To include Powerful Daegu Festival, K-trot Festival, and more
The Fantasia Daegu Festa (FDF), a collection of Daegu’s seven most prominent springtime festivals, will be held from May 12 (Fri) through 21 (Sun) throughout Daegu.
Poster for Fantasia Daegu Festa: Spring 2023
Starting with Powerful Daegu Festival, a large-scale street parade, FDF will feature six other exciting events: Daegu Lifestyle Culture Festival, Daegu Top Band, Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival, Daegu International Musical Festival, Daegu Traditional Korean Music Festival, and Powerful K-Trot Festival.
Daegu Metropolitan City (DMC) hosts FDF each spring and fall to improve the quality of local festivals (and make it easier for local residents to enjoy culture) by combining independently-held events into one regional event.
The spring edition of this year’s FDF will begin with the Powerful Daegu Festival, which is hosted by the Daegu branch of FACO (Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organization of Korea). A large-scale parade that features professional parade teams from Korea and overseas, this year’s version is unique in that it is citizen-directed. A total of 14,000 citizens participated in the planning and administrative tasks. It is expected that this year will mark the beginning of a tradition of significant citizen involvement.
Starting with a preliminary event on May 12 (Fri), parades will be held until May 14 (Sun) by approximately 80 Korean and foreign teams along Gukchaebosang-ro (Jungang intersection~ Gongpyeong intersection), street arts festival by approximately 80 professional teams (including the Daegu City Arts Group), civic cultural festival of various exhibitions/interactive programs, a national photography contest, and a lifestyle culture festival (approx. 70 civic groups on everyday culture).
The opening ceremony, which will be held on May 13 (Sat) on a stage in front of 2.28 Jungang Memorial Park, will include a large media façade (theme: “Rise, Light of Daegu’s Future”) on Daegu’s future that is expected to be popular with residents. There will be elements that are applied for the first time this year, such as completely blocking relevant streets for two days (May 13~14), not using an amp for nighttime performances, and roadside movie screenings.
From May 19 (Fri) through June 5 (Mon), the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF) will be held at Daegu Opera House, among other locations. In its 17th run this year, the DIMF is Korea’s only international festival dedicated to musicals and occupying an increasingly important position in the domestic musical industry through efforts such as the cultivation of new musicals (ones that are not an adaptation of an existing work) and inviting foreign teams to perform musicals in Korea.
The opening work, 9 to 5 (UK), is an adaptation of the identically-titled movie, an immensely popular and witty critique of workplace discrimination/injustices. Written and composed by pop legend Dolly Parton, the musical was viewed by over one million in the UK alone. Other featured works include After Life (a musical produced by the DIMF on the heels of Turandot) and a total of 19 Korean and foreign works. There will also be various auxiliary events (e.g. Star Date, Open Musical Lecture, DIMFringe (street performance)) that encourage high-quality cultural exchanges.
On May 13 (Sat), Daegu Top Band, a contest for amateur Daegu-based teen and adult bands, will be held at Duryu Park’s Kolon Outdoor Stage. In addition to the 20 bands that were selected in the preliminary round, there will also be performances by Boohwal, Korea’s most well-known rock band, and Band Africa, Daegu’s oldest local band (that has been performing since the 1990s).
From May 16 (Tue) through 19 (Fri) and on May 21 (Sun), the Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival (supervised by the Daegu branch of the Music Association of Korea) will be held at Daegu Concert House. There will also be non-orchestral performances, including by the jazz group Pulse and Artmate, an opera group.
From May 20 (Sat) through 21 (Sun), the Daegu Traditional Korean Music Festival, one of the most prominent traditional music events of southeastern Korea, will be conducted at the Daegu Arts Center in four components (wind, pansori, mask dance, minyo byeongchang (folk song vocal accompanied by gayageum or geomungo)).
On May 20 (Sat) at 7 pm, the Powerful K-trot Festival will be held with fanfare at Daegu Stadium with a lineup of popular trot singers (e.g. Kim Ho-joong, Kim Hee-jae, Park Seo-jin, Yeongtak, Jang Min-ho, Jang Yoon-jeong, Ju Hyeon-mi) as a vibrant celebration of this unique genre of modern Korean music.
There will also be various discount events over the duration of FDF for tourists and locals. Fifty percent discount coupons for Eworld and Sparkland will be available at all seven events. Each day of FDF, 300 residents who use Daeguro Taxi will be randomly selected to receive a KRW 2,000 discount coupon.
Furthermore, to spread the passionate energy of the FDF throughout Daegu, outdoor performances will be held from May 15 (Mon) through 19 (Fri) at Suseongmot Lake (Sanghwa Park), 28 Artsquare, and Duryu Park’s Kolon Outdoor Stage, including “Opera Fringe” and “Creating a City Where Melodies Flow Constantly.”
Other events will be held for the duration of FDF, including the Dongseong-ro Festival at Dongseong-ro, Suseongmot Lake Musical Fringe Festival at Suseongmot Lake, Pre-historic Culture Festival and a flower festival (When Roses Bloom) in Dalseo-gu. Further information on FDF 2023 is available at the official website (https://fantasiafestival.or.kr) and Instagram account.
Kim Dong-woo, head of DMC’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Division, said, “In Korea, May is known as ‘festival month’ because of its mild, beautiful weather. The spring edition of Fantasia Daegu Festa 2023 aims to give local residents diverse cultural experiences and, thereby, a sense of pride in being residents of Daegu as well as a higher level of happiness. We will do our utmost to bring about revitalization of the local economy through the festival in addition to an improved quality of urban resources and services.”
