Tài liệu Koreans and Arirang pdf

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COVER STORY
nickname “Bonjo Arirang” (lit. Arirang of the
original melody). The boom of “Bonjo Arirang”
precipitated a new and lasting trend of creating
Arirang-inspired popular songs in the 1930s
that continues today.
Opinions of the value of Arirang vary greatly.
There was a time when scholars of Korean
literature regarded Arirang merely as an old
folk song and a material for etymological
research. Perhaps Arirang is not musically
the best folk song, but historically it is of
utmost importance. Reected in the mirror of
national history, Arirang is a spitting image
of the Korean nation, which has survived
countless ups and downs over the millennia
through pain and joy and sorrow and
suering.
ARIRANG AROUND THE WORLD
Arirang is not only sung in Korea but also
in Japan, China, the United States, Russia,
Germany, and many other parts of the world,
because Koreans who left Korea—willingly or
unwillingly—still sing the song. Their Arirang
has more sorrowful stories, as most Korean
emigrants had to suer hardships in foreign
lands. The lives of Koreans in Japan, which is
often dubbed a close but far neighbor, were
especially dicult. Arirang was ocially
introduced in Japan by a Japanese ocial named
Nobuo Junpei, who visited Korea in 1876. Later,
radio programs such as Arirang Collection (1936)
and music albums including Song of Arirang
(edited by Koga Masao, 1932) also featured
Arirang. Perhaps due to such exchanges, almost
every record on Korea written during the Showa
period (1926-1989) mentions Arirang. Korean
artists also played a role in spreading Arirang
in Japan. Classical vocalist Kim Anna sang
Arirang as part of her repertoire, and dancer
Choi Seung-hee’s Arirang was also famous.
“Sanghang Arirang” is a variation created
by Korean Americans. The word “sanghang”
refers to San Francisco. There is a story that
Ahn Eak-tai, a renowned conductor in the
1940s, arranged Arirang and dedicated it to his
teacher, Leopold Stokowski. That version of
Arirang, entitled “Arirang Hill,” was created
at the request of Philadelphia-based publisher
Elkan-Vogel Co., Inc. Printed on the cover of the
score is “The rst manifestation of the Korean
music by EAKTAE AHN from Korean Life for
Voice and Piano.”
Literature on Arirang can also be found in
Germany. In 1925, German folklorists published
a report on the folklore of prisoners of war of
dierent ethnic backgrounds, including two
Koreans who fought for Russia as mercenaries.
The report includes details on three variations of
Arirang that the two Korean mercenaries sang.
They are “Arirang Sseurirang,” “Harirang,”
and “Arirangga.” In the 1960s and 1970s, Korean
miners who went to Germany also sang Arirang
to soothe their sorrows from the hard labor and
challenges of life abroad.
Arirang united the Koreans who emigrated
to Hawaii more than a century ago, those who
went all the way to the Yucatan Peninsula
in Mexico to Cuba, and those who scattered
throughout China, Japan, Russia, and Central
Asia, and it still gives a sense of unity to the
over seven million ethnic Koreans abroad
including the descendents of Korean emigrants
who left their homeland a century ago.
ARIRANG IN ART
Arirang embodies the Korean nation’s history
and everyday feelings more than anything else.
It has been an object of research for scholars
and a rich source of inspiration for artists.
Numerous books have come out; some collect
many variations of Arirang, and some delve
into the Arirangs of a certain region.
TV programs were made that appeal to the
collective subconscious of Koreans captured
in Arirang. The sitcom LA Arirang, set in Los
Angeles where many Korean-Americans live,
was a great hit in Korea. Reputable novelist Jo
Jung-rae published a 12-volume novel entitled
Arirang in 1994 telling of Koreans’ tenacious
ght for survival and independence and the
heartbreaking stories of Korean emigrants
during Japanese occupation. The long novel
features numerous characters to depict Korean
history in the most vivid way.
Musicians are also lovers of Arirang. Many
albums have come out at home and abroad
in dierent versions. Some are arranged as
Western classical music or pop music. Some
albums feature Arirang played on the gayageum
(traditional Korean zither with 12 strings)
or other musical instruments. Old albums
featuring Arirang include one released in 1931
with singers Park Wol-jeong and Kim In-
suk singing a version of Arirang arranged by
Columbia Orchestra and an album that featured
pop singer Sugawara Tsuzuko’s rendition of
Arirang.
The poster of the movie
Arirang from 1926
Arirang is sung to create a feeling of unity and energy when people are working together.
INTERVIEW
LOCAL IS GLOBAL
Yun I-geun, Director of the Jindo National Gugak Center
Nearly every small child in Korea can sing
Arirang. At no other time do Koreans have
such a great feeling of unity than when singing
Arirang together, and this sense of unity gives
them explosive energy. Koreans continue to sing
Arirang together when the times call for it, when
they need to join hands to achieve a common
goal. There is no known literature on Arirang.
Instead, Koreans have passed the song down
through the ages merely by singing it, hearing
it, and engraving it in their hearts. And they will
continue to do so indefinitely into the future.
“With the inscription of Arirang on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Korean culture is getting more attention,” says
Yun I-geun, the director of the Jindo National Gugak Center. “The inscription
has also boosted the morale of Koreans living across the globe.”
Yun believes that the inscription will fuel the spread of Korean culture globally
along with Hallyu. He emphasizes that Koreans should first know more about
the many variations of Arirang including Jindo, Miryang, and Jeongseon Arirang
and that efforts should be made to research the vast variety of Arirangs sung in
North Korea and outside the Korean Peninsula and help consolidate them into
artistic works and performances.
“The most Korean is the most global,” asserts Yun. “Each and every member
of the Korean nation should strive to increase the value of traditional Korean
culture.”
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COVER STORY
8180
Overview A pentatonic mode consisting of
mi – la – do – re – mi
(ascending) /
mi – re – do –
si – la – mi
(descending), with
la
acting as the cadential tone. Stress is usually placed
on
do
when descending to
si
, and the lowest tone
mi
is typically sung with a deep
and wide vibrato. This pentatonic mode notably has no
sol
, which is characteristic of
the musical language of the Jeolla area. It is to be sung with much excitement.
Ari arirang sseuri sseurirang my heart is broken Arirang eungeungeung my heart is
broken
What is this gate on a hill called Mungyeong Saejae*, this winding trail brings tears
to my eyes
The clear blue sky holds innumerable little stars and, likewise, inside our hearts we
carry many hopes
Lyrics
Semachi
Rhythmic pattern
Mode
Mungyeong Saejae
A high hill in the city of Mungyeong in North Gyeongsang
Province, it borders the Chungcheong region in the middle
of the peninsula and the southeastern region of Gyeongsang.
Mungyeong Saejae
Arirang is an image of the
Korean nation, which has
survived countless ups and
downs over the millennia
with vitality through pain, joy,
sorrow, and suffering.
Arirang Variations
Generally Arirang refers to Jeongseon Arirang
of Gangwon-do (mid-eastern part of the
Korean Peninsula), Bonjo Arirang of Seoul and
Gyeonggi (mid-western), Jindo Arirang of Jeolla-
do (southwestern), and Miryang Arirang of
Gyeongsang-do (southeastern). They are called
the four major Arirangs.
THE FOUR MAJOR ARIRANGS

BONJO ARIRANG (OR SIMPLY
ARIRANG)
Director Na Woon-gyu’s movie Arirang (1926)
expressed so tellingly the sentiments of the
Koreans of the day. They were groaning under
Japanese colonial occupation. The movie became
a huge hit and was screened across the nation.
Its theme song, which was later nicknamed
“Bonjo Arirang,” also became a sensation. It was
a remake of the then most popular variation of
tongsok minyo Arirang and became iconic for all
Koreans and eventually the representative form
of Arirang.

JEONGSEON ARIRANG
One of the representative folk songs of
Gangwon-do—a mountainous region that
is in the mid-eastern region of the Korean
Peninsula—is “Arari Sori.” A variation of “Arari
Sori” that was sung in Jeongseon, Gangwon-
do, spread to other regions under the title
“Jeongseon Arirang.”
There are two versions of Jeongseon Arirang:
“Gin Arirang” (lit. Long Arirang), which is
slow, and “Yeokkeum Arirang” (lit. Weaving
Arirang), which densely weaves stories into
the lyrics. The two share the same chorus, but
the verses are dierent. Sometimes, the verse is
sung rst, followed by the chorus, but only the
verses are sung with the chorus omitted.

MIRYANG ARIRANG
There is a theory that Miryang Arirang
is a representative tongsok minyo of the
Gyeongsang-do legion originating in Miryang,
Gyeongsangnam-do. A more credible theory
is that it was derived from “Arong Taryeong,”
which was sung in the rst half of the 20th
century in Seoul, because it has features of both
the Seoul style of music and the Gyeongsang-do
style of music. The mood of Miryang Arirang is
very bright and gallant.

JINDO ARIRANG
Every variation of Arirang bears the
characteristics of the region where it is sung.
Jindo Arirang is a case in point. It is also easy
to follow and is extremely rousing. The exciting
rhythm and melody combined with the witty
lyrics can ease the greatest suering and
heartache.
ARIRANG SUNG BY KOREAN CHINESE
For ethnic Koreans living in China, Arirang
carries even more meaning. Most of the ethnic
Koreans in China are descendents of Koreans
forced out of their homeland by the Japanese
in the 1930s and during the war in order to
develop Manchuria. The locations where they
lived were also strongholds for the Korean
independence movement and warfare in the
1930s and 1940s. They were sources of medicine,
arms, food, and information. Against this
backdrop, Arirang became a kind of weapon in
the anti-colonial struggle; that is, it was sung as
a secret signal.
Ethnic Koreans in China sang Arirang in
their yearning for home and in lament at the
tragic situation of their motherland to soothe
their nostalgia and express their anti-colonialist
sentiments. Arirang remains synonymous with
“fatherland,” “mother,” and “hometown” in
many songs, performances, and literary works
by ethnic Koreans in China.
A memorial stone of Miryang Arirang
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COVER STORY
A
rirang became known internationally
thanks to Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra,
who recorded Arirang with the title “Eastern
Love Song” in 1975. This prompted releases of
other recordings of Arirang in other countries
including Czechoslovakia, Japan, and Germany.
Jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun, who is more
famous abroad, sings Arirang at every one
of her performances. She interprets dierent
variations of Arirang including Gangwon-do
Arirang, Jindo Arirang, and Jeongseon Arirang
in a jazz style. “Not only Korean but also
European audiences love the song,” says Nah.
More and more renowned artists are
producing albums featuring Arirang. The
Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation
under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism released a series of albums entitled
Arirang: The Name of Korean in cooperation with
artists from home and abroad.
Volume 1 of The Name of Korean features
artists who know Korea well, including
Yuichi Watanabe, Inger Marie Gundersen,
the European Jazz Trio, and Sergei Trofanov.
Volume 2 includes Arirangs by such famous
artists as The Real Group, Yuhki Kuramoto,
Lee Ritenour, and Ithamara Koorax, alongside
Korean musicians such as Shin Hyun-sik,
Kang Eun-il, and Nah Youn-sun. The third
volume focused on harmonizing Arirang
with the traditional music of other countries
Arirang as UNESCO’s
Intangible Heritage Of
Humanity
Arirang was recently inscribed on UNESCO’s
Representative List of Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity. The decision was made
at the 7
th
session of the Intergovernmental
Committee for the Safeguarding of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage held at UNESCO
Headquarters in Paris in December 2012.
The committee recognized that Arirang is a
popular form of Korean folk song that bolsters
a collective identity and unity among Koreans.
It also stated, “Arirang is constantly recreated
in various social contexts, places, and occasions,
serving as a marker of identity among its
bearers while promoting values of solidarity
and social cohesion, and an inscription of
Arirang on the Representative List could
promote greater visibility of intangible cultural
diversity and creativity, particularly because of
the great variety found within a single element.”
It added, “A great virtue is its respect for human
creativity, freedom of expression, and empathy.
Everyone can create new lyrics, adding to the
song's regional, historical, and genre variations,
and cultural diversity.”
Arirang indeed does not represent only one
region, but has transformed into many dierent
versions and variations incorporating the joys,
angers, and sorrows of Koreans wherever and
however they live. The song has comforted the
suering, and it has instilled patriotism into the
hearts of Koreans and united them whenever
the nation was in crisis, carrying more meaning
than the national anthem.
The inscription of Arirang on the
Representative List signies that it is now more
than a Korean folk song, but is heritage for all of
humanity. What was added to the list was not
a single regional variation such as Jeongseon
Arirang, Jindo Arirang, or Miryang Arirang,
but Arirang as a collective reference to all
the songs of which the choruses end with the
phrase “Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo.”
Back in 2009, the South Korean government
applied for the inscription of Jeongseon Arirang
on the list, but the committee did not add
Arirang that year because it only considers a
certain number of candidates from any one
country each year. Later, there was an eort
to have all the Arirangs sung throughout the
Korean Peninsula added to the list, but the
South failed to elicit cooperation from the
North on this issue. So, in 2012, the South
Korean government alone led an application.
With the latest inscription of Arirang, Korea
now has 15 cultural properties on the UNESCO
Representative List of Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity.
FUTURE OF ARIRANG
Koreans must research and maintain Arirang as
a precious cultural property for all. The Cultural
Heritage Administration (CHA) of Korea plans
to designate Arirang as a national intangible
cultural property and build an archive on it,
which will be open to anybody. The CHA also
plans to support performances and research
on Arirang. However, to keep all the dierent
variations of Arirang sung in every corner
of the country alive, national agencies and
scholars as well as each and every Korean need
to appreciate the value and spirit of the song in
order to share all the dierent versions with the
rest of the world.
Arirang has been
inscribed on UNESCO’s
Representative List of
Intangible Heritage of
Humanity. The photo is a
celebration of the inscription
with on Arirang performance.
The Name of Korean vol.1 The Name of Korean vol.2
The Name of Korean vol.3
Map Of aRIRaNg
aRIRaNg IN DIffERENT REgIONS
Dancheon Arirang in
Hamgyeongnam-do
Gangwon-do Arirang,
Jeongseon Arirang,
Gangneung Arirang, and
Chuncheon Arirang in
Gangwon-do
Miryang Arirang,
Mungyeong Arirang,
Dongnae Arirang (Busan),
Ulleungdo Arirang,
Yeongcheon Arirang in
Gyeongsang-do
Chungju Arirang,
Chungju Araseong,
and Boeun Arirang in
Chungcheong-do
Jocheon Arirang in
Jeju
Seodo Arirang in
Pyeongan-do
Haeju Arirang in
Hwanghae-do
Bonjo Arirang,
Gin Arirang, and
Hanobaengnyeon
in
Seoul
Jindo Arirang in
Jeollanam-do
collaborating with Asian artists from Vietnam,
Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
“It is easy to become familiar with Arirang,”
says Yuhki Kuramoto, who participated in the
production of the second volume, “Its melody
is simple and bright, but at the same time feels
sad.” He added that the song will become
widely loved throughout the world.
arIraNg fOr all
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PEN & BRUSH
Burning Even Brighter in Darknesss
Kim Chi-ha
A Poet of
Resistance and Life
In the 1960s and 1970s, poet and
playwright Kim Chi-ha put his
eloquence to work in vehement
resistance against the military
dictatorship. Today, he is leading the
way in the “life movement.” Here is a
brief look at his life and poetry.
by Im Sang-beom / translations by Kim Won-jung
T
he 1960s and 1970s were an age of
light and dark for Korea. Korea
was a world of light for those who
were excited about the country’s rapid
industrialization and economic growth;
it was a world of darkness for those who
were oppressed and frustrated under
the ironsted military dictatorship.
Countless intellectuals plunged
themselves into arduous resistance
against the darkness, and poet Kim Chi-
ha was one of them. He was a symbol of
the resistance against the dictatorship.
His poetry was perceived as a threat to
the very foundation of the government,
and it was indeed more powerful and
scathing than any other weapon that
could be leveled against it.
WITH A BURNING THIRST
Kim’s poem With A Burning Thirst,
published in 1975, is a monumental
work singing of the people’s yearning
for democracy in the mid-1970s,
when the oppression of the military
government was at its height in the
wake of the so-called “October Yushin”
in 1972, an anti-democratic amendment
to the Korean Constitution. The rst
stanza of the poem poetically describes
the dire reality as the narrator could
write “democracy”—what then seemed
a forlorn hope—only secretly in a back
alley at dawn. This stanza is smeared
with bloodstains.
WITH A BURNING THIRST
by Kim Chi-ha
Translated by Gwon Seon-geun
In the back alley at daybreak
I write your name, O Democracy
My mind has forgotten you for too long
And my legs far too long have strayed
from you.
But with a slender remembrance of
My heart’s burning thirst,
Secretly I write your name
Somewhere in the back alley before
dawn
The rush of footsteps, urgent whistles,
and pounding,
Someone’s groan, wail, lament
nd their way into my heart,
Engraving themselves there.
For your name’s sake,
For the solitary splendor of your name,
On a wooden board with white chalk
I write awkwardly with shaking hand,
trembling heart
And raging indignation
The agony of living
The memory of green freedom reviving
And the blood-stained faces of
returning friends
Who’ve been taken by the police
I write your name secretly
In tears, subduing the crying
With a burning thirst
With a burning thirst
Long live Democracy!
The rst part of the second stanza
sharply reveals the terrors and pains
of the age by invoking many dierent
sounds such as footsteps and voices of
lament. There is no clear explanation
of what is happening, but amid those
sounds, the reader’s imagination
conjures up vivid images of its own.
In the latter part of the second stanza,
the narrator, stricken with anger and
grief, writes on a wooden board. In the
third stanza, it is revealed that he has
written with soundless sobs, “Long
live democracy,” more powerfully
witnessing the political reality of the
day than any writer could hope to do
in prose.
Kim Chi-ha wrote a poem to commemorate the
independence activist, Lee Hee-young.
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LIFE IS A RAY OF HOPE
His poem Life marks a transition in his
philosophy and poetry. Kim states “life
is a ray of hope” in the poem. However
frustrating the situation, life doesn’t
weaken. The scene of a woman crying
with her child in her arms is so sad,
beautiful, and noble. Only life begets
life; no living thing can live without
depending on other living things.
In life, human beings and all other
things in this universe become one.
The realization of that unity, boundless
respect for life, and desperate eorts
to protect life cast a ray of hope that
pierces the darkness of reality.
LIFE
by Kim Chi-ha
Translated by Gwon Seon-geun
Life is
A ray of hope.
My life depends on it
As I stand here at the edge of
An abyss.
I cannot go back
Or forward.
This is the nal stop for me.
I can neither soar
Nor fall
A mother cries
And embraces her child.
The sorrow of life
Breeds a ray of hope.
“I’m talking about building a new
world where ghting is unnecessary,
as all of us ultimately return to the
fundamental world of life,” says the poet.
“While in prison, I studied Donghak,
an academic movement from the late
Joseon Dynasty. Its basic philosophy is
innaecheon, which means humans are
Heaven and to serve the people is to
serve Heaven. Donghak upheld equality
and humanitarianism, transcending
class barriers. I added Jesus to it.”
Kim explains that the purpose of
his poetry changed from resistance to
directing attention to the inner world
because of his revelations about life
while in prison. He combined Donghak
and Christianity to formulate his own
philosophy of life. He founded the
Yullyeo Society in 1998 to promote this
philosophy on life and humanity and a
new type of national culture.
ABOUT POET KIM CHI-HA
Kim Chi-ha entered the Seoul National
University Department of Aesthetics
in 1959 and participated in the April
19 Revolution (which overthrew the
Syngman Rhee government) in 1960.
Later, he became a student activist as
a South Korean representative in an
association of South and North Korean
students pursuing national unication.
He had to go into hiding, working at
sea ports and in mines, because he was
put on the most wanted list after the
May 16 Coup d’État in 1961.
He returned to school in February
1963 and began to write combative
poems the next year. He had ve
poems published through the poetry
magazine Poets in November 1969,
taking his rst step as a resistance poet.
In 1970, he published Five Bandits in
the May issue of the literary magazine
Sasanggye. The poem satirized the
corruption and decadency of the
nation’s leaders through the rhythms
of pansori (a genre of traditional
Korean music), making him an icon of
resistance overnight.
Kim was completely freed from the
shackles of dictatorship in 1984: he
was pardoned and his works were no
longer ocially labeled “seditious.”
By this time, he jumped into the life
movement based on his philosophy
of life. The shift was not motivated by
any change in society but by his own
realizations. During his more than
seven years in prison, Kim suered
nearly to the point of insanity, but he
saw the strong power of life in a clump
of grass that had taken root in a crack
in a concrete wall. From that moment,
his ght became about establishing
a culture of life-giving against all
cultures of killing. He believes that all
the problems of humanity—political
oppression, social
inequality, materialism,
and environmental
pollution—are
byproducts of building
a culture of killing. In
order to heal the culture
of killing and make
the world humane, he
asserts a culture of life-
giving—a culture that is
rooted in principles of life
and respect for life. He
discovered many ideas
about life in Donghak,
an academic movement
that thrived during the
closing years of the Joseon
Dynasty.
This philosophical
transition is readily
apparent in his poetry.
His poems of the 1970s
were full of the vigorous
spirit of resistance, but in the 1990s
he began writing calm, succinct,
contemplative poetry that reveals his
inner world. The poetry anthology
Ilsan Sicheop is a good example.
Kim received the Lotus Prize for
Literature in 1975 from the Afro-Asian
Writers’ Association, when he was
still in prison. In 1981, he received the
Bruno Kreisky Award for Services to
Human Rights from the Bruno Kreisky
Foundation for Human Rights and
the Great Poet Award from Poetry
International. His publications include
the poetry anthology Kkotgwa Geuneul
(lit. Flowers and Shades) as well as essay
anthologies Saengmyeong (lit. Life),
Yullyeoran Mueosinga (lit. About Yullyeo),
Yegame Chan Sup Geuneul (lit. Shades of
the Woods Full of Presentiment), and Yet
Gayaeseo Ttuiuneun Gyeoul Pyeonji (lit. A
Winter Letter from Old State of Gaya).
ABoUt tHE tRANSlAtoR
Kim WoN-jUNg
Kim Won-jung is a professor of English
Language and Literature at Sungkyunkwan
University. He has translated a variety of
Korean poems and prose into English. His
translated works include eight books of poetry
by Kim Chi-ha, Jeong Hyeon-jong, Hwang Ji-
woo, and other Korean poets.
Kim combined Donghak and Christianity to formulate
his own philosophy of life.
Kim argues that society must create a
new type of culture based on respect for
life and principles of life.
PEN & BRUSH
korea january 2013
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PEoPlE
ANECDOTE 1
Yu worked for a construction company. One day,
he met a friend in a music store. That was the
rst time in his entire life he’d ever seen a violin
in person. It produced a sound that seemed to
be of Heaven above. He was so shocked and
overwhelmed that he was left speechless for
some time.
Afterwards, the melodies played through
his mind again and again, and he badgered his
friend to introduce him to an expert maker of
violins. He said that he also wanted to make
one with his own hands. He was introduced to
an expert craftsman, and the next day he went
to his workshop with a block of wood. Over the
next three years, he did an apprenticeship at the
workshop every weekend until he nally made
a violin by his own hands.
ANECDOTE 2
Violinist Kyung-wha Chung was on a
nationwide concert tour of Korea when she
found something wrong with her violin. She
asked around for a professional repairer of
musical instruments and heard about Yu.
Chung’s presence was so imposing, and her
extremely detailed demands aroused anxiety.
After closely watching him restore her other
self, she relaxed and ashed a bright smile.
She politely expressed her gratitude with the
kind of respect and dignity that only a virtuoso
accords another virtuoso. From that moment,
Yu was considered a “doctor” who restores the
instruments of violinist Kyung-wha Chung and
cellist Myung-wha Chung.
PASSION OVERCOMES LIMITS
When exquisite, nearly priceless instruments
pass through Yu’s hands, they become even
more exquisite. Already full of violins, cellos,
and other stringed instruments commissioned
for repairs, he nds few moments of rest
because of frequent phone calls and visits from
musicians.
Yu did not study music in college. Some years
after being struck with fascination for the violin,
he went to Germany in 1990, already 34 years
of age. Rather than taking a regular course
on instrument repair, he went to a renowned
luthier (a craftsman of stringed instruments)
and studied under him until returning home in
1993. Yet, he hadn’t originally planned to train
abroad.
“I was condent I could be a good luthier,”
recalls Yu, “but, one day a client who had an
expensive violin asked about my education.
Upon hearing my answer, he took back his
violin and left. I couldn’t sleep that night. The
next day I made up my mind to go to Germany.
My son was four years old, and I couldn’t speak
a word in German. Before becoming a luthier,
I worked for a good company, and the people
A Doctor for Instruments
Yu Je-se
Musicians’ instruments are their alter egos. When such virtuosos as violinist Kyung-
wha Chung and cellist Myung-wha Chung are ill, they must go to the doctor, but when
their instruments are out of order, they go to Meister Yu Je-se.
by Yang In-sil / photographs by Moon Duk-gwan
korea january 2013
18
19
PEoPlE
colleague’s daughter, and she went abroad with
the violin to study music. He later took charge of
the stringed instruments for the Daegwallyeong
International Music Festival, which is the most
prestigious classical music festival in Korea.
FATHER TO SON
There had only been a few people who
professionally made and repaired stringed
instruments in Korea. Clients were as rare,
and they generally used cheap materials. Yu
decided to use only the best quality materials.
(To this day, he travels the world to nd better
materials.) Clients were at rst half in disbelief,
but he soon made a name for himself. Musicians
who had their instruments repaired abroad
started to knock on his door instead.
Yu doesn’t work every single day. Conditions
need to be just right. Instruments are very
sensitive to humidity and temperature, so he
constantly monitors the weather. If he is ill at
ease, he does not take up his knife, because he
believes that his mood and mind permeate into
the instrument. Every instrument commissioned
leaves a meticulous record as he writes down
all the details from the moment it enters his
workshop until he gives it back to its owner. His
work requires a high degree of concentration
and artistry, and every instrument feels like
around me did their best out of the goodness
of their hearts to discourage me from quitting
my job. They only had the best of intentions for
me and genuinely thought that learning how to
make “ddles” (their word for it) was ridiculous.
This time, too, people tried the same thing, but
nothing could change my resolve.”
Studying abroad was never even remotely
a fairy tale experience. Yu could not say
that everything went well even if he faced
a challenge with the greatest passion and
persistence. Communication was always
dicult, his family was far away in Korea,
and learning was a slow process. He smoked
and drank quite a lot. His diary was soaked
in tears. He packed up and unpacked several
times. One day, he felt himself becoming a
nervous wreck, bit his nger, and wrote a
pledge to himself in blood. It was the genuine
start of a true ght against himself. Then, he
realized that the client who had hurt his pride,
his own child. Yu became the great luthier he
is today, even in the face of so many obstacles,
in large part because of his diligent hands,
sensitive ears, and unwavering tenacity.
His son studied business management in
college, but his heart moved toward musical
instruments as he watched his father give new
life to old instruments. Yu’s son is now in Italy
studying and training hard to follow in his
father’s footsteps. Yu looks forward to working
together with his son some day.
“The reason why instruments Guadagnini
made more than three centuries ago and
Stradivariuses made more than 250 years ago
are still highly appreciated,” explains Yu, “is
because they have been maintained by good
hands. The older an instrument, the deeper
its sound; the more experienced a luthier, the
more exquisite his hands. I won’t put down
instruments from my hands until I die. I hope
someday I will make a truly superb instrument
with my name and see a performer play it.”
Yu Je-se has another dream. He wants to buy
a plot of land in Hoengseong, Gangwon-do and
build a small concert hall where he will display
instruments he has made or collected, allowing
children to study music and music lovers to
gather together, play instruments, and share
good times.
1
Violins await repairs by the luthier.
2
Yu repairs old violins through intricate and delicate work and transform them into instruments of Heaven.
1
2
causing him to go to Germany to study, was his
other teacher in life.
After one year in Germany, Yu could hear
and speak German fairly well. His handling
of instruments had improved remarkably. His
teacher recognized his great progress and
started to pay him a salary. He even entrusted
Yu with the key to the workshop. When Yu was
about to return home, his teacher gave him a
wooden worktable made in 1859 as a gift. To
this day, Yu cuts and trims materials and tunes
strings on this very worktable.
Koreans commonly make a huge issue out
of educational background, which prevented
him from gaining due recognition. During his
struggles, one of his former colleagues extended
a helping hand. When one colleague let him use
his house as a workshop, Yu’s eyes brimmed
with tears. He named the workshop “Yu Je-
se String Music Workshop.” The rst violin he
made in the workshop was dedicated to his
korea january 2013
20
21
gREAt KoREAN
An Ancient Hero of Unication
General Kim Yu-sin
Over 1,000 years ago, the three kingdoms of Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje were in a
continual state of war, each trying to expand its territory on the Korean Peninsula
and beyond. General Kim Yu-sin of Silla finally brought lasting peace by conquering
Goguryeo and Baekje with his outstanding strategy and military prowess. Let’s trace
the footsteps of this great general of Silla.
by Im Sang-beom / photographs with courtesy of Tongiljeon
where he achieved a remarkable feat. When
the two sides rst clashed, the Silla troops lost
their ghting spirit, but Yu-sin charged into the
enemy camp and came back with the head of
the Goguryeo commander, winning the battle
for Silla.
By that time, Yu-sin had met Kim Chun-chu,
who was perhaps the most important person in
his life. Chun-chu later ascended the throne as
the 29th king of Silla and founded Unied Silla.
The two became very close political partners
as well as relatives through two marriages
between their families.
Their mutual trust and friendship were
very strong. When Chun-chu lost his daughter
and her husband in a battle against Baekje, he
went to Goguryeo to ask for military support.
Goguryeo detained him rather than sending
troops to help Silla. Yu-sin organized a special
unit to rescue him. At this news, Goguryeo set
Chun-chu free in order to prevent the outbreak
of a major war with Silla.
The founding of Unied Silla was virtually
sealed when Chun-chu, known for his
extraordinary diplomatic nesse, and Yu-sin, a
gallant and sagacious warrior, joined hands.
POSTHUMOUSLY ENTHRONED
Yu-sin won victory after victory in a long series
of battles against Baekje, Goguryeo, and the
Tang Dynasty in China. When his men were
exhausted, he took o his upper garment,
mounted his horse, and led from the vanguard.
In one of his more innovative actions, he
harnessed drums and drumsticks to a herd of
cows to be released in the event of a surprise
attack to throw the enemy into confusion by the
sound.
Yu-sin was devoted to the royal family and
adamantly upheld the reputation of his family.
When his son returned alive from a defeat at the
hands of Tang forces, he requested the king to
have his son beheaded. His son had to live alone
in hiding for the rest of his life. In a sense, he
was a pitiable hero who had to seek recognition
because he was not from Silla but Gaya.
However, his unwavering determination and
feats as a military leader were so extraordinary
that nearly all Koreans readily recall Kim Yu-sin
when they think about Unied Silla.
K
im Yu-sin (595-673) was a military leader
and politician of Silla who achieved great
feats in conquering Baekje and Goguryeo—
the two other major kingdoms of Korea’s Three
Kingdoms period (57-668)—and unifying the
Korean nation under the banner of Unied
Silla. He was not a member of the royal
family of Silla, but he was so admired that
he was posthumously granted the honorary
title of King Heungmu the Great. Yu-sin
was a grandson of the last king of the Gaya
confederacy, but became an aristocrat of Silla
when his grandfather yielded to them.
Not much is known about Yu-sin’s childhood
before his teenage years except an episode in
Samguksagi (History of the Three Kingdoms of Silla,
Goguryeo, and Baekje, 1145): Yu-sin had reportedly
been in his mother’s womb for 20 months. As
a teenager, he joined the Hwarang (lit. Flower
Boys), an elite group of specially educated
and trained boys. He was such an excellent
swordsman that he became the Hwarang leader.
He travelled across the kingdom with his
followers to train both his mind and body.
A GALLANT WARRIOR
Even at the height of the ongoing conicts
among Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje, Yu-sin
hesitated to venture out onto the battleeld
because he was of Gaya descent, not Silla. It was
only when he was 35 years old that he followed
his father into battle against Goguryeo forces,
1
General Kim Yu-sin paved
the way for Silla to unify the
Three Kingdoms.
2, 3
The tomb of General
Kim and the statues
of the Twelve Zodiac
Animals at Gyeongju,
Gyeongsangbuk-do
3
2
1
korea january 2013
22
23
SEoUl
a WalK ThrouGh
seoul Plaza
Seoul Plaza bore
witness to nearly all
of the upheavals along
Korea’s turbulent
road to liberation and
modernization during
the last century. Today,
it is the city’s favorite
location for cultural
events and a quiet
place to read. A tour
of the city would not
be complete without
a walk through Seoul
Plaza.
by Chung Da-young /
photographs by Lee Jae-hui
korea january 2013
24
25
I
f you are walking around downtown Seoul,
you will almost certainly pass through
Seoul Plaza. Located in the heart of the city,
the Seoul Plaza is at the crossroads to all
areas of old Seoul – Sejong-daero road will
lead to Gyeongbokgung Palace, to the north is
Cheonggyecheon Stream, and Myeong-dong
and Namdaemun are a short walk away. The
Plaza has witnessed many history-changing
events in Korea for more than a hundred years.
AT THE HEART OF SEOUL’S
MODERNIZATION
Seoul Plaza rst took shape in 1897 when King
Gojong returned to Deoksugung Palace after
the 1895 assassination of Queen Min. A wide
road was laid between Gyeongbokgung Palace
and the main gate of Deoksugung Palace and
a modern plaza was constructed in front of
Deoksugung Palace. The plaza was situated in
a central location near the Central Government
Complex in Gwanghwamun, the Parliament
Building (now used as the Seoul Metropolitan
Council), and the Seoul Museum of Art building
in Jeong-dong, which was once the Supreme
Court of Korea. It soon became the center stage
for the nation’s liberation movement from
Japanese occupation including, most notably,
the March 1
st
Independence Movement in 1919.
The square was later an important location for
the pro-democracy movement in the 1960s and
rallies throughout Korea’s modern history.
iNFoRmAtioN
How to get there
City
Hall Subway Station,
Line 1 or 2, Exit 5
Skating Rink
Open: Dec 14, 2012 to
Feb 3, 2013 / 10 AM to
10 PM
Skate Rental Fee:
KRW 1,000 per pair of
ice skates, 30persent
discount for group
reservation of 20
persons or more.
Website: www.
seoulskate.or.kr/eng.
php
Seoul Metropolitan
Library
Open: 9 AM to 9 PM
(weekdays), 9 AM to 6
PM (weekends)
Website: lib.seoul.
go.kr/www/html/en/
main.jsp
Seoul Plaza came under the global spotlight
during the 2002 FIFA World Cup when 80,000
people dressed in red shirts gathered there to
cheer on the Korean national team. The mass
of supporters clad in red, known as the Red
Devils, cheered in a highly organized cadence
of shouting and clapping in front of jumbo
screens.
After the World Cup, the Seoul Metropolitan
Government rebuilt the square to provide a
better city environment and a green area for
Seoulites. In 2004, the trac lanes that cut
across the square and the wide road that ran
directly past the old City Hall were removed
to make way for a vast green. The Floor Water
Fountain was built at the west corner of the
plaza. The fountain, a circle of water holes
bored into in the sidewalk with 48 oor lights, is
an attractive feature of the plaza in the warmer
months.
Seoul Government hosts many cultural
events throughout the year on Seoul Plaza
including the popular Hi! Seoul Festival and
various performances. This past October, the
Korean pop star PSY held a free concert at the
plaza as promised earlier to thank his fans
for kick-starting the success of his viral hit
song “Gangnam Style.” The singer had earlier
vowed to perform topless if his song topped
the U.S. chart, and he kept his promise despite
remaining at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
for a second week. The concert reached its
peak when the singer sang his hit song and
more than 100,000 fans did the famous “horse
dance” with the singer. According to the Seoul
Metropolitan Police, this was the largest crowd
in Seoul Plaza since the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
The city government supported the event by
providing the square grounds and diverting
trac within a three-block radius.
Towards the winter festive season, the plaza
transforms into a public ice skating rink for
Seoulites and foreign visitors alike. The grass
is temporarily removed from the square and
an ice skating rink is built over the grounds.
Ice skates can be rented at a reasonable rate of
KRW 1,000 (USD 0.93) for one hour, and lockers
1
Desks are available
all around the library for
studying and reading.
2
The library is spacious
and full of light for the
convenience of visitors.
3
The five-meter high
bookcase is a popular
feature of the library.
Ice skating in the middle of
downtown Seoul is sure to
be an unforgettable memory
for many foreign visitors.
and helmets for young
children are available
free of charge. The
skating rink was rst
installed in 2004, and
it has since become
a popular dating site
for young couples
and a special treat for
children with their
parents.
NEW LIBRARY,
NEW CITY HALL
New attractions of
Seoul Plaza are the
old City Hall, which
reopened as the Seoul
Metropolitan Library,
and the new City
Hall building right behind it. The old City Hall
was built in 1926, during the Japanese Colonial
Period.
After liberation in 1945, it served as a local
government building, and for more than 60
years it served as the government building
for the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The
government city decided to build a new city hall
to house the expanding government oces and
sta, and remodel the old City Hall as a public
library.
After four years of construction, the
government moved into the new building in
September of last year, and Seoul Metropolitan
Library opened its doors to the public. The
library restored the main marble staircase and
halls of the old City Hall, symbolizing the
historical heritage of Seoul.
The library has a collection of over 200,000
volumes and 20 computers to view 4,200 DVDs
and audio books. Visitors are free to walk into
the library to read books, catch up with current
aairs, or just take a break from walking. The
third oor displays the most iconic features of
the library where visitors can see the restored
and remodeled old Mayor’s Oce, reception
room, and meeting room.
1
4
2
3
SEoUl