South Korean musicians are not likely to participate in the finale of the Isang Yun World Peace concert in Pyongyang next week due to heightened tensions caused by the North Korean nuclear test. The world peace concerts, which were held already in Tokyo and Seoul last September, are meant to commemorate the 89th birthday of the late Korean composer Isang Yun. A spokesman from the Isang Yun Peace Foundation said the concert at the Yun Isang Music Hall, Pyongyang, scheduled for Oct.
18-20, is likely to continue with only North Korean musicians. Renowned South Korean maestro Chung Myung-whun was originally scheduled to conduct the concert of North Korea's Isang Yun Orchestra. The spokesman said the foundation would follow government policy on North Korea, which received worldwide condemnation for conducting a nuclear test on Monday.
While there is no decision yet, the spokesman said it is highly likely Chung and the group of 50 South Korean musicians and officials will not be able to go to Pyongyang to attend the concert. It was supposed to be Chung's first time to conduct before a North Korean orchestra. Chung is currently the artistic director and conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
The foundation spokesman also said cellist Koh Bong-in has already indicated he will not be able to attend the Pyongyang concert. Koh, a student studying biochemistry at Harvard University, has already performed with several maestros including Chung and Yo-yo Ma. Before the Pyongyang concert, there will be two world peace concerts held in Berlin on Oct.
14 and Munich on Oct.16. Featured at the concert is the Isang Yun Berlin Ensemble, which is composed of Marton Vegh on flute, Johanna Reithmayer on harp, Daniela Jung on violin and Wenshin Yang on cello.
Yun's symphonies, which he created in the 1980s, characterized his desire for harmony, peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula. Yun was born Sept. 17, 1917, near the southeastern seaport Tongyong.
He later moved to Germany, where his compositions gained recognition because of its blend of Taoist and Buddhism with Western-style music. He was also known as a victim of South Korea's red baiting. After his visit to North Korea in 1963, Yun was abducted from West Berlin and brought to Seoul under the authoritarian government of former President Park Chung-hee in June 1967.
He was tortured and charged with high treason, after falsely admitting he was a spy for North Korea. Yun was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was released in 1969 after protests from the international community. He became a naturalized German citizen in 1971 and died on November 3, 1995 in Berlin.
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