Hye Jung Park
Hye Jung Park: Arirang
Arirang is a song that represents Korea. Before immigrating, I took the song for granted and did not think much of its significance. After living abroad, Arirang’s meaning has evolved into something much more significant to me than in Korea.
I immigrated to Canada in 2001, along with many other Koreans. Possibly due to that fact, I was able to continue my work from Korea of teaching violin to children. Some of the students who were without parents in Canada spent most of their weekends shopping or going to karaoke with friends. When I witnessed that, I started thinking of ways those children could spend their time more productively.
I played violin often when I lived in Bundang, South Korea. On stage, I could often see children talking or even running around in the audience. That would’ve been an impossible notion at the Seoul Arts Centre. We even held our coughs for breaks between movements. The sight of rowdy children in the audience remained with me. I wanted to introduce children who played music to the joy of playing together, and tour schools to teach others how to appreciate music. If students were able to feel and learn music, possibly they could attend concerts in a proper manner. That is why with the help of the present conductor, we established the Sungnam Youth Orchestra.
Based on the past experience, I wanted to build a youth orchestra with children who are interested in music in Vancouver. Korean students would be able to exchange information, make friends, meet mentors, volunteer in the community, and create bridges between Korea and Canada by playing both Korean traditional music and classical music. It became my mission to put the idea into reality.
It was near impossible to find the orchestra by myself, given that I was new to Canada and it is not a job for one person. That is when I discovered ‘Vancouver Youth Centre’ and met its administrator. Based on that connection, I was able to establish a youth orchestra spanning across the Korean diaspora community. We played classical and Korean music to spread joy across the diaspora community. We even volunteered to provide entertainment at senior homes and community centers.
I don’t have much memory of playing at senior homes in Korea. Senior homes were not common in Korea, and I did not know how to volunteer there. In Vancouver, there were many retirement homes and they really loved hearing us play. Ever since 2001, I played at retirement homes every Christmas. The first year I was with my Canadian ensemble, and every year after that I visited with my students.
From about ten years ago, I visited senior homes with my orchestra members. We mostly visited larger facilities, because we need more space as an orchestra to set up and play. Luckily, there was a retirement home near our practice venue. At first, we played there since it was an appropriate venue; we did not even realize it was a retirement home.
We introduced ourselves as the ‘Canada Muse Youth Orchestra’ and told the audience we are mostly composed of Korean students. We played Christmas carols as well as Korea’s famous Arirang. Some seniors cried during Arirang, and some danced along to it. It was a curious and exciting sight to witness. I had not expected Canadians to know and love Arirang.
At this retirement home, there were none who fell asleep during the performance and everyone was very engaged. If they knew of a song, they would sing along. After the performance, the seniors came up to the stage. I didn’t know what was going on, but realized they wanted to take a photo. One senior stroked my cheek and followed me around until it was time for me to leave. Then, one particular senior requested to meet me. He was seated in a wheelchair. He didn’t say a word when he saw me, but became teary eyed. As I saw that, I also became emotional and felt teary eyed. The volunteer who wheeled him over explained that he is a veteran from the Korean War. I could understand how he felt without further explanation.
‘The belief that all his life-risking efforts were not futile, and possibly if he had not been to Korea since 6.25, the fact that students from then war-torn country have grown so well and performed may have been overwhelming?’ I thought to myself. I learned soon after that at that retirement home, there were about 50 Korean War veterans. “Aha! That is why seniors were able to sing and dance long to Arirang.”
We tend to forget about the nations who aided our country in the Korean War. Even when we visit war museums and look at statues, we do not fully comprehend the significance. ‘That happened,’ we merely think to ourselves. This tends to be more accurate for generations that did not witness the Korean War firsthand. However, in Canada, there are more opportunities to think of the veterans who participated in the Korean War. That may be due to the fact they are living amongst us in Canada. The fact we live freely and peacefully in Korea is all due to the veterans’ sacrifices and efforts makes me feel very grateful.
After the performance, the Korean War veterans waved bye to us, and requested to hear Arirang next year. Since then, our orchestra performs once or twice every year at the retirement home and make sure we put Arirang on the playlist, in different arrangements. Some year we play Arirang with traditional Korean instruments like ‘piri’ or ‘gayagum’, and some years we invite a vocalist to create ‘new Arirang.’ Many seniors sing along, and some even cry. Whenever I see their happy faces, I am thankful that I majored in music. However, the saddest part is when I see less and less of familiar faces throughout the years. This year we had 37 seniors but not sure how many we will have next year…
Arirang is a song that many foreigners think represents Korea, and it is a song requested by Korean War Veterans year after year. Arirang is, therefore, no longer just a popular folk song without a meaning. It is a song that connects Korean diaspora and youths to the Korean War veterans. Furthermore, it is a song that can connect Koreans to people all over the world. Arirang is Korea.