20 World-Class Classical Guitar Masters Coming to Daegu... Daegu International Guitar Festival Held

Fukuda, Danny Ye, Lee Singye, and others

Handcrafted master-made guitars also catch the eye

The 2nd Daegu International Guitar Festival (DIGF), now in its second year, is scheduled to take place over five days from the 20th to the 25th at various venues within Suseong Alpha City in Suseong-gu, including Ajin Hall, Smart City Hall, Angel Town Hall, and ACT Hotel Sky Hall.

During the five-day event, the Daegu International Guitar Festival is preparing 14 performances, featuring handcrafted guitars made by world-renowned guitar masters. Performers include Shinichi Fukuda (Japan), who won the grand prize at the 1981 Paris International Guitar Competition and is recognized as a global maestro, Danny Yeh (Taiwan), Li Xingye (China), the classical guitar diva Kyuhee Park, and over 20 artists from 9 countries showcasing their skills.

Promotional material for the Daegu International Guitar Festival.

The opening ceremony, scheduled for 7 p.m. on the 20th at Ajin Hall, will be attended by about 150 guests including film director Myung-se Lee, Bae Seong-hyuk, Executive Chairman of the Daegu International Musical, Kim Jong-sik, Chairman of the Daegu Folk Festival, Lee Jong-hwa, Deputy Mayor of Daegu, Kim Dae-kwon, Mayor of Suseong-gu, and Bae Seon-ju, CEO of the Suseong Cultural Foundation. An opening concert will also be held as part of the ceremony.

Additionally, on the 24th and 25th, the International Classical Guitar Competition will be held at the Taeyang Hall of the Daegu Digital Innovation Promotion Agency. This competition will showcase the talents of young performers aspiring to become future masters. As a congratulatory performance, Ji Ho-nam, who placed second in the 1st DIGF in 2019 and is currently studying in Germany, will also perform.

About 40 people, including 20 world-class guitarists and their students, will stay in Daegu for five days to attend masterclasses where they will learn new techniques through encounters with the maestros.

Kwon Hyuk-jin, Chairman of the Promotion Committee, said, “I hope this five-day event in Daegu will become an opportunity for world-renowned guitar masters and citizens to form a shared appreciation for art,” adding, “I wish it to be a wonderful night where healing and memories intersect.”

The Daegu International Guitar Festival was created in 2006 by three leading Asian guitarists?Seong-woo Lee from Korea, maestro Shinichi Fukuda from Japan, and Yeh Deung-min from Taiwan, who is active in China?to promote exchange among youth, music lovers, and young people across Asia.

They aimed to spark a new cultural independence revolution related to classical guitar. The festival was first held in Shonai, Japan, then in Qingdao, China in 2007, and in 2010, it was introduced in Korea as the first guitar festival focused on classical guitar.

After the Yangpyeong Festival in 2014, it evolved into the “Daegu International Guitar Festival for Youth and Citizens” in 2019. Since the first event in 2019 led by Chairman Kwon Hyuk-jin, the 2023 festival is being held through voluntary talent donations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.