Attending the Jeonju International Sori Festival is a guaranteed plunge into the deepest and most thrilling dimensions of Korean musical traditions. For me, this year marked the second opportunity to do so, allowing me once again to enjoy a truly unique art form — pansori — which always holds a prominent place in the programme, with daily performances by outstanding artists. Equally striking are the explosive street shows by the large, thunderous nongak troupes, a form deeply tied to rural communities. Refined performances in the instrumental sanjo style were also an interesting part of the programme.

Jinan Jungpyeong Gut at Jeonju International Sori Festival 2024. Photo: Jeonju International Sori Festival

With strong support from the local public, the festival also holds great potential for attracting international visitors, thanks to the originality and high calibre of its musical expressions. It likewise offers Korean audiences the opportunity to engage with other musical cultures — such as Polish and Indonesian — through performances by Vołosi, Nusantara Beat, and other international artists and ensembles.

During the festival’s 23rd edition, held from 14 to 18 August 2024, I had the opportunity to speak with the new festival’s director, Hee-sun Kim, about the spirit and vision behind this exceptional cultural gathering. Our conversation shed light on the festival’s identity, its evolving goals, and the meaningful role it plays in connecting tradition with innovation.

Jeonju International Sori Festival (JISF) reaffirmed once again its place as one of South Korea’s premier cultural events, devoted to traditional music and performing arts. Led by its new director, Hee-sun Kim, the festival took bold strides in blending Korea’s rich heritage with contemporary expressions and international collaboration — all under the banner of its guiding theme: “Local Prism: Enlarging Perspective.”

“From very deep tradition to very contemporary performing arts”

Originally launched in 2001, the Sori Festival has developed a distinctive character. “Actually, Jeonju International Sori Festival began in 2001… this is our 23rd edition,” explained Kim, highlighting its longevity and evolution. Unlike other festivals in Korea that might approach traditional music from a purely local or folkloric angle, JISF seeks to elevate these forms to the realm of high art. “This is very special, unique — to focus on performing arts — and we want to bring more audience who really respect traditional arts,” Kim said.

The 2024 edition was shaped around a key idea: reinterpreting and expanding the view of tradition. “This year’s kind of keyword was ‘local prism enlarging perspective.’ So, from the very, very deep tradition to the very contemporary performing arts — that is our focus,” she stated. This vision guided both the programming and the broader mission of the festival.

Lee Jaram at Jeonju International Sori Festival 2024. Photo: Jeonju International Sori Festival

A powerful start and a resonant closing

The opening concert offered a symbolic and artistic tribute to the region’s deep cultural legacy. “Our opening concert was a stage production focused on farmers’ fan music, which is from this province,” Kim explained, referring to nongak, a traditional percussion-based music deeply rooted in Korean rural life. The performance also marked an important milestone: the 10th anniversary of nongak’s designation as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. “We were trying to celebrate how this local performing art became more worldly renowned — that is part of it,” Kim said.

As for the closing concert, the spotlight was reserved for pansori, a genre that lies at the heart of the festival’s identity, featuring celebrated artists Cho Sanghyeon and Shin Yeonghee. “Our closing concert will be focused on pansori, which is our own major genre of the Sori Festival. The term sori comes from pansori,” Kim emphasized. This traditional Korean narrative singing combines music, storytelling, and theatrical performance into a powerful solo art form.

Vołosi & Chae Suhyeon at Jeonju International Sori Festival 2024. Photo: Jeonju International Sori Festival

Bridging generations and cultures

Beyond performances, the Sori Festival operates with a broader cultural mission: education, preservation, and intergenerational dialogue. “We want to educate our audience and also share the value of traditional performing arts,” Kim said. “At the same time, we focus on how we can promote or support the younger generations of performers… and we are trying to get more younger audiences to come to the festival.”

This dual focus — respecting heritage and investing in the future — defines the spirit of the event. “We respect tradition, and we also respect the traditions of other peoples around the world,” Kim said, reinforcing the festival’s openness to global collaboration and mutual learning.

Rooted in Jeonju, at the heart of Korea’s cultural heritage

The city of Jeonju is more than just a backdrop; it’s the beating heart of the festival’s mission. “This city — Jeonju — is known for being the home of traditional performing arts. That is really, really an important mission for us: to do this festival here,” Kim explained. The location serves as both a symbolic and practical foundation for celebrating Korea’s cultural heritage.

As the 2024 edition drew to a close, the Jeonju International Sori Festival once again proved its ability to honour the past while looking boldly into the future — a place where tradition is not only preserved, but reimagined and shared with the world.

Author: Juan Antonio Vázquez, Transglobal World Music Chart co-founder, co-administrator and member; Mundofonías and Mil Mundos presenter.

From 10 to 22 September 2024, the city of Montpellier, in Southern France, once again became a vibrant stage for Arab cultures during the 19th edition of the Festival Arabesques. Over nearly two weeks, audiences experienced a powerful convergence of tradition and modernity, activism and art, joy and resilience. Created by Habib Dechraoui in 2006, Arabesques remains the largest European festival dedicated exclusively to the arts of the Arab world — and this year, it deepened its mission with moving tributes and urgent voices.

“Arabesques is a festival entirely dedicated to the arts of the Arab world,” said Dechraoui, founder and artistic director. “Its goal is to bring people together and to offer a more accurate image of Arab culture — showing that it’s diverse, ancient, and constantly evolving. When we speak of Arab culture, we must really speak of Arab cultures, because the geographic and cultural diversity is immense, from the Maghreb to the Mashrek, from Sicily to Spain.”

Arabesques is, as Dechraoui insists, about breaking down monolithic views. While many associate Arab traditions only with folklore or ancient heritage, the festival reveals a far richer reality — a living cultural scene influenced by immigration, colonisation, resistance, and creativity. “There’s a traditional scene that has reinvented itself,” he explained. “It draws from today’s codes, today’s sounds. It’s a culture shaped by a long history — of conquest, of being conquered, of diaspora. That mixture gives rise to something extremely rich and unique.”

Raïna Raï at Arabesques 2024. Photo: Festival Arabesques

Spotlight on Palestine: Art as Refuge and Resistance

This year’s edition was marked by a special thematic focus on Palestine, a territory under the watchful eye of the world, ever since the ongoing large-scale attacks and massacres against the population of Gaza began. Titled “Once Upon a Time in Palestine”, the programme dedicated an entire day to showcasing the resilience and creativity of the Palestinian artistic scene.

“This theme was particularly close to our hearts,” Dechraoui shared. “The Palestinian scene has always held an important place at Arabesques, just like the Lebanese or Syrian scenes, but this year it was crucial to amplify those voices. I go to Palestine every year, and we maintain close ties with its artists. Arabesques offered a space of free expression for many of them who struggle to perform elsewhere.”

One of the most poignant moments came with Tareq Abboushi, who offered an evocative musical journey blending traditional Palestinian repertoire with the emotional weight of recent events in Gaza. The festival also welcomed Rasha Nahas, whose performance combined indie rock with poetry and protest.

Mouss et Hakim at Arabesques 2024. Photo: Juan Antonio Vázquez

Women Leading the Stage

Another defining thread of Arabesques 2024 was the strong presence of Arab women artists. While not explicitly framed as a theme, the inclusion of female performers organically shaped the festival’s atmosphere.

“We wanted to highlight the strong voices of Arab women,” said Dechraoui. “Artists like Kamilya Jubran, Yousra Mansour from Bab L’Blues, Climène Zarkan from Sarāb, Souad Massi and Ghalia Benali were central to the programme. This wasn’t by design at first — it just happened naturally. But it worked beautifully, and the audience really felt the energy.”

These artists didn’t just perform — they told stories of identity, exile, and resistance. From Massi’s poignant ballads to Sarab’s jazz-inflected political lyricism, their performances underlined that Arab women are not only preserving heritage but pushing it into new sonic and ideological frontiers.

Sarāb at Arabesques 2024. Photo: Festival Arabesques

A Festival that Grows with Its Audience

Now nearly two decades old, Arabesques has grown into a true cultural phenomenon. What started as a bold experiment is now a celebrated international event, drawing a loyal and growing public.

“From the very beginning, I believed in the future of this festival,” Dechraoui reflected. “I believed it would bring people together, and I wasn’t wrong. Today, Arabesques fills a real gap in France — we have a rich Arab cultural scene, and this festival gives it the visibility it deserves.”

A few years ago, a study with a CNRS researcher revealed that while around 60% of the audience is local, a significant 40% travels from across France and even abroad. “We even met people who have been coming from New Caledonia for several years,” he recalled proudly. “Some plan their entire holidays around the festival.”

Beyond Music: A Multidisciplinary Encounter

Arabesques is not only about concerts. The festival prides itself on offering a multidisciplinary programme that includes cinema screenings, art exhibitions, panel discussions, children’s activities, and cultural workshops. It’s designed as a family-friendly, inclusive space where generations can meet and dialogue.

This diversity of formats also reflects the layered realities of Arab identities. As Dechraoui puts it, “Arabesques is not just a festival — it’s a space of encounter, of debate, of storytelling. It’s about showcasing an ever-moving culture that remains rooted, yet vibrant.”

Intense and Emotional Connections

Attending the Arabesques Festival for the first time allowed me to truly feel the energy of groups that, from either shore of the Mediterranean, maintain an intense and emotional bond with a broad audience. This was especially evident during the concert by Mouss et Hakim, who, since the 1990s, have been driving meaningful projects from Toulouse such as Zebda and Motivés. Their performance offered a moving journey through vintage songs that once resonated deeply with North African immigrant communities in France decades ago. That same powerful connection was felt during the concert by the long-running Algerian raï band Raïna Raï, whose celebrated and much-sung repertoire stirred strong emotions among the crowd.

And now, in 2025, the 20th edition of the Arabesques Festival is fast approaching — what surprises will it bring?

Author: Juan Antonio Vázquez, Transglobal World Music Chart co-founder, co-administrator and member; Mundofonías and Mil Mundos presenter.