'I would like to give Kim Jong-un piano lessons'

World-renowned pianist and Korean War veteran Seymour Bernstein holds the diary he kept during the war, at a press conference at Hotel Grand Ambassador Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Kim Jae-heun

World-renowned pianist and veteran of the Korean War (1950-53) Seymour Bernstein is willing to visit Pyongyang in North Korea to perform there. The pianist also hopes for an opportunity to give music lessons to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“If North Korea invites me to their country, I would be very happy to go,” said Bernstein during a press conference at Hotel Grand Ambassador Seoul, Friday.

“And I would like to meet the president and tell him that he ought to study music and he ought to take piano lessons. I would give him his first piano lesson to civilize him, because it seems to be the only thing that interests him is basketball players.

“Music is the most civilized and harmonized experience that people could have. Because in order to be a musician, you have to understand your emotional feelings, your intellectual feelings and physical coordination. You put it all together, and it becomes an experience that affects your whole life. It’s not just becoming a better musician, you become a better person. So if I could only give a piano lesson to the president of North Korea, I think I might be able to civilize him,” said Bernstein.

Bernstein made his fifth visit to Seoul, Thursday, to participate in a commemoration of the 66th anniversary of Korean War, on invitation by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, along with 70 other soldiers who fought in the Korean War.

The 89-year-old pianist joined the U.S. Army in 1950 and was dispatched to Korea upon completion of his 14-week training. His mission was to perform musical concerts with violinist Kenneth Gordon to boost the morale of the troops in frontline units.

After the war, Bernstein returned to Korea three more times. His first visit came in 1955, after John S. Kim, then-conductor of the Seoul Symphony Orchestra, visited Bernstein in New Jersey to bring him to Korea along with four other American musicians for a historic performance as the country underwent rebuilding. Bernstein played at the music festival for 10 days and gave master class lessons for aspiring Korean musicians.

In 1960, he revisited Seoul on his own, under sponsorship of the U.S. State Department to give concerts and lectures. However, all performances were cancelled due to the April 19 Revolution, the prodemocracy civil uprising against the nation’s first President Syngman Rhee.

Upon the cancelation, Bernstein received permission from then-U.S. Ambassador to Korea Walter P. McConoughy to perform for the wounded students at Seoul National University Hospital as his way of demonstrating that the U.S. was on the students’ side.

“You cannot imagine how terrible it is to watch dead students in the bags at the hospital. Their mothers came and found their sons dead and cried,” said Bernstain.

The pianist calls Korea his second home after having witnessed a series of tragic events that swept the country on its rapid development into one of the world’s most advanced countries.

Bernstein will hold a special concert for his former comrades at a banquet dinner in The Westin Chosun Seoul, next Monday.

“I am looking forward to it. You can understand that with all of the battles and tears, this is a very dramatic experience for all of us,” added Bernstein.

During his six-day visit, the pianist plans to travel to the truce village of Panmunjeom as well as pay his respects at Seoul National Cemetery.