Grieving nation cancels cultural events, but some artists say music can be way to mourn

Music artist Jang Jane shares a post from another musician Summer of Thoughts who said he would be performing as scheduled amid a period of national mourning following Saturday's crowd crush disaster in Itaewon. Captured from Jane Jane's Instagram

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Some artists are speaking up over the cancellation of performances and concerts in the wake of Saturday's deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, a tragedy that took the lives of 156 people and injured 173 people more.

A slew of cancellations or postponements come in line with an announcement by the government, which set a national mourning period until Nov. 5 to pay tribute to the victims. Major cultural events, including album releases, concerts and film events, have been canceled.

In response, several musicians argued that the process of grieving cannot be forced and live performance is the main source of income for many people in the industry.

Singer-songwriter Chung Won-young expressed his regret over the current situation, saying, “Do we have to cancel all of our performances? Is there a better way to console those affected by the terrible event than through music?”

Another musician Summer of Thoughts insisted that he would be performing as scheduled after careful consideration. He criticized the government for treating music and performing arts as sheer entertainment rather than something that carries special weight.

“The government seems to understand art as simply pleasure-seeking entertainment. Seeing how artists' performances are being canceled in the name of a mourning period made me decide that I have to perform as scheduled,” he wrote on his Instagram.

He added, “To professional musicians, performing can be a way of grieving. I changed my set list to tell the audience that we stand in solidarity with one another. I hope my songs resonate with fans who are grieving. This is my own way of mourning. Nobody has to agree with me, but I don't want to be judged by their standards.”

Music artist Jang Jane, who rose to stardom after the TV music competition “Superstar K: Season 2” on Mnet in 2010, supported artists' takes on the issue by sharing the posts.

Heezy Yang, an activist and a drag queen known as Hurricane Kimchi, tweeted: “One performance was canceled voluntarily, and the other was canceled under the recommendation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. I lost 70 percent of my income this month. The activities of artists and performers are neither 'playing' nor 'not mourning,' but a profession and a means of livelihood.”

Music critic Bae Soon-tak also wrote on his Instagram, “In this country, music always becomes taboo first. You'd better not say music comforts you in troubling times. We need to go through a national mourning period, but the way of grieving is different for each and every one of us. Please don't tell us how to grieve.”