Supporting people with developmental disabilities has always been one of the most active social values creating programs of SK Innovation. As a part of it, Great Music Festival (GMF) is a special music event held once a year to improve awareness of developmental disabilities and resolve cultural polarization as part of this social contribution activity.

GMF is hosted by the Heart-Heart Foundation and sponsored by SK Innovation, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, SM Entertainment, Korea Cable TV Broadcasting Association, and the Social Welfare Community Chest. Since it began in 2017, GMF has been the largest music competition festival in Korea performed by people with developmental disabilities. This year is the 4th time this special music festival takes place.

▲ (Left) With Symphony, the Grand Prize Winner of GMF 2019 / (Right) Seocho Hanwoori Orchestra, the Grand Prize Winner of GMF 2018

20 million KRW will be awarded to the final 6 teams, including 10 million KRW for the Grand Prize Winner (Best award). GMF is a great chance for participants to have more experiences and open a new door for them to keep realizing their musical dreams. “Dream With Ensemble”, the Grand Prize winner of the 1st GMF in 2017, was invited to perform at the MIKTA Reception in observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) hosted by The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea at the UN in New York.

▲ (Left) Dream With Ensemble, the Grand Prize winner of GMF 2017 / (Right) Dream With Ensemble performed at MIKTA Reception in observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2018

Due to COVID-19, this year GMF will be broadcast as an online concert under strict quarantine guidelines. The main stages for the contests was pre-recorded separately on October 21st, and on 28th the whole program, which also includes a live talk concert, will be shown. The festival aims to keep being a meaningful event for musicians with developmental disabilities who wish to challenge stage performances and show their talents, despite the difficulties of the environment. 240 participants from 24 teams across Korea participated in the preliminary round, and 6 teams were selected to perform at the final stage.

Lim Han-bin, a member of of the Einsbaum Wind Chamber team, said, “I am pleased to participate in the final contest,” and continued, “Even though I cannot see the stage performances of other teams due to COVID-19, I believe I can perform with confidence to show what our team has prepared since months ago.”

Lee Soo-geun, a famous Korean comedian/showhost under the management of SM Culture & Contents agency, will be the MC of GMF this year. This is the 3rd time Lee Soo-geun hosts the event as talent donation. JeA, a member of Korean girl group Brown Eyed Girls, who participated as a judge last year, will also join the talk show this year. Besides, The Minister of Culture and Sports will give his congratulatory remarks and Korean popular girl group Red Velvet will perform during the talk concert.