Introducing the Kyechon classic village

Introducing the Kyechon classic village. September. 05, 2017 08:50. by Seung-Hoon Cheon raphy@donga.com.

Kyechon village located at Banglim village in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province is full of classic music all day long. Sculptures of musical instruments such as cello, trumpet and violin are on the street lamps, while the faces of Mozart, Beatles members and musical papers are painted on walls of Keychon Elementary School and houses. There is a "Piano Bridge" decorated with piano keyboards at the stream facing the village.

Kyechon village began to change when the Kyechon Elementary school principal created a "Starlight Orchestra" comprised of all students at the school in 2009 when the elementary school was on the brink of closure. Professors at Korea National University of Arts have regularly visited the school since 2014 to give lessons, and residents are also given music lectures after work hours at the village assembly hall. Last month, the third Kyechon Classic Village Festival was held.

An increasing number of students are moving to Kyechon Elementary School from the Seoul metropolitan area and even Canada. Foreign delegates to the Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games have been impressed about the performance of students at the village, and some shed tears. It can be compared with Venezuela's El Sistema with classical music helping change the village and younger children. There are more expectations on how the village will turn for the better.