The national Asian Culture Complex in the southwestern provincial city of Gwangju will turn into a venue for a world music festival this summer with a few months left before the facility's opening.

The sixth Gwangju World Music Festival will be held at the center on Aug. 29-30, featuring 12 musical teams from 11 countries, including Lebanon, France, Cuba, Argentina, Italy, Greece, South Korea, China and Japan, according to organizers.

The musicians will present contemporary reinterpretations of their ethnic music during the two-day festival.

Bachar Mar Kalife, a French-Lebanese singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist, will open the festival. The BKO Quintet from Mali; South Korean singer JK Kim Dong-wook and his jazz project group "Zebra band"; La Dame Blanche, a Cuban rapper and jazz vocalist; and South American DJ El Hijo de la Cumbia are also among the performers on the first day.

(Official website of Gwangju World Music Festival)

On Aug. 30, The NEQ, a South Korean band known for combining traditional Korean music and jazz; Eran Zamir Quintet, a band from Israel; the Chinese electric musician Dawanggang; the Italian band Kalascima; and Hachi & TJ, a South Korean and Japanese duo, will present unique music from their countries. South Korean indie band Sultan Of the Disco will close the festival.

The Asian Culture Complex, a multipurpose cultural facility, is under construction in the city located some 330 kilometers south of Seoul for completion by the end of the year.

The construction began in 2008 as part of then-President Roh Moo-hyun's plan to foster Gwangju as a mecca of culture and arts in Asia. The four-story building will be home to various facilities for introducing history and culture of Asian countries and supporting Asian creators and promoting exchanges among them.

"World music, such as bossa nova of Brazil and Tango of Argentina, embodies each country's ways of living and culture just like each tribe's or country's folk music," said Bang Sun-gyu, the acting chief of the complex. "Starting with the world music festival, we're going to continue to drum up the festive mood with various events ahead of the complex's official opening ceremony."

Admission to the festival is free. For more information, visit the event's official website at www.gjwmf.or.kr or Facebook account at www.facebook.com/GJWMF. (Yonhap)