Pohang is famous for seafood, POSTECH, and POSCO. Now, the Gum Nanse Music Festival and Academy, a high-quality musical experience, should be added to the list.

The third annual Gum Nanse Music Festival and Academy was successfully hosted at POSTECH from Jul. 24 to 30. It consisted of three concerts: opening, chamber, and symphonic concert. First suggested by Maestro Gum, the Music Festival and Academy continues to be held at POSTECH every year.

One of Korea’s musical titans, Maestro Gum is a celebrated conductor. He is famous not only for his charismatic conducting, but also for informative concerts. He communicates with the audience by explaining the behind story of the pieces in the program during the concert.

His concerts are typically a bit longer than normal concerts, but the average audience, with little musical background, enjoys them. He also suggests, in a joking manner, that the audience follow basic etiquette during the concert. Because of this blend of explanation and humor, this year’s concerts were all sold-out, as previous years’ concerts have been.

This year’s festival was especially meaningful because it had the most participation from POSTECH. Two Postechians performed in the opening concert as members of the Korea United College Orchestra, and four participated in the Music Academy.