By Min Yea-Ji and Kim Young Shin

The year 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of world-renowned composer Yun Isang (윤이상) (1917-1995) and the 22nd anniversary of his death.

Although Yun was an internationally successful musician, he was banned from entering South Korea because he was suspected of having been involved in the "East Berlin Spy Incident," where he was accused of being a spy for North Korea. He could never return to South Korea and passed away in Berlin in 1995.

In January 2006, the Korean government officially announced that the incident had been exaggerated by South Korea's National Intelligence Service. This restored the musician’s tarnished reputation.

Last July, first lady Kim Jung-sook visited the grave of the composer in Berlin and planted a camellia tree there in his honor.



On Nov. 3, the day of Yun’s death, many events were held in his hometown of Tongyeong and in Seoul to commemorate his life's works.

In Tongyeong, an unveiling ceremony of a stone monument marks the reopening of the Yun Isang Memory Hall.

The hall was built in March 2010 near the site of the birthplace of the late composer, but it was called the Docheon Theme Hall instead of using Yun’s name. In August 2017, a citizens' group called Golden Wave, which supports the Tongyeong International Music Festival, submitted a recommendation to the city council to rename the hall after Yun Isang. On Sept. 11 this year, the city council unanimously agreed to rename the hall as the Yun Isang Memory Hall.

“The unveiling ceremony has historical meaning in healing Yun Isang’s pain,” said Kim Dong-jin, mayor of Tongyeong-si City.



On Nov. 4, the 2017 Isang Yun Competition was held at the Tongyeong Concert Hall.

The annual competition has been held on or around Nov. 3 each year since 2003 to commemorate the late composer.

This year, violinist Song Ji Won took first place.

The Isang Yun Special Prize, given to a musician who has best-interpreted the composer’s music, was s given to U.S. violinist Nigel Armstrong for his interpretation of the song “Gasa.”



In Seoul, a lecture and concert called “A Century of Yun Isang, the Camellia Tree of East Berlin” was held to honor him at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History on Nov. 4.

Yun’s songs “Piri” (피리) and “Nore” (노래) were performed in front of some 370 audience members. They also watched a documentary about the composer.

In Yun Isang’s beloved homeland, to which he was unable to return, people constantly cherish the memory of his death by honoring his music and accomplishments.

jesimin@korea.kr