Korea

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTEMPORARY KOREAN MUSIC WITH EMPHASIS
ON WORKS OF ISANG YUN
D.M.A. DOCUMENT
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical
Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Joo Won Kim, B.A., M.M.
Graduate Program in Music
The Ohio State University

2011
D.M.A. Document Committee:

Dr. Thomas Wells, Advisor
Dr. Jan Radzynski
Dr. Caroline Hong
Copyright by
Joo Won Kim
2011
ABSTRACT
Although Korean contemporary concert music today occupies an important place

in the international music scene, its development is largely a twentieth-century
phenomenon, played out against a backdrop of turbulent political unrest: from the
Japanese occupation (1910-1945) through the Korean War (1950-1953), and unsettled
relations with North Korea.
The major developments in internationally-recognized Korean composer Isang
Yuns (1917 1995) career closely mirror those in Korean contemporary composition,
and Yun is today venerated as the father of Korean contemporary concert musicmaking
a discussion of Yuns music inescapable for the subject of this document.
Although he was well versed in European avant-garde techniques through his
studies there in the 1950s and early 60s, Yun worked, however, to blend these Western
methodologies with those of Korean traditional music to achieve a unique expressive
personal style. This amalgam of Eastern- and Western expression is exemplified in two of
his works, Loyang, and Reak, which are discussed as representatives of this hybrid style.
The document concludes with observations on the state of Korean composition after Yun,
and some thoughts on the future influence of East-Asian music.
ii
It is hoped that this document will give the reader a background in and
appreciation for the aesthetic goals and achievements of Korean contemporary music-namely, how Korean composers have utilized Western music materials and combined
them with Korean sensibilities, and what they hope to accomplish culturally and
artistically.
iii
Dedicated to my family
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am heartily thankful to my advisor, Dr. Thomas Wells, who gave me
encouragement, guidance and advice from beginning to end. Completing a DMA is a
long journey, and I would not have been able to complete this without his steadfast
support and enthusiasm. I also would like to express my gratitude towards to Dr. Caroline
Hong for her efforts and outstanding teaching. Many thanks go in particular to Dr. Jan
Radzynski for his time and encouragement. I want to thank my parents, my wife Ki
Young Lee, and my daughter Sarang Kim for their support and patience. Most of all I
wish to give thanks to God for the musical gifts, blessings, and everything has done for
me.
VITA
August 18, 1971 .............................................Born Kyungsan, South Korea
1997................................................................B.A. Music Composition,
Kyungpuk National University, South Korea
2001................................................................M.M. Music Composition,
Western Michigan University
2003 2008 ...................................................Director of Music, Grace Korean United
Methodist Church, Columbus, OH
2008 2010 ...................................................Director of Music, The Church Next Door,
Columbus, OH
2010 Present ...............................................Director of Music, Havens Corners Church,
Blacklick, OH
Fields of Study
Major Field: Music
Studies in Music Composition
Dr. Thomas Wells
Studies in Piano Performance
Dr. Caroline Hong
Studies in Choral Conducting
Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstractii
Dedication...iii
Acknowledgements.iv
Vita...v
List of Figures...viii
Chapters
1. Introduction...1
2. Contemporary Korean Music.....2
2.1 Origin and History......2
2.2 Composers..5
2.2.1
First generation........5
2.2.2
Second generation...........7
2.2.3
Third and current generation.......7
2.3 A Brief History of Korean traditional music.....10

2.4 Characteristics of Korean traditional music...13
2.5 The influences of Korean traditional music.......15
2.6 Combination among Eastern Asia countries..17
3. Isang Yun.....19
vii
3.1 Life and musical background.....20

3.2 Stylistic Characteristics..........27
3.3 Loyang............34
3.4 Reak........43
4. Conclusion and looking forward......59
Bibliography......61
Appendix A: List of Isang Yuns Composition.63
Appendix B: Conversation of Isang Yun and Bruce Duffie..74
Appendix C: Consent Letter from Boosey & Hawkes, Inc...87
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1 First section of Sangyeongsan of Yeonsanhoesang ......................................... 32
Figure 3.2 Voices in Sangyeo-sori of Kochang ................................................................ 34
Figure 3.3 Instrumentation of Loyang .............................................................................. 36
Figure 3.4 Musical form scheme of Loyang ..................................................................... 37
Figure 3.5 Loyang m.1 7 ................................................................................................ 38
Figure 3.6 12 tones in Loyang m.1 5 ............................................................................. 38
Figure 3.7 (0,1,3) Pitch-Class-Set Formations in Loyang ................................................ 39
Figure 3.8 Loyang m. 8 14 ............................................................................................ 40
Figure 3.9 Loyang m. 32 37 ........................................................................................... 41
Figure 3.10 Loyang m. 15 25 ......................................................................................... 42
Figure 3.11 Instrumentation of Reak ................................................................................ 45
Figure 3.12 Musical Form Scheme of Reak...................................................................... 46
Figure 3.13 Reak m.1 5 ................................................................................................. 48
Figure 3.14 Reak m.11 16 .............................................................................................. 50
Figure 3.15 Reak m. 43 49 ............................................................................................. 52
Figure 3.16 Reak m. 64 68 ............................................................................................. 54
Figure 3.17 Reak m. 88 91 ............................................................................................. 55
ix
Figure 3.18 Reak m. 166 168 ......................................................................................... 57
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The advent of contemporary Korean music coincides with the introduction of

Western music into the countrys musical life, and the historical development of
contemporary Korean music continues to be the subject of intense musicological
investigation.
After a period in which Korean composers imitated western compositional styles
from 1900, a blending of the two musics emerged, and that approach has been generally
acknowledged as one of the most fruitful and creative paths for Korean art music. It is
that philosophy that was espoused by Isang Yun (1917 1995), a focus of this paper, and
the greatest and most well known Korean composer in Europe and the West. This
document will describe the history of this hybrid style that Yun developed, its
characteristics, its influence on Korean contemporary-music composers, and its influence
in other countries. The paper will also include a discussion of two musical compositions
of Isang Yun (1917 1995)--Loyang and Reak, works that illustrate how his
compositional technique combined Eastern musical elements and Western music.
Although Yuns music was more well known in Europe than in Korea, he was a strong
influence and great inspiration for young Korean composers.
1
CHAPTER 2
CONTEMPORARY KOREAN MUSIC
2.1 Origin and History

Western-style music in Korea was actively introduced through Christian Hymnals
at the end of nineteenth century through the missionary work of Henry Appenzella (1858
1902) and Horace Underwood (1859 1916), two American Methodist churchmen.
The Western hymnody, with its tonal harmony and regular rhythm, had a strong influence
on the music of early Korean composers. Among the early composers influenced by
Western church music were Sang-Jun Lee (1885 1962), In-Sik Kim (1885 1962), and
Nan-Pa Hong (1897 1941). Although the works of these composers consisted mainly of
art songs and childrens songs written in a simple tonal language, they were a significant
contribution to that repertoire. Hongs writings about the direction Korean music should
take show him to be one of the first to advocate a hybridization of eastern and western
styles to create a new Korean music. Hong said that A new (Korean) music should be
built based on our [Korean] thought and emotion and by taking advantage of both Asian
and European music.1 His great achievement in this period was to establish a form for
the Korean art song, consisting of lyrical melody and piano accompaniment.
Around 1900, the German composer and conductor, Franz Eckert (1852 1916),
was hired to establish the Korean royal military band.2 Eckert and the band made quick
growth in short time. He contributed to develop military band and musical talents as well
as effort of globalization in inheritance and development of Korean traditional music and
he handed Korean the ways. Eckert also helped in edition work of Korean hymnals and
research of Korean traditional music actively. The military band held public concerts for
the citizens and introduced Western music to them seriously.3 Mission schools and
churches, as well as military bands have performed an important role to promote the early
Korean composers.
Another important composer and a student of Richard Strauss is Eak-Tai Ahn
(1906 1965). Ahn was the first Korean composer to study abroad. He studied cello in
the U.S. in the 1920s, studied composition with Dohnanyi and Kodaly at the Royal
Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary in the early 1930s, and moved to Germany to
become the pupil of Richard Strauss, who had a strong influence on Ahns music in terms
Jae-Sung Park, Korean contemporary music, a brief history. Sonus Vol.20, Spring
2000, 30.
2
Ibid., 29.
3
Yi, Kang-Suk and Kim, Chun-Mi and Min, Kyong-Chan. Uri yangak 100-yn. Sul-si:
Hynamsa, 2001, 49.
3
of harmonic idiom and orchestration.4 One of Ahns most important and influential works
is his Korean Fantasy, from which the Korean national anthem was taken. This work
was premiered by the Ireland National Orchestra in 1938 under the direction of the
composer, and served to raise the worlds awareness of Korean concert music. The work
continues to be in the repertoire of many orchestras in Korea and abroad.
Soon-Nam Kim (1917 1995) was also one of the first Korean composers who
mixed Korean color and contemporary musical language, such as atonal systems and
expressionism.
The history of Korean contemporary music in the twentieth century can be
divided into three generations of composers. The first generation composers are those in
the period under the Japanese reign, 1910 1945, and military administration, 1945
1948. The second covers the period of 1950 1970 and the third after 1980. Composers
of the first generation wrote songs mostly using European musical materials with simple
tertian tonal systems, while those of the second and third generations developed a more
advanced harmonic style and ventured into larger-form chamber-music and orchestral
works.5
Andrew P Killick, Musical Composition in Twentieth-Century Korea , Korean Studies,

16(1992) 43.
5
2000, 31.
4
2.2 Composers
2.2.1 First Generation

In 1946 the establishment of The Composition Department at Kyungsung College
of Music, the forerunner of todays College of Music at Seoul National University, was a
momentous event. This school provided a place for students to study music composition
and soon became a crucible of creative talent that set the stage for professional work in
music composition.6 Many of the first generation of contemporary composers such as
Un-Young La (1922 93), Dal-Sung Kim (1921 ), Hoe-Gab Chong (1923 ), Sung-Jae
Lee (1924 ) graduated from this school. The major developments in internationallyrecognized Korean composer Isang Yuns (1917 1995) career closely mirror his
philosophy and unique musical characteristics in Korean contemporary composition, and
Yun is today venerated as the father of Korean contemporary concert music and
examined more detail in next chapters. Also among this first generation was the noted
avant-garde composer and video artist Nam-June Paik (1932 2006), whose music and
2000, 32.
5
art brought a great deal of exposure and notoriety in its unorthodox and controversial
expression.
Since the Korean War (1950 1953), composers interests in contemporary music
were growing but, however, largely in the absence of exposure to then-contemporary
western compositional techniques such as total serialism, musique concrete, and
electronic music. Nevertheless there was considerable interest in twelve-tone and atonal
music, largely due to the availability of books by authors such as Josef Rufer and
Rudolph Reti. Rufer, Josef. 1954. Composition with Twelve Notes Related Only to One
Another. Trans. Humphrey Searle. New York, The Macmillan Company. (Original
German ed., 1952)
Beginning around 1950 several organizations were formed to promote the
performance and composition of new Korean music through concert series and annual
competitions. In 1952, Un-Young La (1922 1993) founded the Korean Contemporary
Music Society and the term; contemporary was used for the first time in Korea.
Korean Composers Club in 1955 and Korean Music Association in 1957 were also
created and established performance and composition competition for contemporary
music. These groups have proven to be an important forum for composers to introduce
and present their music, and successes in these venues have been opened careers for
many composers and performers. In 1957 Korea became a member of the International
Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), which served to promote and disseminate
Korean music on an international level.
6
2.2.2 Second Generation

Prominent in the second generation of contemporary Korean music are three
leading composers, Sukhi Kang (1934-), Byung-Dong Paik (1936-), and Jung-Gil Kim
(1934-), who studied under Isang Yun at Hanover State College of Music in Germany
and had rising musical careers after returning to their home country. They have
presented music in different musical forms for vocal, chamber, and orchestra with
interests in avant-garde, electronic, and atonal music. Kangs two chief concerns from
the very outset were: 1) how to write a contemporary Korean music, and 2)
experimentation. His pioneering Feast of Id (1966) was the first Korean electronic
music. Jung-Gil Kim also was interested in music for practical purposes like film or
ballet music. By the 1970s Korean contemporary music developed rapidly and Korean
composers were selected for performance at the ISCM Festivals almost every year.
2.2.3 Third and current Generation

The third generation has held composers seminars criticizing and examining the
previous generations that pursued western music but failed to develop their own musical
cultures. Based on this conviction, they began a renewed interest in traditional music,
and use of simpler musical material that expresses the Korean national and cultural
identity. Prominent composers of this generation include Jun-Il Kang
(1945-), Geon-Yong Lee (1947-), Man-Bang Lee (1945-), all of whom share a
philosophy that emphasizes realistic description of social concerns in their works.
Tai-Bong Chung (b.1952) and Unsuk Chin (b.1961) who are in active
composers these days in Korea and Europe are the best-known representatives of this
generation, born after 1950. A professor of Seoul National University, Tai-Bong Chung
believes that the creative artist of today is a prophet, and bears the social responsibility
for writing enlightening works. Chung values works which expose todays problems and
show the way towards a better future. Music that evades the realities of present day is for
him a flight from the artists obligation, and today artists should take pains to follow this
path.7
Among many younger Korean composers, the music of Chin Unsuk reveals a
remarkable command of individual sonorities and a fantastic imagination. Chin doesn't
regard her music as belonging to any specific culturerather, she describes her music as
follows: My music is a reflection of my dreams. I try to render into music visions of
immense light and of an incredible magnificence of colors that I see in all my dreams, a
play of light and colors floating through the room and at the same time forming a fluid
sound sculpture. Its beauty is very abstract and remote, but it is for these very qualities
David Babcock, Korean Composers in Profile. Tempo New Series No. 192, Apr. 1995,
20.
8
that it addresses the emotions and can communicate joy and warmth.8 She studied with
Sukhi Kang (1934-) in Seoul Korea, and won several prestigious awards including the
Gaudeamus Composition Prize, before moving to Hamburg in 1985.9 After that Chin
studied with Gyrgy Ligeti in Hamburg from 1985 to 1988, and was awarded the
prestigious Grawemeyer Award for violin concerto in 2004 and the Arnold Schoenberg
Prize in 2005.
In 2001 and 2002 Unsuk Chin was appointed composer-in-residence at the
Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; and since 2006 she holds the position of the
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestras composer-in-residence and Artistic Director of its
Contemporary Music Series. Unsuk Chin was a featured composer in the 2009 Suntory
Summer Festival in Toyo which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Suntory Music
Foundation.
Among current composers, three overarching musical tendencies have formed as
follows: 1) finding musical identity in Western contemporary musical language,
following the example of the contemporary composers after 1950; 2) attempting to
progress beyond the work of third- generation composers, working to what they consider
an even fuller expression of the Korean national musical culture, 3) embracing popular
forms, and producing music for popular media (e.g. film and theatrical soundtracks).
Wikepedia. Unsuk Chin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsuk

David Babcock, Korean Composers in Profile. Tempo New Series No. 192, Apr. 1995,
19.
9
9
In an effort to obtain current information on the state of composition in Korea,

the author interviewed Dr. Bong-Ho Kim, a professor of composition at Ulsan University
in Korea, and a former student of Dr. Thomas Wells in music composition from Ohio
State University. In Dr. Kims opinion, many Korean composers nowadays are interested
in individualism, and in reflect their own unique colors their works. Kim says that it is
difficult to say where the mainstream of Korean compositional style is. Dr. Kim,
personally is making an effort to close up the distance between the audience and
contemporary music, and wants write music that engages and challenges audiences, yet a
music that is understandable and enjoyable. His favorite styles include the music of
Stravinsky and George Crumb and he is also interested in the combination of
contemporary techniques with pentatonic scales, traditional elements or Korean art songs
in various Eastern/Western instrumental. Kim states that the audience for contemporary
music in Korea has increased rapidly over the past twenty or thirty years.
2.3 A Brief History of Korean Traditional Music

a. Antiquity (before 57 BC)
It is not known exactly when Korean music was started exactly, but it appears in
historical records that ritual music existed from the Samhan Period during which
populations congregated for agricultural work. Music played on drums and other
percussion instruments had a role in this society to accompany dancing and for
10
sacrificial or memorial services, as well as for or thanksgiving celebrations after

the harvest.
b. The Period of the Three Kingdoms( 57 BC AD 668)

The Three Kingdoms refer to the regions of Koguryo, Paekje, and Silla, each of
which began to develop their own musical cultures. The musics of the Koguryo
and Paekje regions had strong martial characteristics which matched their national
aggressive and progressive characteristics. The Silla region was renowned for its
cultural achievements, and music from the Silla region employed a wide range of
mainly-Chinese instruments and was influential in the development of Japanese
music, having been imported into Japan around 550 AD. An important
development in Korean music was the invention of the Komungo, a plucked string
instrument invented by Wang Sanak from Koguryo that history records as the first
indigenous Korean musical instrument.
c. Medieval period (AD 668 AD 1392)

This period is marked by the unification of the Silla and Koryo dynasties, and
among the most important musical developments during this time was the
development of three string instrumentshe Kayageum, the Komungo, and the
Hyangbipa, along with three woodwindsthe Daegeum, the Chunggeum, and the
Sogeum. Court music is divided into three types: Aak, which translates as elegant
11
music and is a name given to Chinese ritual music that was imported to Korea
around 1116; Hyang-ak, a traditional form Korean music that has its origins in the
Three Kingdoms Period, and is often presented accompanied by folk dances; and
Dang-ak (literally, Tang music), a combination of Korean music with Chinese
influences from the Tang dynasty. Dangak and Hyangak were primarily used for
entertaining the royal court music and Aak was used in the ritual music. All of
these musical styles were strongly influenced in their aesthetics by Buddhism and
Confucianism.
d. Chosun Dynasty (AD 1392 AD 1910)

In the early Chosun dynastic period between 1392 and 1593, the rulers
commissioned music and ordered the compilation and publication of musical
scores and treatises on music theory. In late Chosun dynasty period (1594 -1910), folk music and various musical forms were prevalent, among them
Pansori, lengthy vocal and percussive works played by one singer and one
drummer; Nongak, outdoor ensemble music performed by farmers and peasants, a
genre that flourished between 1910 and 1945; and Sanjo, solo instrumental music
accompanied by the changgu, a two-headed drum that is a fundamental
instrument in Korean traditional music.
e. Modern times (after 1910)
12
Even before the Japanese occupation, as has been pointed out, Western style
music had been introduced through missionaries to Korea at the end of nineteenth
century, and in 1907 the Korean government began to make official distinctions
between the two: using the term Gugak for traditional music and Yangak for the
Western music or new music in Western style in 1907.
The Japanese colonial period (1910 - 1945) was characterized by severe
repression of Korean culture, even to the attempt to force the use of the Japanese
language on the populace. There was, however, a consistent effort by Koreans to
preserve the heritage of their traditional music, especially the chang-geuk
theatrical form of Pansori.
After the liberation of Korea in 1945, traditional music was revived and a
program of preservation set up by the newly established National Center for
Korean Traditional Performing Arts. Nowadays, many Korean music composers
and musicologists, realizing the importance of Korean traditional music to the
cultural identity of the country, are working both on the preservation of this
cultural artifact, but are creating new Korean music with its roots in tradition.
2.4 Characteristics in Korean traditional music

The most important feature of Korean traditional music is its flexibility of
articulation, which permits deviation, variation, and improvisation in individual
13
performances. The extent to which musical variables are employed depends upon the
performers artistic idiosyncrasies and aesthetic preferences.10
Considerations of melody, rhythm, and timbre are secondary in Korean music in
comparison compared to its Western counterpart, and there is an emphasis on the unique
concept of the individual note in melody. Isang Yun (1917 1995) states the concept of
this individual note in his article.
Whereas in Western music only a complete group of notes arranged either
melodically or harmonically has any importance, it is the individual note, the
nucleus, which is the focus of attention in the music of Eastern Asia. European
music lives from the combination of notes; the individual note is relatively
abstract. For us in the East, the tone already lives in itself. Each tone is subjected
to alteration from [the] moment it sounds until it dies away. It is endowed with
ornaments, grace notes, vibrato, glissandi and changes in dynamic; above all
conscious use is made of the natural vibrations of every tone as a means of
construction.11
Rhythm in Korean music, known as jangdan, is very important and is determined
by meter, accent, tempo, and phrase. In general, triple meter predominates, each beat
tending to be comprised of three smaller units, a characteristic of Korea music that
distinguishes it from the neighboring cultures of China and Japan. Timbre of Korean
instruments and vocal music is also very distinctive. Most instruments are made of
natural materials such as wood, bamboo, silk thread for strings, or brass. The natural
10
Byongwon Lee, Contemporary Korean Musical Cultures Korea Briefing, Boulder

CO: Westview Press, 1993, 127.
11
Isang Yun, The contemporary composer and traditional music. The World of Music
Vol.20, n2 1978, 57.
14
timbres of instruments are said to express the unifying of the human being and nature as
one body. In vocal music, singing techniques have different qualities like producing
sound from the back of the throat to a produce a clear, warm, natural sound for folk
songs, usually sung in the dialect of the region.
2.5 The influences of Korean traditional music

Since Western-style music was introduced in Korea, two words have been coined
to describe the resultant forms: gugak and yangak. Gugak means traditional Korean
music or new music in traditional style, and yangak means Western music or new music
in Western style. The introduction of Western culture brought a profound shock due to
its unfamiliar and heterogeneous characteristics and its, to Korean ears, violently fast
progression. This initial shock, however, gave way to a symbiosis of two musical
cultures that have coexisted and developed together. Through these developments, a
focus on cultural tradition and national identity remains of great importance to most
Korean composers. A growing economic prosperity in the 1980s as well as a newly
acquired status as one of the world's leading industrialized nations, coupled with national
pride after successfully hosting the 1988 Summer Olympics, produced a growing Korean
interest in discovering the roots of and furthering their unique cultural heritage using new
forms of expression.
15
Let us examine, then, in more detail how new styles in traditional Korean music
developed. Interest in new compositions for traditional instruments began in the early
1960s.
First, composers arranged folk music in Western-style musical idioms. Chamber
and orchestra works in larger might employ traditional melodies embedded in the musical
fabric. The 1980s was a time of animated discussion of the characteristics of ethnic and
popular music, with the goal to break down the barriers between Western and traditional
Korean music, and between pure and popular music. Since that time, Korean music can
be said to espouse four compositional tendencies: first, compositions that are made with
traditional Korean instruments, emphasizing Korean more than the experimental
characteristics; second, traditional music reconstructed using modern elements of style
and orchestration, to which category Yongsang, sanjo for orchestra by Dae-Woong
Paik (1943-) belongs, and differs from the traditional Korean form similarly to the way
the Baroque sonata differs from its Classical counterpart; third, a simplified, westernized
stylization of traditional melodies incorporated into catchy popular music and music
for television, film and the theater; and fourth, an attempt to adapt Western instrumental
works to Korean instruments.
An example of this fourth category is Song-Chon Yis (1936-) arrangement of
Beethovens Moonlight Sonata for the 21-string Kayagum, as well as Byung-Gi Hwangs
(1936-) hymn arrangements for this instrument. Byung-Dong Paiks Banhyang (Contra)
for marimba solo and two percussion groups (1988) is a dialogue between the musics of
16
the East and West. In this work, two instrumental groups, one consisting of Western
percussion instruments, with the vibraphone as leader; the other made up of Korean
instruments, led by chimes, engage in a dialog, first asserting their own identity and then
eventually harmonizing with the other.
The Korean traditional orchestra is flourishing today. The Korean Traditional
Performing Arts Center presents regular concerts of traditional music and dance. Many
composers have written works for the ensemble, which consists of woodwind instruments
(piri, taegum), plucked and bowed strings (haegum, kayagum, komungo and ajaeng),
drums (changgu, or buk), and gongs (ching and kkwenggwari) and other percussion
instruments. This colorful, passionate and liberating music is in fact very close to
contemporary music in its concern for elaborate textures, heterophony, complex rhythms,
absence of regular pulse, and free, non-functional tonality.12
2.6 Combination among Eastern Asian Countries

This paper has focused on the combined influences of Western and Korean
musical culture. It is necessary however, to include the importance of Korean musics
place in the greater East Asian culture. Futurologists regard the Twenty First Century as
a pacific and a unified period for Korea. The worldwide position of Eastern Asia and the
geopolitical position of the Korean peninsula within this scheme hold great significance.
12
David Babcock, Korean Composers in Profile. Tempo New Series No. 192, Apr.
1995. 18.
17
In 1993, many musicians interested in traditional music from Korea, China, and Japan
gathered in Seoul to found the Orchestra Asia consisting of traditional instruments from
each country. This was the first orchestra in history made up of non-western musical
instruments and was a showcase of a unified East-Asian music and culture. With this
basis of repertoires of individual folk music, it is anticipated that this group will produce
a new and unique hybrid twenty-first-century music. With Eastern influence currently on
the rise in worldwide culture, it is likely that Asian music will help form and enlarge new
musical cultures throughout the world.
18
CHAPTER 3
ISANG YUN
Isang Yun (1917 1995) is one of the most respected and revered figures, a
frontier attempted combination of Western and Korean musical elements to the world and
belonging to first generation composers in Korean music history. His early works were
based on tonality, but since moving to Germany in 1956, his music developed a unique
sound, informed by contemporary Western techniques, and also employing a number of
techniques associated with traditional Korean music such as vibrato, glissando, pizzicato,
grace notes, and heterophony. In 1959 he attended the International Summer Courses of
Contemporary Music in Darmstadt and Gaudeamus, where his pieces Five Pieces for
Piano (1958) and Music for Seven Instruments (1959) were chosen to be performed, and
this exposure marked the start of his career in Europe. Yun was known for the
expression of East Asian images through Western musical language and was successful,
as well, in translating performing techniques of Korean traditional instruments to Western
ones. After his exposure to contemporary-Western-music during his studies at Darmstadt
and numerous works using this contemporary language, Yuns mature works stem from
the early 1960s, and his developed own musical personality began to emerge in his
19
works of the early 1960s. Yuns successes in Europe inspired many young Korean
composers such as Nam June Paik and others to study in Europe.
3.1 Life and musical background

The life and musical period of Isang Yun can be divided into two periods. During
the first part of his life, he resided mostly in Korea from 1917 to 1956. After that period,
Yun moved in Europe, where he lived until his death in Germany in 1995. Although he
despite his travels and involvement with Western culture, Yuns music is strongly tied to
the Eastern philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism, both of which fundamentally
influenced his music.
Yun was born on September 17, 1917 in Sancheong County, South Kyeongsang
Province in South Korea. His family moved to Tongyoung when he was three. At the age
of eight he began to play hymns on the organ in missionaries, and also learned to play the
violin and guitar.
In 1933 after he completed Chinese elementary and literary schools in Tongyoung,
he moved to Seoul and entered a private music school in Seoul for two years where he
learned harmony and theory from Ho Young Choi (1901 - ?), a violinist and composer
and a student of Franz Eckert (1852 1916), a German musician who was active in Japan
20
and Korea, and who founded a Western-style military band in Seoul.13 On visits to the
National Library, Yun had the opportunity to acquaint himself with Western
contemporary classical music of composers such as Richard Strauss, Paul Hindemith,
Bela Bartok, and Arnold Schoenberg.
Yun had begun to compose music at the age of 13 and in 1935 he traveled to
Japan to enroll in the Osaka Conservatory to study music composition, theory and cello.
In 1937, Yun issued his first publication: an album of childrens music. Returning to
Korea in 1938, he obtained a position at the Hwayang Elementary School in Tongyoung
where he taught for two years.14 Around that time he learned through a magazine article
about a Japanese composer, Tomojiro Ikenouchi (1906 1991), who studied in Paris and
enjoyed some success in Europe before returning to Japan to teach in Osaka. .15 Yun, then,
returned to Osaka to study composition and counterpoint with the Japanese composer for
two years, and then came back to Korea just before the advent of World War II.
He was arrested and imprisoned by the Japanese for two months in 1944 for
participating in underground resistance activities and for writing Korean songs, the
composition and performance of which were forbidden under the occupation from 1910
to 1945. Following the Korean liberation in 1945, Yun became active in the
13
Dongeun Noh, (Isang Yuns life and art in Korea),

EumAggwa Minjok, Vol. 17 Seoul: Minjok EumAg Hakhwae, 1999. 15.
14
Ibid. 17.
15
Jiyeon Byeon, The Wounded Dragon: An Annotated Translation of Der verwundete
Drache, the Biography of Composer Isang Yun, by Luise Rinser and Isang Yun. PhD
diss., Kent State University, 2003. 75.
21
establishment of the Tongyoung Cultural Association, a society for the promotion of

culture and the arts that exists to this day, and hosts a noted yearly international music
festival. To support himself following the war, Yun became a director at an orphanage in
Busan.
From 1948 to 1952, Yun worked as a music teacher at high schools in Tongyoung
and Busan, and he began to develop his musical career in earnest during that time.16
Yuns compositions during this period consisted mainly of pentatonic songs with simple
Korean-traditional-music ornamentation for use in his music classes. During this period
Yun published an Korean art-song album entitled Dalmuri, which consisted of five
songs Geune (1947), Pyunji (1941), Nageune (1948), Gopungeuisang (1948), and
Dalmuri (1948). Yun subsequently moved with his wife and family in 1953 to Seoul,
where he continued to compose, taught music composition as a lecturer at several
universities, performed his chamber works, and gained his first official recognition as a
composer with the award of the Seoul City Culture Prize in 1955 for his String Quartet
No.1 and Piano Trio.17 Yuns receipt of this award marked the first time the prize had
been awarded to a composer, and this recognition opened many doors for his career,
including his further studies in Europe.
Yun first traveled to France, where he studied composition in Paris with Tony
16
Sooja Lee, (My husband Isang Yun). 2 Vols. Seoul:Changchak kwa

Bipyong, 1998. Pt1. 121.
17
Andrew McCredie, Isang Yun. In Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde: A
Biocritical Sourcenbook, edited by Larry Sitsky, 586-592. Westport, Connecticut:
Greenwood Press, 2002. 586.
22
Aubin and music theory from Pierre Revel, a student of Paul Dukas at the Paris
Conservatory in 1956. After one year in Paris, he enrolled at the (West) Berlin
Hochschule fr Musik in Germany and studied counterpoint and fugue with Reinhard
Schwarz-Schilling, and composition from Boris Blacher (1903 1975). Yun also studied
twelve-tone composition with Joseph Rufer (1893 1985) whose book Composition with
Twelve Tones was one of the earliest essays on serial composition techniques.18
In 1958 Yun participated in the International Summer Courses for New Music in
Darmstadt, Germany, one of the centers of modern music at that time, and met many
important composers there such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luigi Nono, Pierre Boulez,
and John Cage.19 The Darmstadt experience was a great opportunity for Yun to
experience the then-avant-garde styles, including indeterminacy and electronic music, all
of which he saw as possibilities to enhance the expression of his art. During the following
year, performances of two works--Musik fr Sieben Instrumente at the Darmstadt
Contemporary Music Festival and Fnf Stcke fr Klavier at the Gaudeamus Music
Festival in Bilthoven, Netherlands were received with great success. Both works
employed twelve tone techniques, and in the second movement of Music fr Sieben
Instrumente, Yun explained that he attempted to express the Taoist concepts of yin and
yang: yin representing characteristics such as negativity, passivity, weakness, and
18

diss., Kent State University, 2003.106.
19
Ibid. 108.
23
darkness, and yang representing positive characteristics, activity, strength and

brightness.20 The contrast between Yin and Yang was implied by the cellos pizzicati and
glissandi, and decrescendi and crescendi. This idea was the beginning of a path that lead
to the development of many of the Yuns later techniques.
Yun spent the years from 1960 to 1963 in Krefeld, Freiburg, and Cologne from
1960 to 1963, and he returned to Berlin in 1964 with the assistance of a Ford Foundation
Scholarship.21 This period was a prolific one that saw the composition of his String
Quartet No.3 (1959), Fluktuation fr Orchestra (1960), Loyang fr Kammerensemble
(1962), Gasa fr Violine und Klavier (1963), and Reak fr Groes Orchester (1966). In
these pieces gradually formed a personal style in which he sought to to create a music
that was neither Korean nor Western, and yet at the same time was both.22
His Buddhist-inspired oratorio Om mani padme hum in 1965, and the orchestra
work Reak, premiered by South German Radio Symphony at the Donaueschingen
Festival in 1966 led to Yuns widespread international recognition.23 During this time he
participated in summer music festivals supported by the Ford Foundation Scholarship in
the United States and Europe, along with lectures and recitals in many US cities
20
Laura Hauser,A Performers Analysis of Isang Yuns Monolog For Basson with ans
emphasis on the role of the traditional Korean influences. DMA diss., Louisiana State
University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 2009. 2021.
21
Herold Kunz, Yun, Isang. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed.
by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 27. (London:Macmillan, 2001), 696.
22
Keith Howard, Creating Korean Music:Tradition, Innovation and the Discourse of
Identity Perspectives on Korean Music Vol.2 Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006, 130.
23
International Isang Yun society. http://www.yun-gesellschaft.de/e/bio.htm
24
including Aspen, San Francisco, Detroit, New York, and Washington.

In 1967, Yun was kidnapped from Germany to Seoul by agents of the Korean
secret service under Chung Hee Parks government. In 1963 Yun and his wife had
visited one of his old friends, Sanghan Choi, in Pyongyang, North Korea to observe the
frescoes in an ancient kings tomb known as Sasindo (Picture of four Gods). Yun was
charged as a communist conspirator and spy, subjected to a show trial, tortured, and
imprisoned under a life sentence. While he was in prison he was permitted to compose,
and there he translated his impressions of the Sasindo into the work Image for flute, oboe,
violin, and cello in 1968. He also completed an opera, Die Witwe des Schmetterlings, as
well as Riul for Clarinet and Piano during his confinement. In October 1967, Wilhelm
Maler, the President of the Hamburger Akademie der Knste sent an appeal letter signed
by 161 internationally known figures, including Igor Stravinsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen,
Gyrgy Ligety, Herbert von Karajan, demanding Yuns release.24 As a result of the
international protest and pressure, the South Korean government released him in 1969
with the understanding that he would never return to his native country. Since that time,
he would never again visit South Korea, being barred from reentry. His widow, Sooja
Lee who was also banned, would not return to South Korea until 2007 where she was
able to visit her late husbands home village and participate in a festival in Seoul in
24

diss., Kent State University, 2003. 208.
25
honour of his 90th birthday.25

Yun returned to Germany, where he taught composition at the the Hanover
Hochschule fr Musik from 1970 to 1971 and the Hochschule der Knste in Berlin from
1970 to 1985 as a German citizen in 1971, and a full professor in 1974. His opera Sim
Tjong (1972) was commissioned by the 1972 Munich Olympic Committee for the
opening ceremony programs, which further contributed to his international reputation.
Yuns catalog includes more than one hundred works, including four operas and a
number of instrumental concerti. His operas written in eight years from 1965 to 1973
Der Traum des Liu-Tang (1965), Die Witwe des Schmetterlings (1967 1968),
Geistrliebe (1969 1970), and Sim Tjong (1971 1972) are based on original librettos in
German, but are shaped after East Asian materials.26 In the 1980s he composed a series
of five large, interrelated symphonies, and during that time the tone of his work changed
to one of a striving for unity, harmony and peace and the reunification of Korea reflecting
his political belief and desires. These works include Exemplum in memoriam kwangju
(1981), the second movement of the Violin Concerto no.2 Dialog Schmetterling und
Atombombe (19836), Engel in Flammen (1994) and the five symphonies (19837). The
government of South Korea eventually officially withdrew the charges against him and
25
The News From Wabu-eup. http://rbbadger.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/yun-isangtapis-pour-cordes

26
Andrew McCredie, Isang Yun. In Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde: A
Greenwood Press, 2002. 590.
26
officially restored his honor. As a result, his music was performed for the first time at
Seventh Korean music festival 1982 in South Korea since East Berlin spy incident.
However, unfortunately the successful concert was held without the main composer.
Yuns many honors and awards include an honorary doctorate from the University
of Tbingen (1985), Bundesverdienstkreuz (Bonn 1988), an honorary membership in the
International Society for Contemporary Music (1991), the Thomas Mann Plakate and
Membership Freie Akademie der Knste (Hamburg 1993), the European Academy of
Arts and Sciences (Salzburg 1994), and the Goethe Medal of Goethe Institute (1995).27
The International Isang Yun Society was founded in Berlin in 1996. The Isang
Yun International Music Festival (Tongyeong International Music Festival) stands as one
of the leading festivals in South Korea. He died of pneumonia in Berlin in 1995.28
3.2 Stylistic Characteristics

Yun's essential goal as a composer was to develop Korean music through Western
means, combining East Asian performing practice with European instruments, and
expressing an Asian imagination and sensibility in contemporary Western musical terms.
His compositions from 1959 and 1960 employed the twelve-tone technique, but after
1961, however, he developed a more individual style in compositions such as Loyang
27
28
Ibid. 587.
Naxos. Isang Yun Biography. http://www.naxos.com/person/Isang_Yun/21621.htm
27
(1962), Gasa (1963), Garak (1963), Om mani padme hum (1964) and Rak (1966). In
these works, glissandos, pizzicatos and vibratos provide a certain exoticism, while
traditional Chinese court music ornamentation is used in a heterophony of multiple
melodic lines. In works written after 1964, Yun employed numerous melodic strands;
these Haupttne, as he called them, constitute centers of gravity through which the
musical form is generated. Contrasting elements, derived from the Taoist concept of unity
as the balance of Yin and Yang, influence instrumentation, dynamics, harmony, intensity
and other musical parameters, finally uniting in a single sound stream, as suggested by
Taoist philosophy.29
Haupttne
One of the unique characteristics of Yun's music is what he termed Hauptton
technique, in which one member of a succession of notes is considered central and is
ornamented by grace-note figures, appoggiature, trills and different types of vibrato. To
Yun, the individual note was more important than the motive or phrase. Of course a
single note by itself cant form the basis of a musical structure (except, perhaps in the
works of LaMonte Young or other minimalist composers) and in Yuns music musical
interest is achieved and sustained through the use of ornamental figurations and rhythmic
articulations of the single note.
29
Oxford music online. Yun, Isang.http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.ohio-
state.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/30747
28
These Haupttoene, with their long sustained notes or repetitions of the same note,
often appear in layers to build complex textures or clusters. Another important feature of
Yun's music is the subtle emerging and disappearing of material through careful dynamic
calculation, a process that mirrors the Yin-Yang concept in Taoist thought.
In European music, the individual note is rather an abstraction, and gains meaning in
association with other notes through horizontal melodic structures and vertical harmonic
textures. East Asian music, on the other hand, is influenced by the philosophy and
aesthetics associated with Taoism, and in Korean music the note itself has a unique
meaning and value, as it is articulated by rhythmic changes and ornaments. Yun himself
said The basis of my composition is the Einzelton (single tone). Each tone, involving
the power of chameleon, becomes a foundation along with ornamentations, vibratos,
accents, glissandos which envelop the sound unit of a single note. I called this
Hauptton.30
Hauptklang
Hauptklang is Yun's term for the expended conception of the Hauptton technique
as employed in large ensemble or orchestra works, and consists of several Haupttne
sounding simultaneously to form structural sonorities. These musical textures take the
30
Jeongmee Kim,Musical Syncretism in Isang Yuns Gasa, in Locating East Asia in

Western Art Music. Ed. Yayoi Uno Everett and Frederick Lau (Wesleyan University
Press, 2004), 184.
29
form of sustained sound masses distributed among different parts of the orchestra.31
Yun's use of the Hauptklang technique was certainly influenced by the orchestral textures
in the music of Ligeti and Penderecki. Yun explained that the piece conveys nothing new,
but development that is to the Hauptklang technique. From each Hauptklang a new one
will be born and everything sound figure contains all the elements of the whole, all colors,
all moments of the imaginative world from the Dmonische32 to the high heavens.33
Use of Tone Clusters in Homophonic Textures

In some cases Yun also embedded Haupttne within dissonant tone clusters in
homophonic textures producing the effect of simultaneous ornamentation on multiple
instruments in traditional Korean court and aristocratic music.
Heterophony
Much of Yuns music from his mature period is characterized by heterophonic
textures. The idea of a main melody played simultaneously by a number of instruments,
each simultaneously employing their own variation and ornamentation, is a characteristic
31
Youngchae Kim, Cultural Synthesis in Korean Musical Composition in the late

twentieth century: An anaylysis of Isang Yuns Reak for orchestra Ph.D. diss., Kent State
University, 2006, 55
32
Dmonische is a German word meaning a universal spiritual force or energy, or the
ultimate source of all life.
33
Youngchae Kim. 56.

30
of many ethnic musics, and has entered western contemporary classical music through
various folk influences.
Yun developed a system of composition based on oriental heterophony, his work
influenced by his political ideas and desire for Korean unification, and by elements of
Korean and Chinese culture and Taoist philosophy. These musical structures in Loyang
can be compared with Sangyeongsan of Yeonsanhoesang34 in Korean traditional court
music. Figure 3.1 shows a transcription of heterophonic textures in the first part in the
Korean Sangyeongsan of Yeonsanhoesang. It can be compared with Yuns work in
Figure 3.9. Oriental heterophony is different from European tradition of heterophonic
music in that simultaneity of different tones does not follow the organized chord
progressions in the Western system.
34
It is a chamber music led by geomun-go, and usually includes one of each of the
following: geomun-go, gayageum, haegeum, se-piri, daegeum, and janggu.
31
Figure 3.1 First section of Sangyeongsan of Yeonsanhoesang
Josef Husler speaks of Yuns composition technique as a kind of polyphonic

heterophony in the polyphony in his book Musik im 20. Jahrhundert (Music in the 20th
century).
32
In a very important point Yun goes beyond the [Korean] native tradition. The
music of the Far East does not know real polyphony in the European sense.
Often in oriental music performance monophony turns into a momentary
accidental polyphony, or heterophony. But it never exhibits planned or
organized polyphonic character. Yun broadened the heterophony to polyphony,
certainly not in the thematic imitation meaning of Western tradition, but truly as
the consciously formed and controlled polyphony of the polyrhythmic
Faktur.35,36
Nonghyun and Sigimsae

Among the techniques of traditional Korean music Yun carried over in his
instrumental works were those of Nonghyun (Inflection) and Sigimsae ornaments which
referred to vibrato, trills, grace notes or appoggiature in Korean instruments. Nonghyun
can be translated as to toy with strings37 The ornaments known as sigimsae are more
rhythmically and developmentally involved.38 The Noghyun technique is usually used in
string-instrument writing, while the Sigimsae appears in woodwind, brass, and in vocal
writing. Basic types of Nonghyun according to the manner of execution and classified
consist of Yoseong, literally meaning vibrating or shaking sound, toeseong, meaning
thrusting or declining sound, and chuseong, meaning pushing the sound upwards.
Figure 3.2 shows a transcription of a Korean vocal work in which the Sigimsae technique
with grace notes and long and short tremolandi is employed.
35
Faktur, meaning the total, sum, or result.

Byeon, 145.
37
Inhwa So, Theoretical perspectives on Korean traditional music. Seoul, Korea:
National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, Ministry of Culture and
Tourism, c2002, 77
38
Ibid. 98
33
36
Figure 3.2 Voices in Sangyeo-sori of Kochang
3. 3 Loyang
Loyang for chamber ensemble (1962), a work influenced by Taoist philosophy, is
one of Yuns first works to show an East-Asian musical influence. Yun submitted
Loyang to several composition competitions and music festivals, at first without success,
but the work was finally premiered by the orchestra of Jeunesses Musicales conducted by
Klaus Bernbacher in Hanover on January 23, 1964. Loyang enjoyed great success, and
laid the foundation for Yuns more famous composition, Reak.
The title, Loyang, comes from the name of a Chinese city, one of the four great
ancient capitals of China, and an important cultural center for court music. In fact, an
ancient Chinese musical piece, Spring in Loyang, was adopted by Korean court musicians
34
during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), and is still performed in its Koreanized version.
This version, called Dang-ak, meaning literally music of Dang dynasty, is a term applied
to music of Chinese origin in general. Loyang came about as a result of a series of radio
programs on traditional East-Asian music Yun was working on in Freiburg, Germany. In
preparation for his radio talks, Yun engaged in a great deal of musicological research, and
out of these investigations the composer developed a strong interest in employing Eastern
musical sensibilities in his composition. His adaptation of East-Asian music principles is
far from literal: he quotes no Korean folk tunes nor incorporates any Asian instruments
such as composers like Takamitsu have done. Rather, Yun internalizes the sense of the
East-Asian traditional musical practices, and arrives at a new kind of expression that
enables him to employ Western instruments to provide the acoustic means to realize a
sound world in which the Eastern sensibility of the importance of a tone itself, decorated
with all kinds of embellishments, becomes paramount. In Loyang, there are some
connections with twelve-tone serialism that Yun had employed in earlier works, but these
techniques are not applied rigorously. (See the Figure 3.5. Loyang m.1 7)
The instrumentation of Loyang consists of woodwinds, percussion and strings
(Figure 3.3), and the orchestration of Loyang is very much influenced by that of
traditional Korean music known as Sujechon used in court banquets and ceremonies,
and Hyang-ak, which generically refers to music of a Chinese origin. Sujechon is
35
characterized by a typical orchestration known as Samhyeonyuggak (three strings and six

horns) occasionally with expanded instrumentation in some works.39
Group
Woodwinds
Percussions
Strings
Instruments
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet in B-flat
Bassoon
Triangle
Whip
Tam-Tam
Snare Drum
Bass drum
Vibraphone
Low-pitched Plate Bells
Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Cymbals
Violin
Violoncello
Harp
Figure 3.3 Instrumentation of Loyang
39
So. 144.
36
Loyang is comprised of three movements, mainly in a slow tempo with frequent

meter changes throughout. (Figure 3.4)
Movement
I
Tempo
=ca. 60
II
=ca. 76
III
=ca. 54
Section measure
I.
1 16
II.
A. 17 27
B. 28 53
III.
A. 54 63
B. 64 73
Coda 74 88
I.
89 109
II.
110 - 129
III.
130 176
IV.
177 196
I.
197 214
II.
215 230
III.
231 - 252
IV.
253 304
Figure 3.4 Musical form scheme of Loyang

Figure 3.5 shows the beginning section of Loyang with the motives from measure
1 to 4 drawn from the twelve tones C#, B, D, F, Eb, E, Bb, C, G, F#, A, G# (Figure 3.6)
presented in serial fashion. However, afterwards the pitch material is freely employed in
short phrases that are developed and articulated by rhythmic changes, extension, and
contraction. Measure 5 announces a pitch-class group (C#, B, D 0, 1, 3) that will figure
prominently in varied forms (Figure 3.7) throughout the rest of the work.
37
Figure 3.5 Loyang m.1 7

Loyang by Isang Yun
Copyright 1962 by Bote & Bock Musik - Und Buhnenverlag GMBH & Co.
Reprinted by permission
Figute 3.6 12 tones in Loyang m.1 5
38
Figure 3.7 (0,1,3) Pitch-Class-Set Formations in Loyang
39
Figures 3.8 and Figure 3.9 show the use of glissandi and trills in the strings and
woodwinds to animate the musical texture, similar to the Korean traditional string
techniques known as Nonghyun.
Figure 3.8 Loyang m. 8 14

Loyang by Isang Yun
40

Loyang by Isang Yun
This technique is also apparent in an overall heterophonic texture with the string
tremolos of measure 19 and 20, and in the woodwinds from 17 to 23 as illustrated in
Figure 3.10. The dense textures with mixed chord structures in measure 22 to 24 in the
harp and strings are sustained with woodwinds and articulated by dynamics. The strings
41
from measures 19 to 24 employ all twelve tones of the chromatic scale.
42

Loyang by Isang Yun
While in Loyang Yun employs these traditional Korean techniques alongside
Western serial ones, his subsequent work Reak is more focused and developed on the
Hauptton, and Hauptklang techniques which are found consistently in his later works.
3.4 Reak
Reak (or Yeak in other transliterations) is an orchestral piece in which Yun
attempted to combine the Korean musical expression of court ceremonies, festivals and
Confucian rites and project them through western musical techniques and expression.
This composition was commissioned by Sdwestrundfunks Baden-Baden and premiered
by Sdwestrundfunks Symphony Orchestra under Ernest Bours conducting at the
Donaueschinger Musiktage in Germany on October 23 1966. Yuns technique of
Hauptton, Hauptklang and heterophony are all present in this work. To express the
Korean traditional, he combined with the traditional technique Nonghyun. As noted
previously, in the aesthetics of Korean music tones are said to have their own lives and
unique dynamics. These techniques such as Nonghyun and Sigimsae are important in the
performance practice of traditional Korean music, serving as processes by which
performers articulate melodies tastefully, expressively and dynamically. (See page 32).
43
In the book Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde, Andrew McCredie

states that Reak involves neither motives nor themes, nor selected processes identified
with either the Second Viennese or Darmstadt Schools, but rather a musical texture
determined through long-sustained sounds comprising sonic surfaces, threads, bands, or
blocks that follow on or emerge out of each other, as parts as though extracted from an
unending continuity of sound. The emphasis is thus primarily on timbral, timbral
inflection, and subtle kaleidoscope change.40 The instrumentation of Reak consists of
woodwinds, brass, percussion, timpani, harp and strings. (Figure 3.11).
40
Andrew McCredie. Isang Yun. In Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde: A

Greenwood Press, 2002. 589-590.
44
Group
Instruments
Woodwind
3 Flutes (1. Doubling Alto Flute, 2 and 3.

Doubling Piccolo)
3 Oboes (3. Doubling English Horn)
3 Clarinets in Bb (3. Doubling Bass Clarinet)
2 Bassoons
1 Contra Bassoon
Brass
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in C
2 Trombones
1 Tuba
2 Harps
Timpani
Percussion (4 players)
3 Triangles
3 Baks (Korean clappers)
3 Large slapsticks
1 Low and medium Tomtom
4 Temple blocks (different sizes)
6 Suspended cymbals (different sizes)
3 Large sleigh bells
2 Thai Buckelgongs (different sizes)
3 Bass Drums
1 Low Tam-Tam
String
Violins (I and II)

Violas
Cellos
Double Bass (I and II)
Figure 3.11 Instrumentation of Reak
45
Section
Section I
Section II
Section III
Section IV
Subsection
Measures
Introduction
14
5 - 10
II
10 26
III
26 - 31
32 - 43
II
43 - 76
III
76 - 87
88 - 112
II
113 - 135
136 - 155
II
156 - 173
Figure 3.12 Musical Form Scheme of Reak
The form of Reak can be divided into four sections, each of which has its own
emphasis in turn on phrase, dynamic, sound group, and technique, and each section has
its own unique tone color and sonority.
46
Section I
Reak begins with strokes on the Bak (Korean clappers, or slapsticks) which in
traditional Korean music are used to signal the beginning and end of court-music pieces,
and which also play a role as conductor and timekeeper in the ensemble.
Figure 3.13 shows the opening of Reak, with short phrase structures shown in
boxes. These structures have no motivic or thematic function, but rather form sound
groups that follow and overlap each other in different instrumental choirs, forming dense
harmonic aggregates. The resulting textures are animated by dynamic changes and
percussion writing while the string group moves toward a static chord in measure 4 and 5,
over which the solo oboe presents a short melodic line. At the beginning of the piece,
each group of Hauptklenge consists of D#, G#, A in the brass in measure 2, and F, C#, E,
G, A in the strings in same measure, and C, Eb, F, Ab in the horns.
47
Figure 3.13 Reak mm.1 5

48
Reak by Isang Yun

Copyright 1966 by Bote & Bock Musik GMBH & Co., Berlin
From measure 12 in the Figure 3.14, each instrument appears to have an
individual harmonic layer (drawn from the pitches C#, B, F, D#, Bb, A, D, C, G# in the
woodwinds in measures 13-16), and these grow to form a more dense sound mass with
the addition of the brass from m.14 and strings from m.15--a sound mass, yet one with a
variety of harmonic and timbral facets.
These harmonic layers, divided into instrument groups by of Woodwind, Brass,
Percussion, and Strings and separated into low, medium, and high ranges, are developed
throughout the piece.
49
50
Figure 3.14 Reak m.11 16

Reak by Isang Yun
Section II
Section II is characterized by the string and brass choirs presenting sustained
sonorities which are articulated by the Hauptton technique. (See Figure 3.15).
51
Figure 3.15 Reak m.43 49

Reak by Isang Yun
52
From measure 64 rhythmic variety is introduced in a percussion tremolo that was

previously presented in the strings, and a contrabass pizzicato, and the Korean plucked
string instrument Kayageum is invoked in pizzicato figures in the lower strings.
53
Figure 3.16 m. 64 68
Reak by Isang Yun
54
Section III
In section III, further rhythmic development, structural contrast, and the use of
ornamentation appear above a sustained chord. At the beginning of this section, main
tones in the woodwinds similar to notes of the Gyemyeon-jo one of Korean pentatonic
scales appear. In general, Korean traditional scales can be divided into Pyeong-jo and
Gyemyeon-jo. Pyeong-jo is similar from Western major scale G, A, C,D,E (G can be
tonic function). Gyemyeon-jo is compared with Western minor scale A, C, D, E,G (A
can be tonic function). In measure 88, Yun used five notes, B, C#, E, F# G#.
55
Figure 3.17 m. 88 91
Reak by Isang Yun
Section IV
The last section is characterized by thicker formations of harmonic layers and the
development of musical elements that were employed in previous sections, now
expressed with a more passionate and dramatic expression through the expanded use of
percussion, and heightened dynamic contrast. (Figure 3.18 m. 166 168).
56
57
Figure 3.18 m. 166 168

Reak by Isang Yun
58
CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION AND LOOKING FORWARD

This document examines the history of contemporary Korean music, with
emphasis on how since the early 1960s Korean composers have combined Eastern and
Western and styles to form a unique compositional approach.
Isang Yun (1917 1995), one of the most conspicuous figures in Korean music
history, was one of the first composers to successfully achieve such a stylistic blending,
and two of his works, Loyang, and Reak, were used to illustrate specific characteristics of
this hybrid style. Although his music was at first more well known in Europe than in
Korea, Yun has since become an important source of influence and inspiration for young
Korean composers.
Since the twentieth century, Korean music has developed in both traditional and
Western contemporary styles. During that time, Korean composers have had a tendency
to think all compositions should always be progressive regardless of style. In this new
century, this pursuit of new music seems to be alive and well, and different interests,
directions, and genres continue to develop, if even in small steps.
One of the current tendencies in Korean music is the reincorporation of Western
into what is loosely termed changjak umak (creative music) with less concern for cultural
59
baggage, stylistic norms, or avoidance of clichs than one might expect in European or
American tastes. Changjak umak, after all, is meant for a domestic audience and, in
essence, adds Western elements to the traditional Korean musical grammar.41 In coming
decades such an approach gives composers the challenge of breaking new musical
ground, while at the same time inviting cultural and aesthetic questions. Recently,
composers such as Young Dong Kim (1952- ), Byong-Uk Yi (1951- ), Soo Chul Kim
(1957- ), have begun to add guitars and keyboards to Korean traditional ensembles, and
have met with great commercial success. Other composers will likely continue to expand
this mix of traditional and contemporary to include various electronic instruments as well
as computers. To accomplish this task in an artful fashion, technicians and musicians
alike will need to cultivate sensitivity for the creation, arrangement, and cultivation of a
new electronic sound palette. The opportunity ahead will include the development of
new genres and acoustic inventions as mentioned above with resultant compositional
possibilities. It can all be summarized in one phrase: Korean Music. Since the
introduction of Western culture, this phrase has taken on new and greater meaning.
Korean music implies the unification and ownership of all styles of music for the all the
Korean people. Today, Korea can be proud of its place in the modern musical world.
41
Keith Howard, Different Spheres: Perceptions of Traditional Music and Western
Music in Korea. The World of Music Vol.39, n2 1997, 64.

60
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Babcock, David. Korean Composers in Profile. Tempo New Series No. 192, Apr.
1995,15 21.
Byeon, Jiyeon. The Wounded Dragon: An Annotated Translation of Der verwundete
Drache, the Biography of Composer Isang Yun, by Luise Rinser and Isang
Yun. PhD diss., Kent State University, 2003.
Duffie, Bruce. Composer Isang Yun:A Conversation with Bruce Duffie
http://www.bruceduffie.com/yun.html
Hauser, Laura. A Performers Analysis of Isang Yuns Monolog For Basson with ans
emphasis on the role of the traditional Korean influences. DMA diss.,
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 2009.
Howard, Keith. Creating Korean Music: Tradition, Innovation and the Discourse of
Identity. Perspectives on Korean Music, Vol.2. Burlington, VT: Ashgate,
2006,
. Different Spheres: Perceptions of Traditional Music and Western Music in
Korea. The World of Music Vol.39, n2 1997, 61 7.
International Isang Yun society. http://www.yun-gesellschaft.de/e/bio.htm
Killick, Andrew P., Musical Composition in Twentieth-Century Korea. Korean
Studies, 16(1992) 43 60.
Kim, Jeongmee. Musical Syncretism in Isang Yuns Gasa, in Locating East Asia in
Western Art Music. Ed. Yayoi Uno Everett and Frederick Lau (Wesleyan
University Press, 2004).
Kim, Youngchae. Cultural Synthesis in Korean Musical Composition in the late
twentieth century: An analysis of Isang Yuns Reak for orchestra Ph.D. diss.,
Kent State University, 2006.
Kunz, Herald. Isang Yun. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Edited
by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 27. London: Macmillan, 2001, 696-97.
61
Lee, Byongwon. Contemporary Korean Musical Cultures Korea Briefing, Boulder CO:
Westview Press 1993, 121 138.
Lee, Sooja. (My husband Isang Yun). 2 Vols. Seoul:Changchak kwa
Bipyong, 1998.
McCredie, Andrew. Isang Yun. In Music of the Twentieth-Century Avant-Garde: A
Biocritical Sourcenbook, edited by Larry Sitsky, 586-592. Westport,
Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2002.
Naxos. Isang Yun Biography. http://www.naxos.com/person/Isang_Yun/21621.htm
Noh, Dongeun. (Isang Yuns life and art in Korea),
EumAggwa Minjok, Vol. 17 Seoul: Minjok EumAg Hakhwae, 1999.
Oxford music online. Yun, Isang. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.ohiostate.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/30747
Park, Jae-Sung. Korean contemporary music, a brief history. Sonus Vol.20, Spring
2000, 29 35.
So, Inhwa. Theoretical perspectives on Korean traditional music. Seoul, Korea: National
Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, Ministry of Culture and
Tourism, 2002.
The News From Wabu-eup. http://rbbadger.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/yun-isang-tapispour-cordes.
Wikepedia. Unsuk Chin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsuk
Yi, Kang-Suk and Kim, Chun-Mi and Min, Kyong-Chan. Uri yangak 100-yn. Sul-si:
Hynamsa, 2001.
Yun, Isang. The contemporary composer and traditional music. The World of Music
Vol.20, n2 1978, 57 60.
. Reak, Berlin: Bote & Bock Musik-Und Buhnenverlag GMBH & Co. 1966.
. Loyang, Berlin: Bote & Bock Musik-Und Buhnenverlag GMBH & Co.
1962.
62
APPENDIX A
List of Isang Yuns Compositions
Year, Title, Instrumentation, World Premiere

1958
Fnf Klavierstcke
For Piano, 09/06/1959, Bilthoven
1959
Musik fr sieben Instrumente (Fl., Ob., Kl., Fag., Hrn., Vl., Vlc.)
Mixed ensemble, 09/04/1959, Darmstadt
Streichquartett III (1959/1961)
String Quartet, 06/15/1960, Koln
1960
Bara
Full orchestra, 1/19/1962, Berlin
Symphonische Szene
Full orchestra, 9/7/61, Darmstadt
1961
Colloides sonores
String Orchestra, 12/12/ Hamburg
1962
Loyang
Mixed ensemble, 1/23/1964, Hannover
63
1963
Gasa
Violin and Piano, 10/2/1963, Prag
Garak
Flute and Piano, 9/11/1964, Berlin
1964
Fluktuationen
Full Orchestra, 2/10/1965, Berlin
Om mani Padme hum
Chorus and Orchestra, 1/30/1965, Hannover
Nore
Cello and Piano, 5/3/1968, Bremen
1965
Der Traum des Liu-Tung
Opera, 9/25/1965, Berlin
1966
Reak
Full Orchestra, 10/23/1966, Donaueschingen
Shao Yang Yin
Cembalo (or Piano), 1/12/1968, Freiburg
1967
Tuyaux sonores
Organ, 3/11/1967, Hamburg-wellingsbttel
1968
Riul
Clarinet and piano, 7/26/1968, Erlangen
64
Die Witwe des Schmetterlings

Opera, 2/23/1969, Nrnberg
Images (Fl, Ob, Vl, Vlc)
Mixed Ensemble, 3/24/1969, Oakland CA
Ein Schmetterlingstraum
Mixed choir and percussion, 5/8/1969, Hamburg
1970
Geisterliebe
Opera, 6/20/1971, Kiel
Schamanengesnge
Alto and chamber orchestra, from the opera 'Geisterliebe', 12/16/1977, Berlin
Glissees
Violoncello, 5/8/1971, Zagreb
1971
Namo
Soprano and Orchestra, 5/4/1971, Berlin
Dimensionen
Full Orchestra, 10/22/1971, Nrnberg
Piri
Oboe, 10/25/1971, Bamberg
1971/72
Sim Tjong
Opera, 8/1/1972, Mnchen
1972
Gagok (guitar, percussion and voice)
Mixed Ensemble, 10/25/1972, Barcelona
65
Konzertante Figuren
Chamber Orchestra, 11/30/1973, Hamburg
1972/73
Trio fr Flte, Oboe und Violine
Mixed Ensemble, 10/18/1973, Manheim
1972/75
Trio fr Violine, Violoncello und Klavier
Mixed Ensemble, 2/23/1973, Berlin
1972/82
Vom Tao (choruses from the opera "Sim Tjong")
Chorus and Organ, 5/21/1976, Hamburg
1973/74
Ouverture fr groes Orchester
1974
Memory fr 3 Stimmen und Schlaginstrumente
Three Voices and Percussion, 5/3/1974, Rom
Etden fr Flte solo
Flute, 7/18/1974, Tokyo
Harmonia (winds, harp and percussion)
Mixed Ensemble, 1/22/1975, Herforf
1975
An der Schwelle (baritone, woman's chorus, organ and other instruments)
Chorus and Ensemble, 4/5/1975, Kassel
Fragment fr Orgel
66
Organ, 5/ 17/1975, Hamburg-wellingsbttel

Rondell fr Oboe, Klarinette und Fagott
Wind Ensemble, 9/30/1975, Bayreuth
1975/76
Konzert fr Violoncello und Orchester
Cello and Orchestra, 3/25/1976, Royan
1976
Pice concertante fr Kammerensemble oder Kleines Orchester
Ensemble, 6/15/1976, Hamburg
Duo fr Viola und Klavier
Viola and Piano, 5/3/1977, Rom
Knigliches Thema fr Violine solo
Violin, 4/1/1977, Dsseldorf-Benrath
1977
Konzert fr Flte und Kleines Orchster
Flute and small Orchestra, 07/30/1977, Hitzacker
Doppelkonzert fr Oboe und Harfe mit Kleinem Orchester
Oboe, Harp and Orchestra, 9/26/1977, Berlin
Der weise Mann
Baritone, Mixed Chorus and Orchestra, 6/9/1977, Berlin
1977/78
Salomo fr Altflte oder Flte (nach Der weise Mann)
Flute solo, 4/30/1979, Kiel
1978
Oktett (Klar., Fag., Hrn., Streichquintett)
Mixed Ensemble, 4/10/1978, Paris
Muak
67
Full Orchestra, 11/9/1978, Mnchengladbach

1979
Sonata fr Oboe, Harfe und Viola oder Violoncello
Oboe, Harp and Viola (Cello), 7/6/1979, Saarbrcken
Fanfare & Memorial
Orchestra, 9/18/1979, Mnster
1980
Novellette fr Flte (Altflte) und Harfe
Flute and Harp, 2/5/1981, Bremen
Teile dich Nacht
Soprano and Ensemble, 4/26/1981, Witten
1981
Exemplum in memoriam Kwangju
Full Orchestra 5/8/1981, Kln
O Licht
Chorus, Violin and Orchestra, 6/21/1981, Nrnberg
Konzert fr Klarinette und Kleines Orchester
Clarinet and Small Orchestra, 1/29/1982, Mnchen
Konzert fr Violine und Orchester Nr. 1
Violin and Orchestra, 4/29/1982, Frankfurt
Der Herr ist mein Hirte
Mixed choir and Trombone, 11/14/1982, Stuttgart
1982
Interludium A fr Klavier
Piano, 5/6/1982, Tokyo
1983
68
Monolog fr Baklarinette
Bass Clarinet, 4/9/1983, Melbourne
Concertino fr Akkordeon und Streichquartett
Accordion and string quartet, 11/6/1983, Trossingen
Sonatina fr 2 Violinen
2 Violins, 12/15/1983, Tokyo
Inventionen fr 2 Oboen
2 Oboes, 4/29/1984, Witten
1983/84
Symphonie I in vier Stzen
Monolog fr Fagott
Bassoon, 2/2/1985, Nizza
Inventionen fr 2 Flten
2 Flutes, 6/18/1988, Hilversum
1983/86
Konzert fr Violine und Orchester Nr. 2
Violin and Orchestra, 1st Mov. 3/30/1984, Siegen; 2nd Mov. 7/8/1983, Tokyo;
3rd and 4th Mov. 1/20/1987, Stuttgart
1984
Duo fr Violoncello und Harfe
Cello and Harp, 5/27/1984, Ingelheim
Quintett fr Klarinette und Streichquartett
Clarinet and String Quartet, 8/24/1984, Kusatsu
Symphonie II in drei Stzen
Gong-Hu fr Harfe und Streicher
69
Harp and Strings, 8/22/1985, Luzern

1985
Symphonie III in einem Satz
Full Orchestra, 9/26/1985, Berliner Festwochen
Li-Na im Garten
Violin, 11/28/1986, West-Berlin
1986
Mugung-Dong (Wind, Percussion and Double Bass)
Full Orchestra, 6/22/1986, Hamburg
Rencontre fr Klarinette, Harfe und Violoncello
Clarinet, Harp and Cello, 8/2/1986, Hitzacker
Quartett fr Flten
Flute and Wind Ensemble, 8/27/1986, Berlin
Symphonie IV Im Dunkeln singen
Full Orchestra, 11/13/1986, Tokyo
Quintett fr Flte und Streichquartett
Flute and String Quartet, 1/17/1987, Paris
Impression fr Kleines Orchester
Small Orchestra, 2/9/1987, Frankfurt
1987
In Balance
Harp, 4/8/1987, Hamburg
Kontraste Zwei Stcke fr Violine solo
Violin, 4/10/1987, Hamburg
Symphonie V in fnf Stzen
Full Orchestra, 9/17/1987, West-Berlin
70
Duetto concertante fr Oboe/Englishhorn, Violoncello und Streicher

oboe/cor anglais, cello and orchestra, 11/8/1987, Rottweil
Tapis pour courdes
String Quartet, 11/20/1987, Mannheim
Kammersinfonie I
2 Oboes, 2 Horns, and Strings, 2/18/1988, Gtersloh
Naui Dang, Naui Minjokiyo (Mein Land, Mein Volk)
Voices, Choir and Orchestra, 10/5/1987 Pyongyang (N. Korea)
1988
Distanzen fr Blser- und Streichquintett
Wind quintet and string quintet, 10/9/1988, Berlin
Contemplation fr zwei Violen
2 Violas, 10/9/1988, Berlin
Festlicher Tanz fr Blserquintett
Wind Quintet, 4/22/1989, Witten
Intermezzo fr Violoncello und Akkordeon
Cello and Accordion, 10//6/1988, Avignon
Pezzo fantasioso per due strumenti conbasso ad libitum
Two bass instruments ad libitum 7/10/1988, Chiusi
Quartett fr Flte, Violine, Violoncello und Klavier
Flute, Violin, Cello and Piano, 5/26/1989, Mnster
Streichquartett IV
String quartet, 11/28/1988, Wrzburg
Sori fr Flte solo
Flute, 11/7/1988, New York
1989
71
Kammersinfonie II Den Opfern der Freiheit

Chamber Orchestra, 9/6/1989, Frankfurt
Konturen fr groes Orchester
Full Orchestra, 3/18/1990, Braunschweig
Rufe fr Oboe und Harfe
Oboe and Harp, 11/10/1989, Ravensburg
1990
Together fr Violine und Kontraba
Violin and Contrabass, 4/28/1990, Arhus
Kammerkonzert I
Ensemble, 6/16/1990, Amsterdam
Konzert fr Oboe/Oboe damore und Orchster
Oboe and Orchestra, 9/19/1991, Berlin
Kammerkonzert II
Ensemble, 11/26/1990, Leipyig
Streichquartett V in einem Satz
String Quartet, 7/14/1991, Isselstein/Holland
1991
Blserquintett in zwei Stzen
Wind Ensemble, 8/6/1991, Altenhof
Sonate fr Violine und Klavier
Violin and Piano, 9/26/1991, Frankfurt am Main
1992
Silla. Legende fr Orchester
Orchestra, 10/5/1992, Hannover
Konzert III fr Violine und kleines Orchster
Violin and Small Orchestra, 6/22/1992, Amsterdam
72
Espace I fr Violoncello und Klavier

Cello and Piano, 12/7/1992, Hamburg
Quartett fr Horn, Trompete, Posaune und Klavier
Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, 9/16/1992, Berlin
Streichquartett VI in vier Stzen
String Quartet, 4/7/1992, Basel
Trio fr Klarinette, Fagott und Horn
Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, 10/3/1992, Hannover
1993
Espace II fr Violoncello, Harfe und Oboe ad lib.
Cello, Harp and Oboe, 9/17/1993, St. Blasien
Blseroktett mit Kontraba ad libitum
Wind Octet and Double Bass, 2/19/1995, Stuttgart
Chinesische Bilder fr Blockflte
Flute, 8/14/1993, Stavanger
Sieben Etden fr Violoncello solo
Cello, 9/17/1995, Berlin
1994
Engel in Flammen Memento fr Orchester
Voice and Orchestra, 5/9/1995, Tokyo
OstWest-Miniaturen fr oboe und Violoncello
Oboe and Cello, 5/28/1994, Berlin
Quartett fr Oboe, Violine, Viola und Violoncello
Oboe, Violin, Viola and Cello, 11/7/1995, Wien
Quintett II fr Klarinette und Streichquartett
Clarinet, String Quartet, 9/26/1995, Berlin
73
APPENDIX B
A Conversation with Bruce Duffie42
Yun, Isang, important Korean composer; b. Tong Young, Sept. 17, 1917. He studied
Western music in Korea (1935-37) and in Japan (1941-43). After the end of the war, he
taught music in South Korean schools; in 1956 went to Berlin, where he took lessons in
composition with Boris Blacher and Josef Rufer at the Berlin Musikhochschule. He
settled permanently in Berlin, where he produced several successful theatrical works,
marked by a fine expressionistic and coloristic quality, and written in an idiom of
euphonious dissonance. His career was dramatically interrupted when on June 17, 1967,
he and his wife were brutally abducted from West Berlin by the secret police agents of
South Korea, and forced to board a plane for Seoul, where they were brought to trial for
sedition; he was sentenced to life imprisonment; his wife was given three years in
jail. This act of lawlessness perpetrated on the territory of another country prompted an
indignant protest by the government of West Germany, which threatened to cut off its
substantial economic aid to South Korea; twenty-three celebrated musicians, including
Igor Stravinsky, issued a vigorous letter of protest. As a result of this moral and material
pressure, South Korea released Yun and his wife after nearly two years of detention, and
they returned to Germany. In 1970 he was appointed a professor at the Hochschule fr
Musik in Berlin.
[From Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians by Nicholas Slonimsky.]
42
Bruce Duffie. Composer Isang Yun:A Conversation with Bruce Duffie

http://www.bruceduffie.com/yun.html
74
Isang Yun died on November 3, 1995 in Berlin, and was interred in a grave of honour
provided by the City Senate. He was a member of the Hamburg and Berlin Academies of
the Arts and of the European Academy of the Arts and Sciences in Salzburg, an honorary
member of the International Society of Contemporary Music. He also held an honorary
doctorate from the University of Tbingen, and was the recipient of the Goethe Medal of
the Goethe Institute in Munich and the Distinguished Service Cross of the Order of Merit
of the Federal Republic of Germany.
[From the Yun-Gesellschaft website.]
What follows is the transcript of a telephone conversation with composer Isang Yun. It
took place in July of 1987 while he was at the Cabrillo Festival in California. Not
withstanding the importance of speaking with this musician, the circumstances of the chat
itself are of interest. It all came together on a good day for everyone concerned. I was in
my home in Chicago, and Yun was at the home of composer Lou Harrison. The
translator, to whom I am very grateful, was the conductor Dennis Russell Davies, whom
I had also met and interviewed previously. Here is what was said that evening . . . . .
Bruce Duffie:
Let me start out with an easy question: Where is music going today?
75
Isang Yun:
I don't think anyone can really answer this question, myself included. I can
say for myself that my music is becoming more understandable, and I find a quality of
human sympathy is becoming more prevalent in it.
BD:
Is this something being added now that was missing earlier, or is it an outgrowth of
the way your music has been going all these years?
IY:
It's part of a natural process, and I've just noticed it through observation. This is a
process that started about ten yeas ago and I think it will be at least another ten years
before it is fully developed.
BD:
Did something specific happen at that point ten years ago to make this change?
IY:
My experience of the personal side and political area in Korea happened twenty
years ago, and it took ten years for me to be able to translate these experiences into my
music. I think today our world very badly needs music that brings us closer together,
particularly because there are so many grave problems that people everywhere are having
to deal with. In order to be able to articulate these problems in art, we need a great deal
of musical understanding.
BD:
Should music be political in and of itself?
IY:
That is exactly what I do not mean. Music is the expression of an inner truth, and
this inner truth is naturally a mirror of today's events. It's always been that way. In
76
earlier times, landscapes or love was the theme in works of art. Today the problems have
become much different and much more serious. One example is the uncertainty of the
future of mankind; this is in question. The anxieties over our future and the destruction
of peace and the dangers of war, and the atomic dangers. This idea is very important. It
is not the theme of music, but the musical expressions that I use naturally and
automatically which reflect these influences.
BD:
Should the audience be aware of these influences and/or the process?
IY:
Whatever the composer takes for his subject is privately his, and the listeners don't
have to know it. But the circumstances of the creation contain such elements. In other
words, if these truths are part of the elements, part of the process of composition,
eventually the listener will be affected directly by it.
BD:
What do you expect of the audience that comes to hear your music?
IY:
A composer is not in the position to dictate how a person listens to music. The
public has total freedom and the listener is entirely free as to how he wishes to approach a
piece of music. Every group of listeners is different one from another, and the situation
that the listener finds himself in is different from that of another listener. But the
important thing is that this music somehow moves him deeply one way or another.
77
BD:
Does that mean that the same piece of music will be different at different times of
performance?
IY:
Yes, it could be. But I feel that if the music really possesses these elements that
make up a truth as I see it, the public cannot help but be moved.
BD:
If you cannot have any expectations of the public, what are your hopes for them?
IY:
I hope there will be a contact, a connection, and through this contact my music will
mean something to the listener.

BD:
Assuming that mankind survives, are you optimistic about the future of music?
IY:
Yes, I'm very optimistic. That's why I compose! I haven't given up hope by any
means. In spite of the fact that very often I deal with very negative or tragic themes, I
never personally find myself in a situation of depression or uncertainty. At the end of
every piece, no matter how tragic the theme or the events around it, I always leave the
possibility of hope in that piece.
BD:
Do you ever go back and revise works?
IY:
Never.
BD:
When you're writing a piece, how do you know when it's finished?
78
IY:
My music doesn't have a beginning nor an end. You could combine elements from
one piece into another piece very well. This is a Taoist philosophy. Music flows in the
cosmos, and I have an antenna which is able to cut out a piece of the stream. The part
which I've cut out is organized and formed through my own thought and body processes,
and I commit it to paper. That's why my music is always continuous - like the clouds that
are always the same but are never alike one to another.
BD:
When you're writing, are you in control of the music, or is the music in control of
you?
IY:
My deep-lying inner feelings dictate to me. I'm not sure that's myself, but I'm
fortunate to have a Godly gift speaking through me. So I can sound very Asiatic, or very
Buddhistic, or very religious, or very philosophic. But that's how I think. That's why I
don't consider what I'm doing "composing." I'm writing down that which my deepest
feelings and instincts tell me to write.
BD:
Then you're perhaps the ideal person to ask this question: How is the Eastern
public different from the Western public?

IY:
As far as the capabilities and capacities to listen, everyone is the same. The
differences lie in the areas of experience. Basically you can describe very clearly the
differences between European and Asian music, for example, but that's the result of the
79
different experiences the people have had through their history. But the ability of the
audiences to listen is the same.
BD:
Are you making a conscious effort to combine both the Eastern and Western spirits
in your music?
IY:
No, that would be too artificial. The inner truth is, in actuality, a music of the
cosmos. Realistically seen, I've had two experiences, and I know the practice of both
Asian music and European. I am equally at home in both fields. I'm a man living today,
and within me is the Asia of the past combined with the Europe of today. My purpose is
not an artificial connection, but I'm naturally convinced of the unity of these two
elements. For that reason it's impossible to categorize my music as either European or
Asian. I am exactly in the middle. That's my world and my independent entity.
BD:
We've been talking about East and West. Are there more elements in this large
musical cosmos?
IY:
In the cosmos, there is neither East nor West!

*
BD:
Have you basically been pleased with the performances and recordings of your
music over the years?
80
IY:
Looking at it realistically, they're the best I could have hoped for. To be
completely honest, as a composer one cannot be 100% happy. As a composer I would

find it impossible to be completely content with my own music or with the interpretation
of the music. But I'm a very realistic person and know that I have several unusual
requirements in my writing which, especially for European-trained orchestras, are new
and difficult. When one looks at it from this standpoint, I'm very happy.
BD:
You've done some teaching of composition?
IY:
Yes, I've taught musical composition for 15 years in Berlin.
BD:
Is musical composition something that can be taught?
IY:
The idea of receiving thoughts through your antenna is not a very easy thing to
teach. The student must be quite developed in the soul and spirit. In Europe or America,
one says, "to be inspired." The second thing is also difficult, and that is to organize and
write down these ideas or inspiration that one received through the antenna. That's what
we call compositional technique, and to get that across you need a very experienced
teacher.
BD:
Have we, perhaps, got too many young composers coming along today?
IY:
There are very many, and unfortunately they have a very difficult time. The human
possibilities for enjoying and listening to music have become so many-sided and so
81
variable, and the young composer has to find a way to move the human heart. It is as
difficult as getting a thread through a needle.
BD:
Tell me the particular joys and sorrows of writing for the human voice.
IY:
I've written very few vocal pieces, but there are four operas. My Fifth Symphony
has a singing line all the way through. The premiere will be in Berlin in September, and
Fischer-Dieskau will sing.
BD:
Do you feel that opera is still a viable art form?
IY:
I would say that opera can still be meaningful, but the future is not very optimistic.
BD:
Will opera change or will it die?
IY:
As long as the trend continues to not give new operas a chance and not to promote
the creation of new operas, that means that essentially the opera will die.
BD:
Can anything be done to avert this outcome?
IY:
What has to happen is that operas must be composed as a teamwork between the
composer, the stage director, and the management of the opera house. And the operas
that are composed must be attractive to the public, to a young public. But it has to be
completely different than it has been up to this point. The drama and the vocal line must
not be destroyed through the orchestral playing! Up to now, the orchestral sound has
82
dominated the operas too much, and the pieces themselves have been much too
complicated, much too intellectual. I'm speaking, of course, for contemporary works, and
that is why the public has been alienated. But the music cannot just be cheapened or just
done for effect. It must, at the same time, have a very high quality and the possibility of
winning a very broad public. How to do it is the question. I think the way would be this
teamwork I mentioned, and intelligent commissions from the opera houses.
BD:
Is this happening, or do you think it will happen?
IY:
I'm very pessimistic about that because an opera house is basically a subsidized
enterprise, and the people who subsidize these opera houses think only of the box
office. They're not in a position to think about the future.
BD:
Do you feel opera works well on television, and might this help the situation?
IY:
That might be a big possibility, but then you must realize that basically you're
dealing with a very simple public. But dealing with a relatively inexperienced audience
might have a very big future. I think that this is something that the television networks
should definitely undertake.
BD:
How do you feel about opera in translation?
IY:
I think that generally translations are good.
83
BD:
Have you seen this new gimmick of supertitles in the theater?
IY:
I've never seen it, but many things should be tried in order to rescue opera!
*
BD:
Are most of the pieces you write on commission, or are some just things you have
to get down on paper?

IY:
I write everything on commission.
BD:
Then how do you decide which ones to accept and which ones to turn aside?
IY:
In the main I accept them all. I'm a very positive and nice person, and I like to do
it. (laughter) That's why I've written a great number of pieces.

BD:
Do you work on more than one at a time?
IY:
I could never do that. I currently have several small orchestra pieces to write, but I
would like to stop composing right now. However I don't think I could do that.
BD:
What would you do if you didn't compose?
IY:
I would like to just think the music. I'd like to just fantasize and imagine the music
and not have to compose it. My health isn't the best and that's one reason I'm going to
84
have to slow down a little bit. I can probably manage to do that, but I don't see myself
being able to stop.
BD:
As you approach your 70th birthday, what is the most surprising or pleasing thing
you've noticed about music?

IY:
It's been very difficult work, very hard work, but I've never regretted the fact that I
am a composer.
BD:
What advice do you have for someone who wants to conduct modern music?
IY:
I wouldn't presume to give advice to a conductor in that situation. The conductor
would know exactly what to do.

BD:
Do you feel that conductors know what they're doing?
IY:
Basically yes, but many times there are disappointments. There are also many
times that are happy surprises. Maestro Davies [photo at right] is a very happy
surprise! (laughter all around)
BD:
Do conductors or performers ever find things in your music that you didn't know
you'd put there?

IY:
I don't think so because I always know exactly what I'm composing. I've never
tried out ideas with an instrument, but always with my imagination. I've never made
85
sketches, but rather always composed each piece from the beginning to the end. It's
never changed or corrected. I've always been able to hear in my ear that which I'm
writing.
BD:
Are you conscious of the playing time of the piece even as you're working on it?
IY:
Yes. I know exactly how long it will be. As I said before, I'm taking a snip out of
the cosmos and I know how many minutes I need. (laughter)

BD:
Thank you for being a composer.
IY:
Thank you. That makes me very happy. I still question today whether I really am a
composer.
BD:
Do you feel that history will be the final judge?
IY:
Exactly.
http://www.bruceduffie.com/
86
APPENDIX C
Consent Letter from Boosey & Hawkes, Inc
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What composer is discussed as being influential in Korean contemporary music?

What composer is discussed as being influential in Korean contemporary music?

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTEMPORARY KOREAN MUSIC WITH EMPHASIS

ON WORKS OF ISANG YUN

The Ohio State University

D.M.A. Document Committee:

Although Korean contemporary concert music today occupies an important place

Dr. Thomas Wells

Studies in Piano Performance

Dr. Caroline Hong

Studies in Choral Conducting

Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt

Third and current generation.......7

2.3 A Brief History of Korean traditional music.....10

3.1 Life and musical background.....20

Figure 3.18 Reak m. 166 168 ......................................................................................... 57

The advent of contemporary Korean music coincides with the introduction of

CONTEMPORARY KOREAN MUSIC

2.1 Origin and History

Andrew P Killick, Musical Composition in Twentieth-Century Korea , Korean Studies,

2.2.1 First Generation

2.2.2 Second Generation

2.2.3 Third and current Generation

Wikepedia. Unsuk Chin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsuk

In an effort to obtain current information on the state of composition in Korea,

2.3 A Brief History of Korean Traditional Music

sacrificial or memorial services, as well as for or thanksgiving celebrations after

b. The Period of the Three Kingdoms( 57 BC AD 668)

c. Medieval period (AD 668 AD 1392)

d. Chosun Dynasty (AD 1392 AD 1910)

2.4 Characteristics in Korean traditional music

Byongwon Lee, Contemporary Korean Musical Cultures Korea Briefing, Boulder

2.5 The influences of Korean traditional music

2.6 Combination among Eastern Asian Countries

3.1 Life and musical background

Dongeun Noh, (Isang Yuns life and art in Korea),

establishment of the Tongyoung Cultural Association, a society for the promotion of

Sooja Lee, (My husband Isang Yun). 2 Vols. Seoul:Changchak kwa

Jiyeon Byeon, The Wounded Dragon: An Annotated Translation of Der verwundete

darkness, and yang representing positive characteristics, activity, strength and

including Aspen, San Francisco, Detroit, New York, and Washington.

Jiyeon Byeon, The Wounded Dragon: An Annotated Translation of Der verwundete

honour of his 90th birthday.25

The News From Wabu-eup. http://rbbadger.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/yun-isangtapis-pour-cordes

3.2 Stylistic Characteristics

Oxford music online. Yun, Isang.http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.ohio-

Jeongmee Kim,Musical Syncretism in Isang Yuns Gasa, in Locating East Asia in

Use of Tone Clusters in Homophonic Textures

Youngchae Kim, Cultural Synthesis in Korean Musical Composition in the late

Youngchae Kim. 56.

Figure 3.1 First section of Sangyeongsan of Yeonsanhoesang

Josef Husler speaks of Yuns composition technique as a kind of polyphonic

Nonghyun and Sigimsae

Faktur, meaning the total, sum, or result.

Figure 3.2 Voices in Sangyeo-sori of Kochang

characterized by a typical orchestration known as Samhyeonyuggak (three strings and six

Figure 3.3 Instrumentation of Loyang

Loyang is comprised of three movements, mainly in a slow tempo with frequent