Berklee today is the official alumni publication of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a forum for contemporary music and musicians.
Issue link: http://berkleetoday.epubxp.com/i/106074
How South Korean alumni became leaders in Seoul's music industry. By Mark Small '73 K-pop star Psy's "Gangnam Style" video has made history by logging more than a billion YouTube views, skyrocketing the South Korean singer and his horsey dance to worldwide fame. In many cases, fame is regional, but Psy (who attended Berklee from 1999–2000) brought exposure to a new level when his song swept the globe so rapidly. He has also brought more attention to other Korean pop (K-pop) artists. Psy's mercurial rise only heightened my sense of intrigue as the date approached for a long-planned trip to Seoul along with Berklee President Roger Brown to meet some of the many Berklee alumni fueling the music scene in the East Asian nation.* Since 2010, South Korean musicians have represented the largest group of international students at Berklee. Some 250 are currently enrolled, and over the past three decades, nearly 600 alumni have attended. Korean alumni returning home have had a major impact on the Korean music scene as singers, instrumentalists, songwriters, composers, recording engineers, producers, and music educators. It was impossible to meet with all of Berklee's top Korean alumni, but my lateOctober trip to Seoul offered a glimpse of how they have collectively influenced Korean music and musicians. Korean Prototype Tenor saxophonist Jung, Sung-jo appears to be the first Korean student to have enrolled at Berklee. By the time Jung arrived in 1979, other Korean students had registered, but none had completed a semester. "When I was in high school," Jung recalls, "I saw the Berklee ads in Down Beat magazine and read that Toshiko Akiyoshi ['57], Sadao Watanabe ['65], and Richie Cole ['67] had gone there. I was busy touring the U.S. backing Korean singers when I decided that I'd take time off and go to Berklee." Jung earned his degree in professional music by 1983. He returned to Korea bearing the first copy of the Real Book Korean musicians had ever seen. "Everyone made a copy of it," Jung says. He became part of the Seoul music scene, appearing regularly at jazz clubs and playing saxophone on some 40 recordings and 50 film scores. In 1995, he was named the conductor of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Pops Orchestra. For the next 10 years, he led the group in local performances and tours of America, Japan, Europe, and Russia. *Special thanks are owed to Haein Erin Lee '12, Serena Ahn '12, and Larry Lim '04 who were immensely helpful in setting up meetings with Korean alumni and for logistical support and transportation during our visit to Seoul. Like other alumni who followed him to Berklee and returned home, Jung was anxious to share what he'd learned. In 1988, he became a pioneer in Korean jazz education by offering the first courses in jazz theory at Seoul Institute of the Arts. Recently, Jung studied at New York's Queens College and taped weekly lectures about his experiences for students back at Seoul Institute of the Arts. Jung hopes to return to the Berklee campus and warmly acknowledges the influence of faculty members Greg Hopkins, Barry Nettles, Phil Wilson, and Bill Pierce. "I'll always be thankful," he says. "Berklee was where I learned to be a musician, educator, and conductor." Jung's positive report on Berklee became widely known to younger Korean musicians thirsty for knowledge about jazz and popular styles. Korean alumni refer to Jung and others who came to Berklee during the 1980s as the "first generation." The "Ancient Ones" Sitting in the café of Seoul's Grand Ambassador hotel, guitarist Han, Sang-won '88 recalls that when he arrived at Berklee in 1984, he found only two other Korean students on campus. At 21, he was playing instrumental funk and rock around Seoul with American and English musicians. "Then I had a chance to visit the United States," Han says. "I came to New York hoping to form a band, but it didn't go well. So I went to Boston to see a friend and visited Berklee. I saw a lot of musicians there that I wanted to play with." Concerned that her son was just drifting around the U.S., Han's mother gave him an ultimatum: "Enroll at Berklee or come home." Han enrolled. And during his first semesters, he negotiated a steep learning curve. "I'd never seen a Real Book before I got there and didn't know how to play jazz," Han says. "[Assistant Professor] Jerry Cecco invited me to play in his ensemble despite the fact that my ratings were so low. Jerry had served in the U.S. military and was stationed over here. I think he had a fondness for Koreans." Faculty member Jim Odgren also encouraged Han. "He let me into his funk ensembles, even though I couldn't play over changes." Han thrived at Berklee and earned the moniker "The Funkmaster." He played with soon-to-be drumming greats Tommy Campbell '79 (John McLaughlin), Aaron Scott '85 (McCoy Tyner), and Zachary Alford '87 (David Bowie). Graduating in 1988, he returned home, and a Korean record label offered him a lucrative recording contract. Han tapped American friends, including New York studio bassist Will Lee, Jung, Sung-jo '83 Han, Sang-won '88 Spring2013 13