First Lady visits grave site of controversial Korean-German composer Yun Isang

김정숙 여사 윤이상 묘역 방문

First Lady Kim Jung-sook is also in Germany with her husband, President Moon.
On her first schedule in Berlin,... Kim visited the grave of Yun Isang.
She also brought a special gift from Korea... for a man considered one of the most politically controversial musicians in modern Korean history.
Hwang Hojun reports.
First Lady Kim Jung-sook visited the grave of the late Korean-German composer Yun Isang, to mark the upcoming one-hundredth anniversary of his birth.
This is the first time for a sitting Korean First Lady to visit the site.
Before paying her respects, a camelia brought from Tongyeong, Yun's hometown, was planted at grave as a gift from Kim, who studied music at university.
The shrub was personally brought to Germany by President Moon and First Lady Kim.

"Getting customs clearance for plants is extremely difficult.
But I'm glad to see the complicated process went smoothly and it can be planted at Mr. Yun's grave. I guess something clicked between him and me."

Yun Isang has long been a divisive figure and the subject of split evaluations in South Korea, due to his "pro-North Korean activities."
Born during Japan's colonial rule over Korea, Yun Isang was considered a musical prodigy from early age, who also participated in the Korean independence movement.
However, while studying in Germany, Yun visited North Korea and was subsequently kidnapped by South Korea's secret service from West Berlin, then taken to Seoul, where he was tortured and forced to confess to espionage.
Yun was then sentenced to death, but it was later commuted to life imprisonment.
He was eventually released and returned to West Berlin and obtained German citizenship.
While he campaigned for the democratization and the reunification of Korea, Yun was never able to go back to South Korea and was buried in Germany.
It was only in 2006, nine years after his death, when the entire West Germany incident was finally declared by the South Korean Government as a fabrication made up by the intelligence services.
First Lady Kim has said she has always been interested in the late composer and was often inspired by his music.
She also said she wished the camilia from Yun's hometown could bring some solace to the musician who would have longed to return to his hometown.
Yun's students also joined the ceremony and thanked the First Lady for her visit and kind gesture.
Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.

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