National Gugak Center's "Umyeonsan Starry Night Festival" Opens on the 23rd

Korean Traditional Music Performances
Every Saturday for a Month at Yeonhui Madang

The National Gugak Center announced on August 4 that the "2025 Umyeonsan Starry Night Festival" will be held every Saturday at 8 p.m. from August 23 to September 20, 2025, at the Yeonhui Madang of the National Gugak Center.

Through the Umyeonsan Starry Night Festival, the National Gugak Center presents a wide range of performances each year, spanning both tradition and modernity, from Yeonhui?the culmination of music (ak), song (ga), dance (mu), and artistry (giye)?to creative gugak. The 2025 Umyeonsan Starry Night Festival will feature groups renowned for their musical excellence and popularity, aiming to offer comfort and enjoyment to audiences weary from their busy daily lives. The festival will include creative Yeonhui plays and gugak orchestral performances that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, as well as Yeonhui and Seoul Gut to beat the summer heat, and gugak showcases that blend traditional sentiment with modern sensibilities.

The opening stage of the 2025 Umyeonsan Starry Night Festival on August 23 will be presented by the Traditional Yeonhui Play Research Institute, an organization actively performing in Gwangju. The group will perform "Gaettongi and the Mudeungsan Tiger," an interactive creative Yeonhui play featuring the whimsical adventures of the Mudeungsan Tiger and Gaettongi as they journey to Umyeonsan, inviting the audience to participate in the story.

On August 30, the stage will feature the Creative Orchestra of the National Gugak Center and vocalist Ko Youngyeol, known for his refined voice and deep emotion. Ko Youngyeol will perform "Love Song" from the pansori "Chunhyangga" and "Shinbaetnorae." The unique repertoire of the Creative Orchestra will also be showcased.

On September 6, in celebration of Baekjung, the Yeonhui Division of the National Gugak Center's Folk Orchestra will present a full Yeonhui performance featuring music (ak), song (ga), dance (mu), and artistry (giye). The program will include regional Yeonhui such as Lion Dance and Mueulbuknori, as well as Gyeonggi, Seodo, and Namdo folk songs, and Pungmul performances that demand high musical skill and technique from the musicians.

National Gugak Center Folk Orchestra 'Yeonhui Pan' Performance
[Photo by National Gugak Center]

The September 13 performance will feature Kim Mubin, Sorimaepsi, and Yoon Seyoun, who are pioneering a new era of folk songs. "Monggeumpotaryeong," a Seodo folk song, "Baktaryeong" from the pansori "Heungboga," and the Gyeonggi folk song "Taepyeongga" will be reinterpreted with the unique voices of these young artists.

Seoul Gut will close the 2025 Umyeonsan Starry Night Festival on September 20. Professor Kang Hyoju, a certified holder of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Gyeonggi Folk Song, along with National Gugak Center Folk Orchestra members Chae Suhyeon and Seong Seulgi, will perform a lively Gut to wish the audience health and happiness.

Before the main performances, from 4 p.m., the lawn plaza of the National Gugak Center will offer special activities to enhance the festival experience. There will be traditional knot-making workshops, hands-on crafting sessions, a photo booth, and a variety of food trucks.

Tickets for the 2025 Umyeonsan Starry Night Festival can be reserved on the Nolticket website.

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