Famous South Korean composer set to return home 23 years after his death

The South Korean composer Isang Yun

Isang Yun spent most of his life in Germany after he was convicted of spying by the Park Chung-hee government

When Isang Yun’s mother was pregnant, she dreamed of a dragon that writhed around, unable to soar into the sky because it was wounded. Later, people would say that this dream of a wounded dragon foreshadowed Yun’s fate. While Yun was revered around the world as an outstanding composer, his own country rejected him. After spending two years in prison because of his connection with the Dongbaengnim (East Berlin) Incident in 1967, he went to Germany and was never allowed to return home for the rest of his life (The Dongbaenim Incident resulted in the arrests of a number of South Korean artists, intellectuals, and students who were accused of spying by the government of Park Chung-hee after regularly visiting the North Korean embassy in East Berlin).

Even after Kim Young-sam became president, the South Korean government demanded that Yun sign a pledge to obey the law as a condition for him returning home, forcing Yun to permanently give up his modest dream of “just sitting quietly and fishing on the beach” where he grew up. As of this year, 49 years have passed since Yun left Korea.

Until the day that Yun (1917-1995) died in Berlin, Germany, this classical composer never forgot the sea of his childhood home in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. His dream of homecoming will finally start to come true on Feb. 23.

“Isang Yun is buried at Gatow Cemetery in Berlin, and the ceremony for the disinterment will be held there on Feb. 23. This morning, Yun’s daughter, Djong Yun, departed for Berlin, where she will discuss the procedure for relocating his remains with Florian Riem, CEO of the Tongyeong International Music Foundation,” said Lee Yong-min, the foundation’s secretary-general, during an interview with the Hankyoreh on Feb. 18.

Yun’s homecoming project began in the summer of 2017, which marked the 100th anniversary of Yun’s birth. In accordance with German law, disinterment is possible now that 20 years have passed since Yun was laid to rest. The city of Tongyeong got the ball rolling by approaching Berlin about the idea, while Yun’s widow, Lee Su-ja, who resides in Tongyeong, sent a letter to Berlin this year that she had personally written in German.

South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook plants a camellia tree at the grave of Isang Yun in Berlin, Germany on July 5, 2017. The first lady brought the tree on the president’s private plane.

“I’m more than ninety years old now, and I would like to be with my husband, who wanted to be buried in Tongyeong, where he was born,” Lee wrote in the letter. On a trip to Germany in July 2017, First Lady Kim Jung-sook planted a camellia tree she had brought from Korea next to Yun’s grave.

“Tongyeong’s efforts, the widow’s letter and the Blue House’s interest appear to have paved the way for Berlin’s approval of the disinterment,” Lee Yong-min said.

Tongyeong and the TIMF are planning to complete the reinterment of Yun’s remains in time for the opening ceremony of the 2018 Tongyeong International Music Festival, which will be taking place on Mar. 30. While the disinterment ceremony in Berlin will reportedly be taking place on Feb. 23, the actual date may change, depending on the weather and other factors.

“The remains will be transported by plane and the gravestone by ship because of its weight,” Lee said. “The ground is still frozen, and a month is left before the reinterment, which raises the question of storage. As for when the remains will actually be brought to Korea, we’ll have to wait for the results of discussion between Yun’s family and the city of Berlin.” Djong Yun is planning to return to South Korea on Feb. 28, and she might bring her father’s remains with her.

An appropriate site will be found for Yun’s remains on the grounds of the Tongyeong Concert Hall, which overlooks the ocean. Out of respect for the family’s desire to erect a small burial mound, the site will be arranged more as a memorial than as a grave.

One lingering question is the camellia tree that the First Lady planted at Yun’s grave. “They were able to plant the tree by loading it on the president’s private plane, but it might be harder to bring it back into South Korea because of restrictions on importing plants and animals. If it’s not feasible to bring the tree back, another option we could consider is planting it at the Isang Yun House in Berlin,” Lee said.

By Kim Mi-hyang, Kim Young-dong, and Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporters

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Caption: The South Korean composer Isang Yun