Lyrics of traditional folk songs such as the Hakka song “táng shān guò tái wān, méi bàn diǎn qián (The Chinese came to Taiwan, with pocket empty) ”(Hakka Nature), the Bunun song “kipahpah ima, kipahpah ima, muskunta kipahpah ima (lets clap hands together)” (Taiwan indigenous Bunun clapping hand song), and the Hoklo song “tiám á ka, liâm tio̍h kioh, kiò a-pah, bé ti kioh (Scorching sun melts the tarmac road. Children walking in barefoot got their feet sticky and dirty. They ask father to buy delicious pork knuckles for dispelling bad luck.)” (Tarmac) are well known to Taiwanese. These folk songs have made many Taiwanese appreciate the beauty of music. Starting from April 2014, a four-day music event will be held at Kaohsiung Municipal Social Education Center. Chorus will be performing more popular folk songs.

Supervised by Ministry of Education, Hakka Affairs Council and Council of Indigenous Peoples, the2013 National Folk Song Competition for Teachers and Students is organized by National Arts Education Center and hosted by Department of Music, National Kaohsiung Normal University . This competition promotes teachers’ and students’ comprehension in local languages. Teachers and students will be immersed in the beauty of local languages and music. They also gain a deep understanding of Taiwan's cultural heritage.

The age of participants varies, from elementary school students to school faculty. During the primary competition started in October 2013, participants were divided into elementary school, Junior high school, senior high school and teachers groups with three dialects: Hoklo, Hakka and indigenous languages. 189 teams were selected all around the island.. Competition will be fierce among different languages. The final competition will be held from April 15 to 18, 2014 at Kaohsiung Municipal Social Education Center. All teams will try their best to win the honor, to spread the beauty of mother tongue folk songs, to convey pure nature of land. They will present Taiwanese local culture, including Hoklo culture, Hakka nature, and the charm of hometown.

On April 15, the first day of the final competition, an opening ceremony will be held at 11:20 AM. We invite folk song fans join this event and enjoy the beauty of Taiwanese traditional music. Please visit the official website at http://ed.arte.gov.tw/country/news.aspx for more information.