[Report file] 'Koreans don't sing', the violin master's 'remarks'

On the 25th of last month, an online masterclass led by the violin master Pincus Zuckerman was held at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Pincus Zuckerman is a world-renowned violinist and conductor from Israel. Among Korean classical music lovers, he is also well-known as a performer who co-winned with Kyung-wha Jeong at the 1967 Leventritt Competition.

This masterclass was the main event of the 'Virtual Violin Symposium' hosted by Julliard, when something unexpected happened. Pincus Zuckerman's words angered the 100 or so students in attendance. It was just that 'Korean and Japanese musicians don't sing'.

According to the testimonies of the attendees, Pincus Zuckerman said, 'Koreans don't sing' while telling two Asian students who played a duet that day, 'play it more poetically'. One of the students said, 'We're not Korean', and Zuckerman asked again, 'Where are you from?' When this student said 'half Japanese', Zuckerman replied, 'Even Japanese people don't sing' this time. (In playing an instrument,

.)

It is only natural to point out if Pincus Zuckerman is lacking in students' performances. However, saying 'Koreans and Japanese don't sing' is a completely different story. These are stereotypes and prejudices about a particular race. If these stereotypes are established, it will be difficult for Asians to be evaluated for their performances.

Several music media outlets wrote articles after Pincus Zuckerman's racist remarks became known as testimonies from attendees. Juilliard decided not to release the masterclass video on the 27th, contrary to the original plan. "Pinkers Zuckerman was a guest lecturer (not a member of the Juilliard), and his insensitive and offensive cultural stereotypes have nothing to do with the values ​​the school pursues," he said, and apologized to attendees. I did.

Pincus Zuckerman himself issued an apology on the 28th of last month. He said he used the word 'culturally insensitive' while communicating with 'two amazingly talented young musicians' in a masterclass. He said he personally contacted the students who performed and apologized, and apologized to those who might have been uncomfortable with his words. He also said that he learned an important lesson from this incident and that he will do better in the future.

The New York Times recently reported on the incident, saying that many Asian and Asian American players suffered from stereotypes of 'do not sing' and 'too technical and unemotional'. I wrote that I received it. In other words, it is a prejudice that plays accurately like a machine but lacks artistry. The newspaper also said that as 'Asian hate' has grown recently in American society, the concerns of Asian musicians are also growing.

I looked up articles that appeared when Pincus Zuckerman came to Korea. During my visit to Korea in 2016, I saw an article praising the master class, saying, 'Korean students, I want to put them in my pocket'. He is also a teacher who cherishes the Korean gifted violinist Ko So-hyeon. ( ▶ Current status of violin prodigy Ko So-hyeon, who practiced until the bones of her fingers were worn out) It is absurd that he, who generously praised the skills of Korean musicians, denigrated 'Koreans do not sing' at first. Judging from the numerous comments on articles in the music media, it seems that he had made many controversial remarks before. I hope he really learned a lesson from this.

Since this incident is within the music industry, it is not widely known in Korea. It's been a while, but the reason I'm writing this is because I want to go one step further and think about the resentment that Pincus Zuckerman spoke nonsense.

For example, if Zuckerman didn't talk about Koreans and said, 'Japanese don't sing', would you feel that there was a problem because it was a statement based on racial stereotypes, even though he didn't disparage Koreans? What if a K-pop masterclass was held in Korea, and a famous Korean singer was teaching Japanese students and said, 'Japanese can't sing'? How free are we Koreans from stereotypes tied to a particular race, region, or origin? Could it be that we are also unwittingly using a 'culturally insensitive' language? I'll have to think carefully about it.   

(Photo = Getty Images Korea, New York Times capture)