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strung with barbed wire from the ceasefire line

A performance will be held on a piano strung with barbed wire from the ceasefire line, a symbol of the division of Korea. This piano - which uses uneven barbed wire in place of smooth piano strings - is called the Unification Piano.

On July 20, the Ministry of Unification and Cheil Worldwide announced that they were working on the Unification Piano Project to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. The project involves making a piano that is strung with barbed wire and then using it in exhibitions and performances.

The piano will be displayed in the lobby of the Seoul Museum of Art through Sep. 29 as one of the events associated with the North Korea Project, an exhibition being held at the museum. Along with the piano, the museum is planning a number of exhibits that symbolize the division of the nation, to present music performed on the Unification Piano, and to screen a video (youtu.be/Va-suFpjgjg) about the making of the piano.

The piano was made by a world music group called Gongmyeong, meaning “resonance,” which is well-known for envisioning and performing original music. Over the course of three months, musicians from Gongmyeong used barbed wire collected from an army base on the front line to bring a new instrument into being.

The polished exterior of a grand piano stands in stunning counterpoint to the piano strings, which are made of razor-sharp barbed wire. The sound of the piano is unique as well. Replacing the thin, straight steel piano strings with old, thick barbed wire results in a sound that is closer to the heavy thud of percussion than the ringing tone of a piano.

The Unification Piano will be brought to the stage and played during the One People Choir Festival on the 70th Anniversary of Liberation by the National Chorus of Korea. The festival will be held in the concert hall at the Seoul Arts Center on Aug. 15, which is Liberation Day.

“We will perform with the hope that the flower of unification will bloom, just as the Unification Piano brings music out of crude pieces of metal,” said Gu Cheon, artistic director of the National Chorus of Korea.

“During the Pope’s visit to Korea last year, I saw him receive a crown of thorns made from barbed wire from the armistice line. This made me think that barbed wire is a symbol of war and division, but could also become a material for peace,” said Lee Seong-ha, the copywriter for Cheil Worldwide who planned the project.

By Kim Mi-young, staff reporter

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