hankyoreh

A panoramic view of the Yun I-sang Memorial Hall in Tongyeong

On Sept. 15, in commemoration of the centennial of the birth of world famous composer Yun I-sang, his hometown of Tongyeong reopened the Docheon Theme Memorial Hall under the name it was always meant to be called: the Yun I-sang Memorial Hall.

On Sept. 12, the Tongyeong International Music Festival, which runs the memorial hall, announced: “Like the life of Maestro Yun, there was an overall darkness to the atmosphere of the hall, but in celebration of 100 years since his birth, we are renovating the hall to give it the bright atmosphere of a home. On the second floor of Berlin House, an annex to the hall, we have rebuilt the living room of the Yun Berlin home exactly as it originally was, and a music library occupies the first floor. We plan to reopen the hall on Sept. 15, two days before the actual centennial of Yun's birth.” Berlin House is a quarter-sized replica of Yun's Berlin residence. On display are many of his personal items, including his automobile.

Previously, on Sept. 11th, the Tongyeong City Council held a special plenary session during which it revised the Ordinance on the Establishment and Operation of Tongyeong's Docheon Theme Memorial Hall in order to enable the renaming. The hall, which was established to honor Yun, who spent his childhood in Docheon-dong, originally opened in March 2010. However, because of ideological considerations, it could not be named after him but instead was given the name of the local area. Many voices continued to push for the name change, and in spite of the official identification, many people called it the Yun I-sang Memorial Hall anyway.

Lee Yong-min, artistic coordinator of the Tongyeong International Music Foundation, says, “The establishment of a hall to honor the memory of Yun I-sang, a boy who called Tongyeong home and who became a world-class musician, has come somewhat late, but it is with joy that at last we see his name on the hall, as it should be. After gathering more public opinion and going through the proper processes, I believe that we will also be able to rename the Tongyeong International Orchestra the Yun I-sang International Orchestra.”

Yun's daughter, Yun Jeong, adds, “Having my father's name on the memorial hall is something that I have wanted to see happen for a long time. No words can express how happy I am. My mother is also very happy about this. I hope that the orchestra will also be able to change its name in the near future.”

Yun I-sang was born in 1917 in Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province. His family moved to Tongyeong when he was three and he spent his childhood there. In 1956, he went to France to study and was active in the music scene in Germany from the following year, eventually gaining world renown. However, in 1967, in the wake of the East Berlin Spy Incident, he was abducted back to Korea and imprisoned. Released in 1969, he returned to Germany and was never again able to set foot in his homeland. He died in Germany in 1995. From the hundredth anniversary of his birth, on September 17, to the 22nd, the Tongyeong International Orchestra will hold a series of commemorative concerts titled Happy Birthday, Yun I-sang.　

By Choi Sang-won, South Gyeongsang correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

Caption: A panoramic view of the Yun I-sang Memorial Hall in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. The hall, which was opened in March 2010 under the name “Docheon Theme Memorial Hall” has been renamed to honor the famous composer who grew up in the area. (Provided by Tongyeong International Orchestra)