According to the 2020 Census, 71,000 Korean Americans are estimated to live in Georgia, and that number has continued to increase in the past few years. Korean immigrant and founder of the Atlanta Music Academy, Mrs. Young Hae Kim, created a new nonprofit to uplift her community.
K-Wave Outreach preserves and promotes traditional Korean culture through music and art. Their inaugural event is Feb. 4 at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville. Mrs. Kim joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom to share how she became inspired to support Korean achievement in the arts.
Interview highlights follow below.
The youngest pianist to perform at the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra gives back:
“When I came in 1973 [to Atlanta], we had no money… but I met a gentleman whose name was Mr. Terry Wheeler, who had paid my family for my private piano lessons for three years,” said Kim. “He was the one who had a very big impact then… he heard there was an audition for new students for that orchestra, and he suggested I audition for it, which I did, and I got in. So already back then, I knew that music can touch someone’s heart, and then I was able to benefit from it. So my mission now is to pass on what I have received to the others.”
“After I graduated from Peabody Conservatory, I came back to town, and I realized that there are a lot of talents, especially [in] my community, the Korean community. But they did not have a source to find a good teacher at the time. So I think I was the pioneer in that field; to connect the good teachers to the good students. That’s what prompted me to start the Atlanta Music Academy.”
Why music education in childhood can be a game changer:
“It has immeasurable benefits and advantages to start music [early]. First, you teach them discipline, and also, you teach them the value of hard work. If you want to do well, and just to practice just two notes or one phrase, you have to go over many, many, many times. So if you take that kind of working ethic to any field that you are in, you’ll be successful,” Kim said.
How the K-Wave Outreach project aims to promote peace through music:
“Upon my retirement, I realized that I’d like to do something for the community and for the children. There are so many talented students at the school, but I like to return the talents to the community,” Kim reflected. “I see a lot of violence going on, race against race. I think that all comes from not knowing each other. If you know each other, you’ll see there are a lot of similarities in society. I mean, there’s more similarity than differences. So if we realize there are a lot of similarities in our own cultures, then there will be less misunderstanding… We can embrace all kinds of races together, and we all realize we are all connected. Yes, that’s my mission of creating the non-profit K-Wave Outreach.”
A celebration of Korean culture at K-Wave’s inaugural event:
“It actually is one day long. We start from 1:30 to 8:30. We have a courtyard; you can come and taste our cuisine, our cosmetics, our medicines, and you can see our games,” said Kim. “When you’re coming in the lobby, you see our traditional painting and potteries where you can actually write your [own] scripts on the base, and then there will be a photo zone where you can take pictures with the Korean costumes, and you can see a Korean fan that you can write your names on. There are a lot of things you can see, and then, of course, in the theater at 3:00 and 6:00, we’ll have our concerts.”
“We’re going to start with a very, very big Korean traditional drum. Our tradition is that whenever we have important events starting, that’s what we do. We play the very big drums to let them know that this is starting, followed by the Korean traditional songs, played with the Korean traditional instruments, followed by the Korean folk songs, sung by tenor and soprano. And then we have the K-Wave Children’s Choir, which meets on every Saturday for two hours. So there’ll be singing, and then we have the K-Wave string ensemble, which will perform a BTS song, followed by the K-Wave Symphony Orchestra, which will play ‘Arirang,’ played by the New York Phil when they were visiting in North Korea. So we’re going to play that, and the final song will be ‘Gohyang-ui-Bom,’ it’s a very well known [song] that’s ‘Spring of my Home.’ We’re going to sing it with everybody, with the Korean flag on the stage.”
The inaugural concert and fundraiser for K-Wave Outreach takes place Feb. 4 at Aurora Theatre. Tickets and more information are available at https://www.lvilleartscenter.com/eventer/kwave-outreach/
