On April 22, 2023, Associate Teaching Professor EunYong Won welcomed students from across the University to a special Korean language learning workshop based in music. Featuring Doctor of Musical Arts Candidate Ms. Eun Ju Vivianna Oh as the keynote presenter, the innovative “Unlock the Language and Music of Korea” workshop uniquely combined language instruction with group singing, fostering a fun and engaging immersion into Korean culture. Participants learned Korean language structures and vocabulary through the interactive activity of singing together BTS’s “Yet to Come.” This not only introduced students to musical composition and the basics of singing but also allowed them to practice Korean pronunciation and rhythm in a dynamic setting.
The workshop featured a distinct segment on musical theater using “Do You Hear The People Sing” from ‘Les Miserables’ as an instructive tool and then transitioned to explore Korean opera, specifically ‘Chunhyang Jeon,’ highlighting its distinctiveness from traditional Korean music form, ‘Pansori.’ The session concluded with a group dance and singing along to “Tiger is Coming” by a pop Pansori band, Leenalchi, thus emphasizing the symbiosis of language learning, music, and movement.
The workshop was sponsored by the UW School of Music, the Department of Asian Languages and Literature, the Center for Korea Studies, and the East Asia Center.