.

4. The festival will bring together Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, the diplomatic corps in the ROK, lawmaker Chung Byung-kook, a member of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, and businessmen, as well as about 2,000 Korean people who made reservations on the official website of the festival (www.vise-festival.kr). They will enjoy the wonderful harmony created by the musicians from the ROK and the V4 countries.

5. The “Visegrad Music Festival” is expected to increase the Korean people’s interest in and understanding of the V4 countries, and contribute to deepening friendly and cooperative relations between the ROK and the V4 countries by introducing to the Korean people the high level of art and culture of the V4, a group of central European countries that are rich in cultural heritage.


*unofficial translation