2024, Vol.32, No.2

Journal of the Korean Society for Musicology 2024 KCI Impact Factor : 0.64

eISSN : 3092-2410
https://journal.kci.go.kr/musicology

The artistic work of coexisting two different cultures within a single musical work implies various meanings from the musical level to social and cultural issues, and the Korean ‘Western music’ created after the acceptance of Western music at the end of the 19th century is a representative example. This paper examines how cross-cultural interaction is specifically manifested in Korean music through a study of Bonu Koo’s 《nah-fern》 (1998) and 《divertimento for ensemble cmek》 (2006) From a musical perspective, the way these two works borrow Korean traditional music from Western contemporary music and the issue of combining traditional and Western instruments seem important, but they also contain personal and social reflections on how to connect with others in a healthy way without losing oneself, and furthermore, how to coexist with each other in an era of multi-culturalism or division.

Koh Pong-kyung (Gladys Koh, 1906~?), a female pianist born in Kyungsung in 1906, studied at Kyungsung Girls’ High School and Ewha Womans University, and studied in the U.S. to perform various activities. However, she was only known as a pianist of the Jungang Music Association, which is referred to as Korea’s first orchestra. Koh Pong-kyung was born into a faithful Christian family. Koh Pong-kyung’s family was a chapel in Sorae Church, Korea’s first church, and was a family that not only played an important role in Korean Christianity but also produced many independence activists, including Kim Maria. His father, Koh Myung-woo, who married in 1906 at the officiating of H. G. Underwood, and his mother, Kim Sera, emphasized Confucianism and patriotism and national movements, the traditions of the nation, while providing religious and modern education to their children. As a result, Koh Pong-kyung did not go to mission school when he was a child but received Japanese education at a government-run school. Even after going to Ewha to receive professional music education, he did not remain as Ewha’s daughter, but experienced a bigger world in the United States, managed his younger sister, Koh Hwang-kyung, and ‘Kyungsung Jamaewon’, and worked for the country and the people. Throughout Koh Pong-kyung’s life, it can be confirmed that her life was not limited to individual music activities, but she wanted to live a life devoted to Christianity and the nation by using music as a means of enlightenment for society and women in a broad sense.

This study examines how the Changga for Young Women of Twentieth Century (1921) contributed to the establishment of female identity by conceptualizing music as a form of women’s education during the Modern period. Changga, recognized as either a civilized or enlightened sound, serves as a reservoir that enables us to speculate on and comprehend Korean modernity. In this context, Changga is a musical genre with practical purpose to articulate aspirations for modern society and reinforce the thoughts and norms of the new era. Following the 3･1 Movement in the 1920s, there was not only the intensified fervor for education, but also an increased discourses among youths regarding their responsibilities as social leaders, as well as among women concerning the necessity and significance of female education, as reflected in newspapers and magazines. Despite the scarcity of recourses for female education, the publication of Changga for Young Women of Twentieth Century reflects its role as educational materials that offer specific action plans for young women/new woman. Granting women with a sense of belonging in modern society. Changga for Young Women of Twentieth Century separated tradition from modernity and stratified them with hierarchy through the form of song. It constructs a socially consensual image of modern women, idealizing the roles of the wise mother and the good wife within the family, while simultaneously emphasizing gender equality and the importance of women’s education. In other words, Changga for Young Women of Twentieth Century consistently censored the behaviors to which young women/new women should be vigilant, while simultaneously perpetuating traditional Confucian values, including the notions of the virtuous woman and daughter. Not only does this song book but also educational materials for women, demonstrate how men possessing intellectual authority have historically overlooked the social values of women, utilizing their standards to establish a gendered order.