By Youngmin Yu

One of our very own provides a first-hand narrative about the perils of being a Korean in Japan, the notion of "homeland" and the seismic revelation that North and South Korea music really aren't all that different.

Gyeoul Yeonga (Winter Sonata) is a South Korean soap opera that swept through Japan in 2004. When I arrived in Tokyo in September 2004, I was surprised to see huge posters of its main actor and actress and to hear its theme song in both Korean and Japanese all over the place. However, I was more surprised when North Koreans in Japan asked me, "Did you see Gyeoul Yeonga?" Were even North Koreans enthusiastic about a South Korean soap opera that I, a South Korean, hadn't even seen? "No, since I've been in the U.S., " I replied. They went on: "Poor thing.  Did you see Yongung Sidae (the era of hero) then?" I became more confused. That historical TV drama has not yet been broadcast in Japan. One of them generously told me, "I rented its most recent episode yesterday. Do you want to see it? I have others, too." 

My perplexity increased when we were talking about hometowns. "Where is your hometown?" a middle-aged man asked me.  I replied, "I was born and raised in Incheon. Where is yours?" He responded: "I was born in Japan, but my hometown is Chinju. Have you been to Chinju? I haven't." Doesn't hometown mean a place where one is born and raised? How can he not have been there before?

It turns out that Chinju is a South Korean city where his father was born. His father was brought to Japan during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945).  When Korea was divided after its liberation from Japan, he remained in Japan and chose North Korean nationality because of hope for the communist country. He knew that he could not return to his hometown as long as he called North Korea his "homeland," but he never thought that Korea would be divided for such a long time, even after his death. He passed down his idea of "hometown" to his children and grandchildren, along with hope for Korea's reunification and a strong belief in the political system of North Korea. 

That was my first encounter with North Koreans in Japan. The purpose of my trip to Japan was to see the Kumgangsan Opera Troupe. The troupe is a representative North Korean performing group in Japan. Its members frequently visit Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, to participate in the April Festival and collaborate with North Korean performing groups. I found the troupe a perfect locus where I could discover the other half of Korean music. It is well known that North Koreans have "modernized" traditional Korean music while South Koreans have maintained it in its "authentic" form.  Therefore, North Korean music used to be judged as "nontraditional," while South Korean music was judged as "stagnant." Did North Korea truly abandon tradition? Are the two forms of Korean music that tremendously different? If tradition cannot connect the two Koreas, what else can? I was not alone in asking these questions. While observing rehearsals and performances of the Kumgangsan Troupe, some of its members would ask me, "Very different, isn't it?" I said, "Yes, but very similar, too." 

At first glance, everything looks different. North Korean musical instruments are modified, and some of them even look western. Western instruments are combined with North Korean ones in ensembles. Folk songs are all arranged for the hybrid orchestra. However, the more I listened, the more I became convinced that North Korean music is not simply an imitation of Western music, but a result of an in-depth consideration of the past and the present of Korean music. 

This consideration is also embodied in South Korean music. After traditional Korean music was severely undermined during the colonial period, both Koreas faced the same issue of needing to revitalize Korean music. Western music had already planted its roots in the two Koreas. North Korea has enfolded Western musical style into Korean music, while South Korea has kept Western music and Korean music separate. North Korea created one hybrid space where "Koreanness" has been distinctively maintained, while South Korea built two spaces -- one for Korean and the other for Western.  The history of securing the space for "Koreanness" is profoundly inscribed in the two forms of Korean music. The vestiges of "Koreanness" may be bringing together the two despite their somewhat different musical styles.   

North Koreans in Japan have added their own history to the vestiges of "Koreanness" through their own musical performances. The Kumgangsan Opera Troupe comforted the first generation of North Koreans in Japan who lost connection with their families: "We used to sing and dance with the troupe in theater.  We're always waiting for the troupe to come to our city."  The second and third generations have been able to construct the image of their homeland with the aid of the troupe. Whenever the troupe gives a performance, a flock of students come to clap and cheer. Most of them attend North Korean schools in Japan. Seeing female students wearing the traditional Korean costume, a member of the troupe grumbled, "Our concert became the only place where they are safe wearing the Korean costume." Since North Korea officially admitted that it kidnapped Japanese citizens, extreme rightist Japanese have physically attacked North Koreans. The Korean costume used to be a uniform of North Korean schools in Japan.  Now North Korean students do not wear it outside of school for fear of being attacked. The Kumgangsan Opera Troupe also stopped praising the North Korean regime and leaders in its public performances. 

In its 2004 annual performances, the troupe sang "Kyul Ynga," along with Japanese and North Korean love songs. A Japanese audience joyfully sang "Kyul Ynga" and other Japanese songs together with the troupe, while extreme rightist Japanese protest in front of the performance halls, criticizing the troupe as an organization of a terrorist country. Most North Koreans in Japan accept this complicated relationship with Japan as part of their history.  Having their hometown in South Korea and calling North Korea their homeland is also part of a history they cherish. This unique history has allowed them to perform North Korean music and dance, to watch South Korean dramas and to create their own music to express their struggles and hope in Japan. The Kumgangsan Opera Troupe will perform the 60-year-long history of North Koreans in Japan this year, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding.  I look forward to seeing it but hope to encounter no protest this time. 

Published: Thursday, March 24, 2005