Jeonju International Sori Festival


Founded in 2001, Jeonju International Sori Festival is South Korea's main event for traditional music and, since 2011, world music. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, Songlines listed Jeonju Sori Festival among the World's Best 25 International Festivals, the only Asian festival in the list.

History and editions

About the 8 first editions:
YearEditionDatesSitePerformers
20011Oct.13 – 21, 2001Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do142 teams, 15 countries
20022Aug.24 – Sep.1, 2002Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Traditional culture spaces156 teams, 16 countries
20033Sep.27 – Oct.5, 2003Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Traditional Culture Center172 teams, 14 countries
20044Oct.16 – 22, 2004Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Chonbuk National University190 teams, 14 countries
20055Sep.27 – Oct.3, 2005Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, across Jeonju190 teams, 25 countries
20066Sep.16 – 24, 2006Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Hanok Village184 teams, 22 countries
20077Oct.6 – 14, 2007Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, across Jeonju131 teams, 10 countries
20088Sep.26 – Oct.4, 2008Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Hanok Village280 teams, 16 countries
20109Oct.1 – 5, 2010Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Hanok Village3,000 artists, 9 countries, 150,000 visitors
201110Sep.30 – Oct.4, 2011Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Hanok Village1,161 artists, 9 countries, 212,831 visitors
201211Sep.13 – Sep.17, 2012Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Hanok Village1,592 artists, 18 countries, 228,519 visitors
201312Oct.2 – 6, 2013Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Hanok Village2,834 artists, 37 countries, 281,478 visitors
201413Oct.8 – 12, 2014Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Hanok Village1,300 artists, 29 countries, 302,378 visitors
201514Oct.7 – 11, 2015Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju Hanok Village1,300 artists, 28 countries, 170,242 visitors

The Jeonju Int'l Sori Festival is held every fall in the Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do and various venues in Jeollabuk-do, with indoor and outdoor programs, Sori Festival for Kids, Master Classes of Masters and Master Sori Artists, and other workshops. All the great masters of gugak perform in a festival that welcomes artists from all over the world.