K-Art Song Storytelling Workshop: Re-imagining Peace and Humanity

Join us at the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) for a K-Art Song Storytelling Workshop: Re-imagining Peace and Humanity, a performance, discussion, and workshop at the intersection of traditional Korean music and poetry, presented in partnership with the .

Experience live performances of Korean art songs, a genre known in Korean as gagok (가곡), that synthesize music and poetry with lyrical storytelling that reflects the complex modern history of the Korean Peninsula. Through collaborative narrative discourse with participants, this workshop intends to not only introduce the genre’s unique artistry but to awaken a collective sense of compassion and shared moral imagination, inviting listeners to re-imagine global peace together.

Art songs, also known as Lied music, are a traditional form of sung poetry. In Korea, this operatic, classically-minded genre adapts a European concept with Korean aesthetics, expression, and musicality, often integrating works by influential 20th century Korean poets like independence activist Yun Dong-ju (1917-1945) and others.

Through the “K-Art Song” medium, this event aims to evoke sound- and emotion-based dialogues and lyric-centered conversations. Participants are invited to join in this collaborative process by sharing their own experiences, co-creating stories of empathy and cultural solidarity on the path toward peace.

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About the K-Art Song Cultural Bridge Project

The K-Art Song Cultural Bridge Project, affiliated with the Narrative Transformation Lab at the Carter School, seeks to cultivate shared experiences of the narratives embedded in Korean art song through storytelling and collective narrative discourse with international audiences. As a nexus model that interweaves live performance with participants’ narrative exchanges, the project aims to evoke empathy, foster moral imagination, and contribute to peacebuilding and community building—bridging intercultural narratives through creativity and imagination.

By integrating artistic expression with dialogue-based methodologies, the K-Art Song Cultural Bridge Project explores how Korean art songs can be not only a cultural treasure but also a medium for cross-cultural communication—advancing empathy, fostering intercultural understanding, and contributing to sustainable peace. The K-Art Song Cultural Bridge Project connects emerging young professionals, composers, researchers, and storytellers across Korea, the United States, and a wider global community, cultivating a network dedicated to creative peace advocacy, collaborative learning, and inclusive global engagement. For more about the organization, visit www.k-artsongculturalbridgeproject.org.

PROGRAM

Part 1: Fostering Imagination through Sound and Emotion
Live Performances and Open Dialogue

• Self-portrait (Written by Yun Dong-ju, Composed by YoungJu Jung)
  Baritone David Maeng, Pianist Austin Reed
• Prologue (Written by Yun Dong-ju, Composed by YoungJu Jung)
  Bass Josh Slutsky, Pianist Austin Reed
• A Night for Counting Stars (Written by Yun Dong-Ju, Composed by YoungJu Jung)
  Soprano Nancy McClain, Tenor Ross Calvin, Pianist Austin Reed

Part 2: Storytelling and Interweaving a Peace Narrative
Storytelling, Live Performances, and Open Dialogue

• Bimok (Written by Hahn Myung Hee, Composed by Sungeun Jo)Soprano Nancy
  McClain, Soprano Julianne Kim, Mezzo-Soprano Rebecca Rock, Pianist Austin Reed
• Dream Road (Written by Kim Sowol, Composed by Sungeun Jo)
  Tenor Jiheon Sung, Tenor Ross Calvin, Soprano Nancy McClain, Soprano Julianne Kim, Pianist Austin Reed

Part 3: Sharing Takeaways & Narrative Transformation Activity
Closing Remark & Networking

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