Eighth Army Band Performs at the Largest Cherry Blossom Festival in South Korea

Photo By Staff Sgt. Joel Salgado | Members of the Eighth Army Band, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 8A, perform during a parade in Jinhae, South Korea March 31, 2023. The parade is part of the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, held in various areas of Jinhae to celebrate blooming of the cherry blossoms. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Joel Salgado, 20th Public Affairs Detachment)  

SOUTH KOREA

04.01.2023

Story by Pfc. Ashley Xie 

20th Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea, April 7, 2023 – Soldiers from the Eighth Army Band and United Nations Command Honor Guard, participated in the largest cherry blossom festival in Korea in Jinhae, March 29 to April 2. The festival, known as the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, featured marching parade performances by the Eighth Army Band and participation in a military tattoo that also featured military bands and honor guard performances from the Republic of Korea’s military service branches.
The Eighth Army Band's presence at the festival serves to inform ROK citizens that the U.S.-ROK Alliance is present and strong on the peninsula.
“Events like that are important to us because it shows civilians the US-ROK Alliance, especially since this year is the 70th anniversary of the Alliance,” said Sgt. Hyun Kim, the operations noncommissioned officer and event planner with the Eighth Army Band. “Korean people are realizing that there is a U.S. band and U.S. Army in Korea more and more every year because we are doing this.”
The Jinhae Gunhangje Festival draws around two million tourists from across the country and abroad to its cherry blossoms and live performances. The 2023 Jinhae Gunhangje Festival is the first festival back to normalcy after the COVID 19 restrictions were lifted.
“Our job here is to be musical ambassadors to help strengthen the alliance between the whole of Korea and the United States,” said Staff Sgt. Victor De Jesus.
As a part of the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, the Jinhae International Military Band and Honor Guard Festival is a celebration of service members. During this festival, naval vessels in Jinhae Naval Base Command and Naval Academy are open to the general public allowing civilians to tour areas otherwise closed to the public.
The Eighth Army Band and the ROK military bands and honor guards from the army, navy, air force and marine corps performed during its memorial parade, both opening and closing events.
“Seeing the audience line both sides of the street … whenever we come through we hear a bunch of cheers,” said Staff Sgt. Victor De Jesus. “We hear people saying ‘go go go’, they’re saying ‘we love you’. I heard one person say ‘thank you for your service’ and they’re saying good things in Korean too.”
The Eighth Army Band performs across the Korean peninsula with ROK military bands bringing together different cultures, nationalities and backgrounds with the purpose to strengthen bonds through music. The Jinhae Gunhangje Festival is just one example of many that showcases the unity between the U.S. and the ROK Alliance.
“A lot of our host nation's military bands work really hard, we work with them a lot,” said Staff Sgt. Victor De Jesus. “We have a lot of different performances with them in concert halls. It's nice to see that we are not the only ones who appreciate this marching band tradition.”

• Date Taken: 04.01.2023
• Date Posted: 04.11.2023 22:17
• Story ID: 442446
• Location: KR