Woodstock Korea 2010
Investor troubles do in Korea’s Woodstock
July 31, 2010
A rock festival named after the legendary Woodstock Music and Art Fair that was to be held near the inter-Korean border was canceled just a week prior to its opening due to legal and financial rifts, organizers said yesterday.
The event, “The Peace at DMZ with Artie Kornfeld, the Father of Woodstock,” was to be held at the Imjin Pavilion park just south of the demilitarized zone from Aug. 6 to 8 under the baton of Kornfeld, an American musician and producer who co-created the U.S. rock festival in 1969.
The Korean organizer, Woodstock Korea Inc., said it has postponed the event because its major investor, whose name was not immediately revealed, failed to put up the money on time as agreed in a contract.
"We decided to put off the event indefinitely because much of the production money has not come in from the investor in violation of the contract," Oh Seong-hun, a representative of Woodstock Korea, said.
He said his company will fully refund all tickets sold.
The organizer had earlier announced its lineup of 60 musicians participating in the festival, led by legendary rock guitarist Santana, who would have made his first visit to Korea.
It also featured rock bands Simple Plan, Mamas Gun and Smile Empty Soul as well as Korean rock bands N.EX.T and Dr. Core 911.
He said the investor had been scheduled to pay 2 billion won ($1.7 million) out of the total production cost of 4.5 billion won.
According to a local media report, the organizers also faced a legal dispute with Woodstock Ventures Inc.
The U.S.-based company, which holds the licensing and intellectual property rights to the Woodstock name, had filed a lawsuit over its use in Korea.
Kim Oh-young, an official of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, which leased the park to the group for the event, said he had been informed of the cancellation by Woodstock Korea on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival at the Incheon Dream Park finished its three-day schedule on Sunday.
It attracted about 50,000 viewers, showing little change from last year, despite the heavy rain on its first day.
The Jisan Valley Rock Festival 2010 at the Jisan Forest Ski Resort in Gyeonggi started yesterday and will run to tomorrow. It features a handful of British artists including the Pet Shop Boys, an electronic dance music duo, who will be on stage today.
Yonhap
