Orchestra diplomacy

By Choe Chong-dae

On May 13, I had the pleasure of attending the annual reception of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) at the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom, at the invitation of the Swiss and Swedish Delegations of NNSC.

Many distinguished guests were present, such as Korean dignitaries, foreign diplomats, military generals, officers and delegates of the United Nations Command, including Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the recently appointed Commanding General of the UN Command and United States Forces Korea.

During the reception, I also had the privilege of meeting two impressive artists, violinist Won Hyung-joon, and painter Park Gian. Coincidently, I met them again on May 18 at the ACK (American Center Korea) Mission Speaker’s Program during which they gave a unique performance, “Sound in Painting,” under the theme of "Identity." The show featured Won’s performance of the compositions Bach and Eugene Ysaye accompanied by Gian's painting.

Many Korean artists have dedicated their talents to enhancing Korea’s image and support unification. In particular, I have been fascinated by Won’s outstanding efforts to promote peace and unification through music.

A Juilliard-trained violinist, Won has earned a reputation both as a musician and a human rights activist. For almost a decade, he has immersed himself in creating the “One Orchestra,” composed of North and South Korean musicians, with the purpose of establishing harmony between the South and North beyond political dissension, through music.

Inspired by the work of the conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim, who founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra composed of Israeli and Palestinian musicians in 1999, Won established the Lindenbaum Music Festival Orchestra in collaboration with maestro Charles Dutoit in 2009. This orchestra combined his musical and humanitarian efforts to forge a historic orchestral alliance between the two divided Koreas.

In recognition of such efforts, Won has been invited by many renowned universities such as Oxford, Harvard, Princeton and Georgetown to deliver speeches on orchestra diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula. He has attempted on many occasions to bring together musicians from both North and South Korea within a joint orchestra in order to perform concerts in Germany and in the truce village of Panmunjom in Korea, as well as in many other places. However, political circumstances have fallen through each time. Nevertheless, Won is pursuing these efforts to bridge the existing ideological gap between the South and North through his “One Orchestra."

In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule on August 15, 2015, Won had planned to make a 70 person North Korean choir stand on its respective side of the 38th parallel in Panmunjom, to perform the Korean folk song “Arirang,” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, together with the 80 member Lindenbaum Festival Orchestra, an ensemble of volunteer musicians standing on this side. As symbols of peace and humanism, the Arirang song and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 express our brotherhood.

However, less than two weeks before the momentous performance was to take place, two South Korean soldiers were severely injured by North Korean land mines at the DMZ. Consequently, tensions escalated, forcing Seoul to cancel the concert at the last minute.

Music reflects the deepest feeling and the best of human society. We often express our feelings and wishes in our hearts through music that brings us together, forming harmony of expression of our different emotions that transcend culture, ideology, time and boundary.

The international community and the Korean government should support and encourage Won’s One Orchestra project aimed at organizing peace-inspired concerts between North and South Korea, hence paving the way towards Korea’s unification through orchestra diplomacy.

Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and Director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at dkic98@chol.com.