This week 300 Americans from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra entered North Korea to play a concert for an audience of dignitaries. This is the first and largest group of Americans to visit North Korea since the war in the early 50’s. The flags of the United States and North Korea, two countries locked in animosity for more than half a century, hung from poles at opposite ends of the stage at the East Pyongyang Concert Hall.
The crowd of about 2,000 North Korean dignitaries attending the New York Philharmonic concert Tuesday night mostly sat with their hands neatly folded. The men all wore dark suits with lapel pins bearing the image of the late North Korean leader Kim II Sung, and the women wore formal Korean gowns.
Some audience members appeared misty-eyed when the orchestra played its encore, “Arirang,” a lilting folk song emblematic of the Korean people. By the time the orchestra was taking its final bows, the North Koreans were on their feet, applauding and waving at the musicians.
Unsure what to do, the musicians stood and waved back.
“We felt such a connection with these people,” cellist Jeanne LeBlanc said. “They didn’t want us to leave the stage and we didn’t want to leave either. Some of us were crying we were so moved.”
I was especially touched by this story. Here we have 2 countries who have struggled with issues of disarmament for many years. And yet when faced with an emotion filled experience they were able to share a connection through the music and the deep feelings generated.
What does this say about the power and depth of our emotional connection? What would it be like to truly connect with our “enemies” by reaching first with empathy & compassion? We may not be able to solve the world’s problems and yet I feel that we can “set the stage” by making a softer entrance. The image of this incredible event fills me with hope & optimism.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Dear Readers,
The question raised by CNN was: “Are such cultural exchanges
of value in improving the relationships between two vastly
different societies at odds with each other?
Cultural exchange enables us to engage the whole gamut of human
potentialities, to know the best which has been thought, said and
done by peoples, and ultimately to reach a social understanding
where all of us find a better fitting place. There’s no more ideal way to achieve this first-step cross-cultural harmony than through ageless music that never offends the ear to one’soul.
Frank Thomas, The Netherlands
P.S. We’re proud our daughter, Michele Balm, could contribute to
such a histotical event as Consultant Production Mgr. for the
NY Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance in Pyongyang.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Thank you Frank - and your daughter! It is so inspiring to know that human beings can connect on this profound level, that there is some universal fabric upon which we’ve built such seemingly impenetrable towers of discord. Fitting, then, that harmony could let us see past these illusions.