Gapyeong in Gyeonggi Province has a population of about sixty thousand, and because the entire county is protected under natural preservation regulations, until now it has been known for its tourism and agriculture. However, since some years ago, there is another word that has become the buzzword in this region, "jazz"—all because of the Jarasum International Jazz Festival, which set up its first stage in 2004. This year was the 9th year the festival took place in Jarasum, and was held for three days, from October 12--14. This year, it is estimated that a total of 234,000 people came to the festival, which is 24.5% more (or 46,000 more people) than the people who enjoyed the festival last year, which was estimated to be about 188,000 people. There have been nine festivals, and there are already over one million people that have been a part of the festival in one form or another throughout the years. Yet the Jarasum Festival has not only resulted in a greater number of people visiting Gapyeong. For three days of every year since 2004, there is jazz music that can be heard everywhere in Gapyeong, making it a city of jazz. Renowned jazz musicians from the around the world have come to Gapyeong to meet tens of thousands of jazz music lovers who ardently enjoyed their music. And for this reason, people say that Jarasum (Jara Island) is a "jazz heaven," an island of jazz that emerges once a year. J.J. IN, or Jaejin IN, the Artistic Director of the festival, explains, "If there is a world map of the jazz genre, Korea frankly did not exist on that map. But with the success of the Jarasum International Jazz Festival, Korea now has a place on that map."

A festival in an abandoned lot of land

Jarasum Festival came from humble beginnings. It all started when a county clerk proposed the idea of holding a festival in Gapyeong after taking a culture and arts class from J.J. IN. The director, who had always dreamt of organizing a jazz festival, accepted the proposal, and as they say, the rest is history. After searching around the county, they found the right space for the festival—Jarasum.

Jarasum submerges under water when there is heavy rain, and it used to be an island-like land that was abandoned. In the 1940''s Chinese immigrants who lived in the vicinity harvested crops that could survive there, and that is why it was also called Chinese Island. But it was better known as Jara Island, the name that it is known by today, because of its resemblance to the back of a tortoise, jara in the Korean language. Most Koreans know Nami Island, which stands only about 800 meters in front of it, but no one knew of this tortoise island. So it is incredible that in 2004, the land was solidified, a stage was set up there, and a jazz festival was held. The first festival was held on September 12, 2004, and although it was a Friday, close to twenty thousand people gathered there. It was a great success. But unfortunately, on the second day, rain began to fall, and the festival turned out to be half a success. Of course, the festival did not end in total failure, as many will remember with great fondness the jazz musicians and professionals who were ardently playing their music despite the rain, and the audience that was totally engrossed by the wonderful music despite the torrential downpour. It was the energy of the musicians, the music, and the audience becoming one that sparked the Jarasum Jazz Festival. As time went by, year after year, the festival began to accumulate know-how on how to deal with the rain. Moreover, a new trend had begun in Korea: people were seeking leisurely time with family, looking for natural places where they could go auto camping. And this new trend fit perfectly with the catchphrase that the festival was promoting: "nature, family, rest, and jazz." Thus, the Jarasum International Jazz Festival was not just a music festival; it had become a cultural phenomenon.

Some people may say that the creators and organizers were just lucky. However, Director IN, who has been responsible for the festival from the beginning, says that there is no better description than "Failure is a wonderful teacher" to recount the success of the festival. Director In entered the world of jazz when he was in his mid 20s, after graduating from university. After jazz began to get more popular in Korea in the 1990''s, IN has had his share of successes: leading a well-known fusion jazz band, the Wave, and taking the directorship of a small but popular jazz club in Daehangno called Strawberry. But he has also had his fair share of failures, from failed albums to failed jazz concerts and events. For a while, the director was known in the jazz world not as Midas, but as Minus, because everything he touched turned into losses instead of gold. Director In, who is currently Professor of Planning and Production at the Department of Performing Arts at Howon University, is said to have told his students that they can make money if they simply do not follow what he had done. However, the success of the Jarasum Festival can be attributed to a dream he had for a long time, a dream of creating a global jazz festival. And though he may have failed in businesses, he has never failed with people, because he never lost his love and confidence in people. Director In credits the success of Jarasum Festival to everyone involved. "When we first began organizing the festival in 2004, people said that it would be impossible, that it was rash. The past years have not been easy, but nine years have already passed and we are about to welcome a tenth year. This is because many people have shown us interest and love and helped us turn this into something successful. The Jarasum Jazz Festival is something that we all created and made together."

A festival made by the people

The management philosophy of the Jarasum Festival is based on people. The keys behind the success of the festival are the close cooperative relationship between the local government and the local people, the establishment of a permanent organizing body, and a stable volunteer program.

The close cooperative relationship with the local government has been an important pillar in firmly setting the root of the festival. Though the festival has received support from the local government, it does not have any political ties and is a big event for the local people. Director IN especially emphasizes, "The love that we have received from the local people has actually been the most important factor in the existence and survival of the festival. The local people were not too familiar with jazz music, but they take great pride in this wonderful international festival taking place in their town. This is really very important. Not only do they take the initiative in seeing the success of the event, but their love for the festival grows every year."

The Jarasum Youth Jazz Center, which was established in 2005, is in charge of the key operations of the festival. The center''s staff resides in Gapyeong and is in charge of not only the festival, but of the planning of other cultural and arts events throughout the year. "Gapyeong, the home of Korean jazz" is not a byname that was just given because of the success of the festival. The part that Director IN takes the most pride in is the volunteer program, which involves the local people. "The volunteer service that we provide is really world-class. Volunteers that took part in the first festival still participate with us," the Director boasts. "It is wonderful to see familiar faces again and again. Young college students that participated in the first festival have gone to the army, or gotten jobs, or are married now. But three days a year when the festival takes place, they come together, taking a leave from either the army or the workplace to be a part of the festival. There are couples that met as volunteers and have gotten married. I even presided over a wedding in April of this year." Director IN says that the best part of the festival is the participation of the volunteers. "I would say that the success of the festival really depends on how we manage this team of volunteers, who add so much to the program." For the volunteers, turning the festival into a success is their pride.

Ten years, the start of a new beginning

As the Jarasum Festival becomes even bigger and more recognized, the responsibilities and concerns that follow also become bigger. For the artistic director who must oversee the entire operation, a good, cooperative, and win-win relationship with Korean musicians is also very important. The Jarasum Festival may grow in scale and fame, but jazz continues to be outside the mainstream of music in Korea. In addition, the long-term depression in music sales continues to be an obstacle for jazz musicians. Director IN, who has been working with jazz and has a particular love for this genre, understands this burden well. "Since long time ago, it has been my dream to see Korean musicians do collaborative work with famous world jazz musicians. I want the world to know that there are excellent musicians and jazz music in Korea, too, and there is a great stage where they can perform." The director adds, "We''ve had the wonderful bassist Youngdo SUH and guitarist Jungsoo OH perform with global jazz musicians at our festival. But we would love for other Korean musicians to fully utilize our stage to actively promote their music."

Another concern that has been bothering the director is whether the Jarasum Festival can indeed retain its integrity as a jazz festival, true to its name, or whether it turn into a jazz festival without the jazz. This is a concern because many well-known jazz festivals are indeed turning into pop or rock music festivals, with the center stage being monopolized by famous pop stars—people don''t want to hear just jazz at a music festival, even if it is a jazz festival. Jazz festivals are also no longer a music festival for people who enjoy a genre that secures the loyalty of only 5% of music worldwide; it is a cultural event. "As we were holding our 9th Jarasum Festival, we could not ignore the aspect of mass appeal," recalls Director IN. "I think it is our task now to try and kill two birds with one stone: satisfying jazz aficionados while at the same time providing a setting where people who do not know jazz well can also enjoy and get to know it."

Director IN says that as the years go by, he thinks and feels more and more. He predicts that 2013, which celebrates the 10th year of the festival, will be a new turning point. "The wonderful thing about an ongoing festival is that we can make plans every year. If there is something that we missed last year, we can make it up this year. And as time goes by, this accumulated know-how becomes the makings of a great festival. A great festival is one that grows in scale but is internally full of wonderful, delicate details. Next year, we want to hold a festival that satisfies these two conditions." As is always the case, Director IN does not leave his concerns in his mind. He turns them into action. Once the festival is over, he immediately starts planning the following festival. He recently went to Poland and Finland to participate in jazz festivals there, and also visited other European countries to hold meetings. It was only a few years ago that he dreamt of turning the Jarasum Festival into a festival that matched those in Europe. Today, Director In takes pride in having reached that goal. The Jarasum Festival does not fall behind, because the passion to make next year''s festival a little better than this year''s continues to burn in Director IN''s heart and mind.