Eumseong Pumba Festival (음성품바축제)

Pumba was the word repeated in the songs of street singers, especially when Korea was once impoverished. They strolled around marketplaces or villages seeking food, money, or anything they could get. Pumba doesn't have a specific meaning but is a language mechanism for keeping a rhythm. These days, the word pumba generally refers to gakseori, a type of performance by performers who do not beg for food or money, but simply sing at events or festivals for entertainment. The Pumba Festival is held in Eumseong every year to celebrate this important part of Korea's modern history. ◎ The Pumba Festival has made affiliations with a local international center, which dispatches volunteers from ten countries to the festival to provide explanations about the event.