005 | The World’s Composer Singing Korea - A Study on Music by Composer Taebong Chung (2017)

Today, 100 years after Western music settled in Korea, what kind of music does a Korean composer write? What else do people expect from Korean composers? Some say that Korean music is the most global, and that Korean composers should always use Korean scales and create music with a Korean atmosphere. This is why Korean composers are deeply troubled about the identity of Korean composers and Korean modern music.

However, Tai-Bong Chung seeks more than just a dichotomy between 'Korea' and 'Western'. While pursuing a Korean identity, he does not simply focus on nationalism, but actively utilizes Western composition techniques and musical styles. He wants to project various themes, including Korean traditions, Eastern ideas, Christian beliefs, humanity, and social issues, into his music in his own unique language. As a person from all over the world living in the global era of the 21st century, he is still seeking his musical identity as a composer who sings "Korea," his central topic. For this reason, the study, which examines the present and future of Korean modern music, chose Tai-Bong Chung, leaving behind numerous composers.

This book depicts Tai-Bong Chung's ideological and musical topography. As a collection of research on a living composer, the book provides a deeper understanding of Tai-Bong Chung's work world and musical views. Furthermore, it will provide a guide to what true Korean modern music is, where Korean modern music is going, what aesthetic meaning it has, and in what direction it should go.