Hong Nan-pa (April 10, 1898 – August 30, 1941) was a

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, conductor, music critic and educator. He is best known as the composer of ''Bongseonhwa'' (봉선화, literally Garden Balsam) written in 1919. It is generally considered as the first true Korean original songHoward, ''Perspectives on Korean Music'' P. 104 composed in Western style. It was widely sung during the period. Hong also contributed to developing Korean culture during the period with his diverse cultural activities.

Biography

Hong Nan-pa was born at Hwalcho Village of Namyang Township in present Hwangseong County,

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

. He was the second son to his father, Hong Sun (홍순) of the native Hong Clan to Namyoung (南陽) and his mother from Lee Clan of

Jeonju Jeonju () is the 16th largest city in South Korea and the capital of North Jeolla Province. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many residents who work in Jeonju) ...

Jeolla Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in today Southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as wel ...

. He had one brother and two sisters. Nan-pa is his ''ho'', or

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, but his given name is Hong Yeong-hu. His family moved to Seoul when he was still a young child. As he lived near the Ewha Academy (이화학당) located in the neighborhood of

Jeong-dong Jeong-dong is a legal '' dong'', or neighbourhood of the Jung-gu district in Seoul, South Korea and governed by its administrative dong, Sogong-dong. It is an historical area with Deoksu Palace from the Joseon Dynasty and some of Korea's first m ...

,Ewha Academy (이화학당) is the predecessor of

Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's university in Seoul founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. It was the first university founded in South Korea. Currently, Ewha is one of the world's largest female educational ins ...

and

Ewha Girls' High School Ewha Girls' High School ( ko, 이화여자고등학교) is a private girls high school located in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Although managed by the same foundation, it is not to be confused with the coeducational Ewha Womans Unive ...

he attended Jeongdong Methodist Church and got access to

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

, a Western music. He learned basic Confucian studies at a local ''

seodang Seodang were private village schools providing elementary education during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Background They were primarily occupied with providing initial training in the Chinese classics to boys of 7-16 years of age, but ...

'' (a kind of elementary school) and entered a middle school in 1910 which was affiliated with the Hwangseong Young Men's Christian Association (황성기독교청년회, Korean

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

). Since then, he had a violin and received music lessons. At the age of fifteen, Hong was admitted to the Western music department of Korean Court Music Study Institute (조선정악전습소 ''Joseon Jeongak Jeonseupso'') that was the only music school in Korea at that time. He studied

vocal music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with musical instruments, instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which ...

and violin from Kim In-sik (김인식). After the graduation, he was hired as an assistant teacher at the school. In 1918, he went to Japan to enter

Tokyo Music School or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

Ueno is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park. Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of Na ...

but returned to Korea to participate in the

March 1st Movement The March 1st Movement, also known as the Sam-il (3-1) Movement (Hangul: 삼일 운동; Hanja: 三一運動), was a protest movement by Korean people and students calling for independence from Japan in 1919, and protesting forced assimilation ...

as temporarily absent from the school. One year after the movement, he went back to Japan. However, Hong was rejected to continue his study at the school because of his involvement in the independent movement, so that he came back to Korea in despair. During his stay in Japan, he published the first Korean music magazine titled "Samgwang" (삼광, literally "Three Light"). After his return, he worked as a news report for Maeil Sinbunsa, and even attended Severance Medical School which became later the medical department of

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

. In April, 1920, Hong included the score of ''Aesu'' (애수, literally "sorrow"), a violin piece on the end pages of his short novel "Cheonyeohon" (lit. "a maiden's soul). He asked Kim Hyeong-jun for lyric for the tune whose song is "Bongseonhwa" (봉선화). In 1922, Hong made efforts to promote music while he participated in Yeongakhoe (연악회, Music Research Society) established by Gyeongsang Akuhoe (경상악우회 Gyeongsang Music Friend Society)'s lead. In 1925, he had the first solo violin recital as a Korean and published "Eumakgye" (음악계, Music World), the first music magazine published in Korea. Hong also wrote ''Eumakmanpil'' (음악만필, Music Essay) in ''Changjo''. In 1926, as Hong entered

Kunitachi College of Music The is a private music conservatory in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1926 as the Tokyo Conservatory of Music, Kunitachi now offers study programs in performance, music education, composition, computer music, and musicology, for bachelor ...

as a transfer student, he was accepted to play first violin at Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (current

NHK Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese broadcast orchestra based in Tokyo. The orchestra gives concerts in several venues, including the NHK Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. History The orchestra began as the ''New Symphony Orchestra'' o ...

). After graduation in 1929, he returned to Korea and published the first volume of "100 pieces of Joseon Children's song" (조선동요 100곡집) through Yeongakhoe. Hong nanpa house

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Lee Ji-hoon in the 2018 SBS TV series ''

The Hymn of Death ''The Hymn of Death'' () is a 2018 South Korean television miniseries based on true events, starring Lee Jong-suk and Shin Hye-sun. It aired on SBS from November 27 to December 4, 2018, and is available on Netflix worldwide. Synopsis The ser ...

''.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Nan-Pa 1898 births 1941 deaths 20th-century classical composers Korea under Japanese rule Korean classical musicians Korean composers Korean conductors (music) Korean educators Korean violinists People from Gyeonggi Province People from Hwaseong, Gyeonggi 20th-century conductors (music) Male classical composers 20th-century violinists 20th-century male musicians

Biography

Popular culture

See also

Footnotes

References