Music festivals in Korea tend to be crowded affairs, with massive lighting displays and checkpoints enforcing limitations on what you can bring or do in different viewing zones. If you are the type that enjoys indie music, but often finds festivals stifling or overwhelming, then consider a festival at the tail end of the Chuseok holiday that focuses on enjoying music in nature.
Deep in the forests of Wanju, a North Jeolla Province county about 20 kilometers east of Jeonju, the Bamti Village Campground will be taken over by the Picnic Forest music festival for two days in October. The festival features three separate stages where over 40 artists from Korea and other countries will perform, including some who recently performed at the nearby Jeonju Ultimate Music Festival (JUMF) in August, one of Korea’s largest.
Picnic Forest takes place this Friday and Saturday, running from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. each day. The first afternoon features several bands from Taiwan, including duo Crossing Road, acoustic group Paradise Lots and rock band Monkey Power. The day’s headliners will be the all woman Korean rock band Walking After U (@walkingafteru) and Korean hard rock band KBK Uglys.
All-woman rock band Walking After U / Courtesy of Walking After U
Saturday will feature bands from around Asia, including three-woman Japanese band unMARIE’s, and groups fronted by Taiwanese vocalists Emily Pu and Wang LiYan. Finishing off the festival and headlining the evening will be Korean punk bands NOYA, One Off and Concord Universe.
KBK Uglys / Courtesy of KBK Uglys
The festival is the brainchild of Park In-yeol, who owns Radiostar Record Label in Jeonju. The festival started 13 years ago as GreenBlue Fest, but the name was changed to Picnic Forest in 2017, since the festival is “Like a picnic in the forest” according to Park.
“These days, indie music has almost disappeared because of its lack of commercial viability,” he told The Korea Times.
Park lamented that it would be difficult to produce such a festival in a big city since it would likely suffer too great a financial loss. “On the other hand, large music festivals are continuing,” he said. “In that sense, Picnic Forest is a venue for indie musicians. “
The festival includes a flea market, offering handmade goods and accessories, home-cooked food and second-hand goods, but excluding big commercial items. There is no fixed ticket price for the festival. Attendees are instead asked to donate what the event is worth to them, keeping it accessible to all.
Park invites attendees to “Leave the stuffy city and enter nature. Come with the aim of enjoying the freedom, enjoying indie music and sharing humanity’s love in nature, without having to worry about other things around you.”
Kim Sungsoo Jazz Trio performs at Picnic Forest 2019 in Wanju, North Jeolla Province. Courtesy of Picnic Forest
Attendees can reserve campsites from 3 p.m. Thursday through 3 p.m. Sunday, but should bring their own camping equipment. Keep in mind that the number of campsites is limited. Anyone without a campsite should make arrangements for transportation, as the final performances end after the last public bus departs the area.
Visit fb.com/picnickorea or follow @picnicforest25 on Instagram for more information or to book a campsite. The festival is most easily accessed from Jeonju Station. From there it is a 23-minute taxi or a one-hour bus ride with a transfer to the venue.
David Wagner is a professor in Seoul.
