Pyeongtaek Unveils First Domestic Exhibition of 'Geunhwa Changga,' Nationalist Music Collection from Japanese Colonial Period

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Pyeongtaek City announced on the 23rd that it will make its first domestic public unveiling of 'Geunhwa Changga,' a songbook containing nationalist music that was prohibited during the Japanese colonial period.

Geunhwa Changga, viewable from October 30 at the Korean Modern and Contemporary Music Museum in Pyeongtaek City, is a songbook that disappeared following its prohibition by the Japanese Governor-General of Joseon on December 1, 1939.

Until now, only the publication fact and existence of the book were known. The Geunhwa Changga being publicly unveiled for the first time was discovered by the late Professor Noh Dong-eun, a specialist in nationalist music, and has been held by his bereaved family. It was transferred to the city in February of last year and remains in excellent condition with no missing cover or interior pages.

Geunhwa Changga is evidence of efforts to preserve national sentiment during a time when all publications expressing Korean national spirit were prohibited under the pretext of ‘maintenance of public order.’

This songbook collection, published in 1921 by nationalist musician Noh Young-ho at Geunhwa Society, contains a total of seven Korean-language songs including <Pride of Joseon>, <Eulji Mundeok>, and <Gang Gam-chan>, along with musical notation and numerical notation.

Professor Min Kyung-chan, a researcher of Korean modern and contemporary music history at the Korean National University of Arts, stated: “Most songbook collections that were prohibited by the Japanese have not been preserved as actual physical objects, making it difficult to accurately understand their details,” adding that “Geunhwa Changga will serve as primary source material not only for our music history but also for linguistics, literature, independence movement history, immigration history, and modern history research.”

Pyeongtaek Mayor Jung Jang-seon said: “It is highly significant that these materials are being publicly unveiled for the first time in Pyeongtaek, the hometown of the late Master Ji Young-hui, a hero of traditional music preservation,” and added: “Going forward, through the Korean Modern and Contemporary Music Museum, we will establish Pyeongtaek as a center where Korean nationalist music's identity is solidified and Korean Wave music radiates to the world.”