Secret Forest Gathering - Korea’s unique new festival
Korea has no shortage of music festivals, with many of them following a similar template. The Secret Forest Gathering, though, is trying to do things differently. Set to take place this weekend, from Friday, 3rd July to Sunday, 5th of July, Secret Forest Gathering is taking a refreshing approach and rethinking what a festival in Korea can be. With their secluded location, unique accommodation and a lineup that features live music, dancing, visual art, workshops, and a collection of experience-oriented creatives, Secret Forest Gathering is promising to be an unforgettable weekend.
Held in a forest in South Korea, the gathering was born from a shared desire among its three organisers, Chunli, DJ Funkin Cat, and MK.
“We had all tried events in other countries that had a different vibe from the ones in Korea. We wanted to create something similar in Korea," says Chunli, who has attended gatherings in Chiang Mai, Yunnan, Tokyo, Spain, and the UK. "Not a festival where people simply consume performances, but a gathering where people stay together, share conversations, create things, and connect naturally."
The other two team members, DJ Funkin Cat and MK, had been returning to the same gathering in Chiang Mai year after year, building what Chunli describes as "lasting friendships" and becoming embedded in a real community. When those different experiences collided, something clicked. "I brought experiences from many different places, while they brought the depth of returning to the same community over many years," Chunli explains. "When those different experiences came together, we naturally found ourselves sharing the same vision."
The result is an event that deliberately resists the direction of the modern music festival. There is no hard distinction between performer and audience. Artists aren't brought in for a set and sent home. They stay in the forest alongside everyone else, eating together, joining the same conversations, wandering the same paths between the trees. "For us, it feels less like a traditional music festival and more like building a small village in the forest together for a few days," Chunli says.
The lineup reflects that philosophy. Artists Howaho, Bright House, and PpangSe were all invited after DJ Funkincat shared a stage with them in Chiang Mai. "We wanted to bring the same warm, open atmosphere and sense of human connection from those experiences," Chunli says. Roots Djembecola, Express, English Yangban, and DJ Jamie round out a bill that spans acoustic music, electronic sets, African music and dance, live drawing, and hula. The last comes courtesy of Huladang, the House of Hula, a community Chunli has been dancing with for over six months. "It's an incredibly open-minded and positive community," she says, "and I felt their energy would fit perfectly with the spirit of the gathering."
But the performances might not even be the main event. The gathering's Found 50 initiative invites the early community members to actively shape the weekend: hosting workshops, running market stalls, performing, documenting, and cooking. Among them are Sunday Pizza Club, who travel Korea baking pizzas at unusual events including the DMZ Peace Train, and a.chacha project, a travelling tea house that has been making its way across the country serving tea in unexpected places.
"We hope people won't just move from stage to stage," Chunli says, "but wander slowly through the forest, discover unexpected experiences, and find their own special moments."
Accommodation has been thought through with the same care. Guests can pitch their own tent, sleep in a vintage caravan imported from Europe or the United States, or stay in a timber Square Wood Cabin. There's also a Finnish sauna and an ice bath on site. "For us, accommodation isn't just somewhere to sleep," Chunli says. "It's an essential part of the gathering experience itself."
Korea's independent music scene has been growing quietly for years, and events like the Secret Forest Gathering are part of what gives it shape. This isn't a festival designed to be photographed and forgotten. It's designed to be lived in, even briefly, and carried out of the forest with you when the weekend ends.