December 06, 2023
Featured Content

How composer Yun Isang became a beloved icon in both North and South Korea

Classical music artist organized against Imperial Japan and spent much of his life advocating for Korean reunification

On the southern coast of South Korea, in a small city called Tongyeong, lies a bust of renowned composer Yun Isang, in a memorial park built to honor him in 2010. 

The tranquil setting belies the sculpture’s extraordinary origin: North Korean artists from the Mansudae Art Studio created the bust years ago, and it is one of the very few DPRK products ever to be allowed in the South which normally outlaws imports from its primary “enemy.”