Yoonha, CNBLUE performances canceled

Indoor KSPO Dome events proceed as planned

[Provided by Mint Paper]
[Provided by Mint Paper]

Heavy rain forced the Grand Mint Festival (GMF), an autumn music festival, to cancel most of its outdoor performances on its second day. The organizer said it would issue full refunds to all ticketholders for Sunday's events.

Mint Paper, the company running the festival, announced Sunday afternoon on its official SNS that continuing severe weather made it "realistically near impossible to deliver the performances we had prepared," and that "tickets will be fully refunded."

GMF ran for two days starting Saturday at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The festival featured three stages: two outdoor venues — the 88 Lawn (Mint Breeze Stage) and the 88 Lake Waterfront Stage (Loving Forest Garden) — and one indoor venue, KSPO Dome (Club Midnight Sunset).

Rain falling at nearly 20 to 30 millimeters per hour brought the second day to a halt. The roof canopy over the 88 Lawn collapsed under accumulated rainwater, while floodwater rose to just below the stage structure at the 88 Lake Waterfront Stage. Bolbbalgan4, scheduled for 3:20 p.m. at the 88 Lawn, and Nip Archive, set for 3:30 p.m. at the waterfront stage, were both stopped mid-performance.

Mint Paper then issued a follow-up notice canceling all remaining events at the 88 Lawn outdoor stage due to "partial damage to production equipment." The decision wiped out the scheduled sets by Bolbbalgan4, Jung Seung-hwan, Roy Kim, CNBLUE and Yoonha.

As the rain eased around 5:30 p.m., performances resumed at the artists' request. Shin Ji-hun was set to open, followed by Kkachisan, Sunwoo Jung-a and Lee Seok-won. For Lee Seok-won of the band Unni's Barbershop, Sunday marked his first stage appearance in 10 years.

Indoor performances at KSPO Dome proceeded as scheduled, with acts including Sipran (10cm x Soran), Thornapple, N.Flying and Far East Asian Tigers. As the outdoor stages went dark, audience members in rain ponchos flooded into the indoor venue. The organizer warned that "a large number of attendees are entering, and access restrictions may apply depending on the situation."

Refunds will be issued regardless of whether ticketholders attended the festival. Those who booked by credit card will have their purchases automatically canceled, while those who paid by bank transfer must contact the call center to receive their refund. The process may take up to a week to complete. The organizer cautioned that ticketholders who cancel on their own through a booking app or website will not receive a proper refund.

Other autumn festivals across Seoul and the greater metropolitan area also shut down Sunday. Gwanak-gu canceled all of its Sunday programming for the Gwanak Gangam Chan Festival at 11:30 a.m. Mapo-gu called off all remaining outdoor afternoon events on the final day of the Mapo Naru Saeujeot Festival. In Incheon, Geomdan-gu canceled the Dream Park Chrysanthemum Festival as of 2 p.m. and blocked entry to the site.


shee@heraldcorp.com