The 2020 PLZ Festival kicked off Saturday near the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, in hopes of bringing peace in the Korean Peninsula.

Standing for “Peace and Life Zone Festival,” it is the sole international music festival held at the DMZ. This year marks the second year for the festival, held under the theme “The Sound Within the Sound!”

The festival is being held in five counties in Gangwon Province close to the DMZ, including Inje, Yanggu, Hwacheon, Cheorwon and Goseong, with a different theme for each county. The festival runs through Dec. 6.

At the opening concert Saturday, “Prayer of Peace” was performed by the director of the festival, Im Mi-jung, who is also a pianist, and composer Kim Dae-sung. 

Irina Bokava, the former secretary-general of UNESCO, joined the 2020 PLZ festival as honorary chair of the festival this year.

Thirty concerts will be performed at the 2020 PLZ Festival with internationally renowned artists such as violinist Kim Da-mi, harmonicaster Park Jong-sung, guitarist Park Kyu-hee and Tango Orchestra Tierra.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all performances will be streamed live on the YouTube channel PLZ Festival for free, according to the organizers. The schedule of concerts is provided at the official website at www.plzfe.com

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)