Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to discuss Korean nationalism as seen in Huh Cool-jae's Missa Arirang and Ahn Eak-tai's Korea Fantasy, works that are significant in Korean culture and ethnomusicology. Korean nationalism has influenced Huh's Missa Arirang and Ahn's Korea Fantasy; however, to date, there is no study with representative analysis of Korean nationalistic music trends. Nationalism, as a movement, began in Korea in the late nineteenth century, as an effort to keep Korea culturally and ethnically distinct from China and Japan after repeated invasion attempts by both neighboring countries. The movement was further strengthened when the Japanese invaded and annexed Korea in 1910 and continued throughout the 35 year Japanese rule. Korean nationalist movements continued after liberation from Japan as, following World War II and the Korean War, the country was divided, changing the focus of the movements from protecting Korea from outside invasion to attempting to reunify the nation. The Korea Fantasy is a milestone in Korean music history because it contains the official national anthem of the Republic of Korea. The Korea Fantasy itself is meaningful to Koreans because it was composed as an appeal to Korean patriotism while Korea was under Japanese domination. Performance of the first Korean national anthem, The Anthem of the Greater Korean Empire, was prohibited by the then-ruling Japanese. In the Korea Fantasy, Ahn wrote the current national anthem and incorporated it in its entirety in his Korea Fantasy. The Korea Fantasy could not be prohibited because it was composed outside of Korea and because it was presented in its entirety within a symphonic piece. Missa Arirang, a Korean mass, incorporates musical tunes and phrases from one of the most popular Korean folksongs, Arirang. Arirang is a folk song known by all Koreans throughout the world, and the folk tune melody of Kyeonggi Arirang has served as an unofficial national anthem of Korea for centuries. Missa Arirang uses the folk melodies of the Arirangs of each Korean province to manifest a longing for reunification of the Korean nation among the people, which has been present since the Korean War.
