World Music Fest Coming

The port city of Busan in South Korea, which already hosts Asia’s biggest international film festival, has asked the central government for a grant of 200 million won ($156,000) to put on an annual “world music festival” in August 2010.

If the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decides to turn down the request, the city still plans to go ahead with the festival and pay for it out of its own budget. The festival was initiated by the Music Association of Busan, which itself has pledged about 100 million won for the event.

The plan is to hold the festival for eight days at the end of August 2010 at the Busan Cultural Center and other, smaller venues.

Some concerts will be held in the district of Haeundae, which is Korea’s largest resort area and lies along a stretch of beach. The organizers plan to use the city’s philharmonic orchestra for the opening and closing concerts, but otherwise the performers will be “world-renowned musicians,” according to a city spokesperson.

Busan is Korea’s second-biggest city.