Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
INTERVIEW Seoul Philharmonic's fresh start: 'Back to basics'
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra President and CEO Kang Eun-kyung, also known as Annette Eunkyung Kang, speaks with The Korea Times at her office in central Seoul. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Anna J. Park
CEO Kang leads SPO's successful revival with stable leadership
By Anna J. Park
As a special interview series commemorating the start of the new year, The Korea Times sat down with Kang Eun-kyung, the president and CEO of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO).
Tapped as the leader of Korea's representative orchestra back in March 2018, the 49-year-old has been leading the municipal music group successfully and stably, earning trust from both members of the orchestra and watchers on the outside, including music aficionado and city officials.
During the interview, Kang talked about her previous studies and experiences in music and legal fields, SPO's 2020 season highlights, SPO's new music director Osmo Vanska, the orchestra's concert hall construction project and more.
Veering between arts and law
Kang started to play the piano at the age of five and studied the violin at Yewon School ― Korea's prestigious middle school for the arts, dreaming to be a performing musician on stage. However, she changed her course during high school to pursue an academic life, going through a rigorous and fierce competition of college admissions. Ultimately she entered Seoul National University with a law major.
After graduating, she started her career at a classical music production agency, then became head of the performance planning team at Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, director at Daewon Cultural Foundation and professor at Korea National University of Arts (K-ARTS).
During her 20 years of career experience in Korea's classical music scene, she also studied continuously, receiving a master's degree in arts management at K-ARTS of Arts, master of laws (LLM) at Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in the U.S., and a Ph.D. in law at Seoul National University.
If one gets to know her family background, such a career path is probably more than understandable; her grandfather and father were judges and attorneys and her mother was a concert pianist.
“In Korea, many people held an age-old belief that success comes when one digs deep into one's specialty, but my parents let me grow as a balanced human being. I could develop my rational and sentimental sides evenly, thanks to the environment they created. It was such a bliss for me,” Kang said during the one-on-one interview with The Korea Times.
“I didn't plan such a career path ahead meticulously. Everything happened naturally as my true interests change. When I was young I wanted to study music. Then, I hoped to study law as I wanted to have a larger perspective to better understand the world. Later I chose arts management as my own thing; when I work in the fields, many asked me about legal issues in arts management practices, as I had a bachelor's degree in law. This led me to further study arts law and legal policies as my own specialty to better serve more people who need my help,” she explained.
“As I look back now, I experienced a lot of trials and errors which could've ended disastrously. But I do not fear exploring the unknown path; rather, I enjoy leaving my first footprint on a new road. When a new path is presented in the course of my life, I bravely and boldly jump onto the path to see whether it is mine,” she said.
“I consider myself lucky because now I could contribute to the arts scene in Korea ― which I love deeply ― as an expert, after taking in every lesson of my previous attempts. I think my life went on, as I deeply fell in love with whatever I chose at the time; I also took the utmost responsibility of my choices, whatever that would be.”
Arts law professor-turned-arts CEO
In her late 30s, Kang studied arts law at Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York, hoping to hone her legal knowledge, as she was often consulted to provide advice on frequent legal matters in the arts field.
“When I was a college student, I didn't find law very exciting or fun to study, because it was too practical. However, Korea's culture and arts scene lacked basic legal infrastructure; there's little human or intellectual resources to give answers to often-raised legal questions in the field. That's why I decided to study it deeper,” she explained.
“Arts law has a lot to do with ethical principles of arts management. However when it comes to arts law in Korea, most public understanding is about technical issues of the law, such as contracts or copyright matters. In the U.S., detailed ethical principles for those working in the arts and public administration are clearly manualized and researched as a separate academic field. It was very impressive to learn about major ethical issues.”
Upon returning to Korea, Kang went on to study for a Ph.D. in law, with a focus on policies in arts law. She also wrote several books on arts law and manuals on arts contracts. She also taught university arts law classes, until she was appointed to lead the SPO.
Seoul Philharmonic's CEO Kang speaks during the one-on-one interview with The Korea Times at her office in central Seoul. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Her versatile experiences in music and legal fields ― from violin student to legal expert ― have all well-prepared her to be a capable leader of the arts organization.
“As I once studied music seriously, I think I can understand musicians of the SPO more than any other CEOs. I am grateful for this understanding, because the true owner of an orchestra, according to global standards, is the members of the orchestra. In addition, as the SPO is a municipal institution, it has its own public principles and missions to accomplish, which are pretty different from those of private organizations. Thus my knowledge of public administrative law and labor law all help, as I deal with various issues from meeting the SPO's procedural legitimacy for its public mission to human resources management,” she said.
“Arts management experience, of course, helped me to devise seasonal music programs, and to understand necessary protocols in work. I also worked briefly as a reporter for a music magazine, which turns out to be a great help, too. Every experience contributes to my current work, without any waste. I sometimes joke that I studied both music and law for a reason.”
SPO's fresh beginning
One of her biggest achievements as SPO chief is that she finally filled the vacuum of its music director and chief conductor position; the seat was empty for some four years since the end of 2015 when former music director Chung Myung-whun left the orchestra amid conflicts with the then-CEO of the SPO.
After thoroughly reviewing more than 100 candidates for the position, the SPO appointed Finnish maestro Osmo Vanska, who's currently music director at the Minnesota Orchestra; the maestro's term at the SPO began on the first day of 2020 and will continue for the next three years.
CEO Kang Eun-kyung and SPO's new music director maestro Osmo Vanska, right, pose for a photo in central Seoul in June, 2019. Courtesy of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
Hailed as an “orchestra builder,” he has successfully transformed and developed the orchestras that he has led so far. The inclusive music leader is also known for superb musical interpretations of symphonies of Sibelius and Mahler in particular, earning multiple awards, including Grammys.
Vanska will hold his inaugural concert on Feb. 14, performing Mahler's “Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection” ― aptly chosen for the symbolic resurrection of the orchestra as well.
“As CEO, I will take care of systemic management of the orchestra so that maestro Vanska's artistic leadership could be smoothly realized here,” SPO CEO Kang said. “In order for the new music director to assume his role without any difficulty or resistance, the orchestra has gone through a complete overhaul with the help of a consulting service. We benchmarked major global orchestras and listened to inner opinions of members, so that we could come up with the most appropriate and reasonable operating system of our own.”
Concert hall construction campaign
Another major project she leads as head of the SPO is a concert hall construction campaign. Lacking its own concert hall, the SPO has so far performed in venues located mostly in southern Seoul, such as Seoul Arts Center and Lotte Concert Hall. After years of efforts to build its own practice halls and performance halls, it seems like the orchestra could finally fulfill its long-cherished wish in the near future.
“Many are wondering about the construction project. Discussions and cooperation with City Council and city officials have long continued; what is for sure is that I believe good news is coming in the near future,” the CEO said.
A plan to construct the SPO's concert hall is mentioned briefly in the city's announced plans for making Seoul a global music city by 2024. Kang said an exact location has not yet been decided as of now.
“Considering public accessibility, the city government is currently reviewing possible locations for the hall. One thing I'd like to emphasize is that this music hall will be not only a home for the SPO but also a concert hall for citizens. The orchestra will provide quality public services, including its social contribution programs and music education programs like Music for All Ages and Barrier-Free Music Education. Any citizen can enjoy the place together with the orchestra,” she said.
“In the early 2000s I once visited the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts ― home of the Philadelphia Orchestra ― and I was overwhelmed to see numerous names of citizens engraved in the lobby of the hall. I could feel those individuals' heart-felt contributions, whether big or small, for the construction. I also believe the SPO's concert hall will be realized with the help and true wishes of citizens,” she said.
“I am also glad the new music director had also achieved the construction of concert hall of Lahti Orchestra, when he led the Finnish orchestra. His experience and expertise will greatly help us to achieve our dream.”
Highlights of 2020 season: 'Back to the basics' and 'Beethoven'
There are two major pillars in the SPO's 2020 season program: “Back to the basics” with the arrival of new music director Osmo Vanska and, of course, Beethoven, marking the 250th birth anniversary of the legendary composer.
“With the new music director, this year's program repertoires are focused more on presenting orchestral sounds to audiences. I am excited to see how the new music director works on strengthening the artistic competencies of the orchestra members through the concerts,” Kang explained.
The 2020 season will have 38 concerts altogether; maestro Vanska will conduct Mahler's Symphony No. 2 Resurrection in February, Sibelius' Symphony No. 5 in August, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in November, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Choral, in mid-December, among others.
SPO's new music director maestro Vanska will hold his inaugural concert, performing Mahler's “Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection” on Feb. 14. Courtesy of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
“Every year, the SPO ends its season with two concerts of Beethoven's 9th Symphony Choral ― which are all sold out months in advance. In 2020, commemorating Beethoven's birth anniversary, we will have three concerts of Choral,” Kang explained.
“Also, I'd like to thank our principal guest conductor Thierry Fischer and conductor-in-residence Markus Stenz ― the two conductors have wonderfully filled the vacuum of music director during the years. Fischer will present the Korean orchestra's first performance next year, Beethoven's Violin Concerto, on Jan. 9. A German conductor himself, Stenz is also a Beethoven expert, and he will present the most popular works of Beethoven, 5th Fate Symphony and 6th Symphony Pastoral in July,” she said.
“Other than that, various hidden Beethoven-themed programs are in store throughout the year-long season. I hope audiences will have the joy of finding Beethoven's pieces and influences in our seasonal programs; Beethoven is great because he reinvented Western classical music and passed it down to the posterity, including the 20th century composers. Beethoven's musical codes are vividly breathing in most composers of many centuries like Mahler, Webern and Zimmermann. I hope audiences could find the musical hero's legacies and traces in this year's SPO seasonal programs.”
Embrace continual growth
Kang also emphasized the need to realize the imperfection of every human being and organization and to embrace the concept of continual growth.
“We all are not perfect; leadership is also about learning from past failures and mistakes. In any sense, we all are on our steps towards continual growth,” Kang said.
“In that regard, I hope people can embrace existent confusion, uneasiness and anxieties as a person or an organization as indispensable and embrace them with patience and tolerance. I hope people can admit the fact that they ― including all others ― are in the process of growing, and embrace themselves with love.”
She shared a Friedrich Nietzsche quote, “You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.”
“Leaders, in particular, need to embrace the continuous growth of their organizations with bravery and broad-mindedness. I think this attitude could make a great organization, members and leaders,” she stressed.
“I hope everyone could embrace their own inner struggles and confusion, rather than suffering from them, in their growing path towards their dreams. This is the way to love oneself.”
CEO Kang, right, speaks during a press conference in last May in central Seoul. Courtesy of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
Advice for young generation
Lastly, the CEO offers advice for young people who are still searching for their own paths in life. She stressed the importance of finding who you really are with courage and intuition.
“I hope young people listen to their hearts. The answer lies in oneself; in an attempt to listen to the sound of one's own, you need to experience a lot of things. Do not fear to try and experience. Immerse yourself deeply into the world of a new path with brave courage; then you will know whether it is for you or not,” she said.
“As I get old, it becomes clearer to see where I should be; that is probably one of good things about getting old. I never regretted my decision to enter into the arts and performance scene of Korea. I have been happy, and it was easy to be friends with people here; I realized that I am a person who needs to contribute to this sector.”