Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
National Chorus of Korea to sing historic narrative of Hangeul's creation
By Park Ji-won
Poster for the show “Hunminjeongum” / Courtesy of National Chorus of Korea
By Park Ji-won
The National Chorus of Korea (NCK) will showcase an original chorus performance specially made to mark the 575th anniversary of the creation of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet.
The show, titled “Hunminjeongum,” consists of three parts ― behind the scenes of Hangeul's creation, its creation and its dissemination to the people ― and will explore the process of creating the unique writing system in new cantatas made based on historic recordings and music of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom such as the sillok (veritable records) of King Sejong and daechwita (military music). It is also aimed to depict the impact of Buddhist culture in the early Joseon period and the impact of foreign culture on the creation of the letters.
“While following dramatic incidents surrounding characters in the show, we could witness the agony of King Sejong. We also could see the excitement of the people who first witness the birth of the letters and the opposition of the conservative faction devoted to Chinese lettering, and the historic moment of the declaration of the lettering in the show. I hope audiences could feel the joy of being the successors of our great historic heritage,” An Ji-sun, director of the work, said in a press release.
The 70-minute show will be presented online and at Seoul Arts Center on Oct. 12.