[SideB] "Still Thirsty" African Girl Ella Becomes a Soprano in Korea

A Proud Minority, A Better Non-mainstream World
Ella M Wanjasi from Malawi Arrived in Korea in November 2013

Adapted to the Unfamiliar Korea
Active as a Soprano after Graduating from Korea National University of Arts

In Her 20s, Prefers Classical Music over K-pop
Captivated the Stage Singing "Missing Geumgangsan"

Provided by 99 Art Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] She walked two hours back and forth every day. Since there was no water in the village, she had to go find the well herself. Unable to sell land alone, she set out with friends, villagers, and teachers.

It was only 10 years ago. Ellah Mwanjasi (hereafter Ellah, 26), who came to Korea from Malawi, Africa, experienced this episode during her teenage years.

"There were no desks in the classroom, so we had classes on top of bricks. But during the rainy season, water would rise up to the bricks. Then the space on the bricks would turn into an island, and that was so much fun. Going to fetch water? It never felt hard at all, and since that was our life itself, we were very happy. Everyone was always together, so there was really no feeling of hardship."

At that time, what troubled Ellah was the moment she learned that her mother had passed away the year after giving birth to her. The life expectancy of Malawian women is 66.9 years (compared to 85.7 years in Korea), and the maternal mortality rate is 634 per 100,000 live births. In Korea, it is about 11.

We met Ellah at a cafe in Seocho-gu. Ellah, who lived in the small village of Karonga in Malawi, has already been settled in the distant and unfamiliar Korea for seven years. She has become familiar enough to order warm citron tea as a drink. By chance, she went to audition to enter a music school run by a Korean professor in Malawi, where her talent was discovered, and she was selected as a scholarship student at Korea National University of Arts.

Ellah now looks no different from any other Korean woman in her twenties. The one difference is that while most people in their twenties like K-Pop, Ellah is passionate about classical music. She said, "As I learned classical music, I came to love it itself," adding, "I feel joy and comfort inside, and when I sing opera, I feel a connection and empathy with the audience."

Provided by 99 Art Company

Her first impression of Korea was bad. It was because it was so cold. Ellah said, "I entered as a vocal music major in the class of 2014 and started university life," adding, "At first, even the school cafeteria was difficult, and Korean food didn’t suit my taste, but now I eat everything well." Her favorite Korean dish is dolsot bibimbap (stone pot mixed rice).

Ellah’s voice is clear but carries a certain longing. She said, "When I sing, I put a lot of longing into it," adding, "I try to sing while recalling the lyrics and think about my life story and the stories of others."

Last month, she appeared on a variety show looking for tone-deaf singers. When Ellah sang the art song "Missing Geumgangsan," the studio was thrown into chaos. Everyone was speechless as a foreigner who seemed not to speak Korean at all sang a familiar art song learned from textbooks. She said, "When I sing 'Missing Geumgangsan,' I think a lot about my hometown and family." It is also said that during an interview in Daehangno in 2016, when asked to sing a free song, she sang the Korean hymn "Samyeong" in Korean, and all the dancers present cried.

Confident Without Being Intimidated by Discrimination
Wants to Become an Excellent Opera Singer and Help Women in Her Homeland
Aspires to Be an Expressive Singer Like Jessye Norman
Scheduled to Perform at the Small Theater of Seoul Arts Center

The wall of discrimination in Korea sometimes weighed heavily on her. Ellah said, "Around my sophomore year, the school said they were doing an opera chorus, and a professor suggested I join," adding, "I participated diligently in rehearsals, but suddenly, they said foreigners were not allowed and told me not to come from the next day, which didn’t feel good."

She said, "I was selected as a foreign scholarship student along with a Pakistani friend, and only we two attended together," adding, "Friends from Mongolia, Malaysia, China said they didn’t like the Pakistani friend because of the smell of spices, and I heard they said they just didn’t want to hang out with me for no reason."

Despite such discrimination, Ellah shouted "I don’t care." She said, "At some point, no matter what they said, I thought that neither the skin color God gave me nor myself nor anything could be changed."

Provided by 99 Art Company

Ellah said she wants to become an excellent opera singer and help women in her homeland. Last August, when she briefly went to Malawi, she followed her mother to volunteer on the outskirts of the village and was deeply shocked to see an 11-year-old bride getting married. She said, "It was a place two hours away by motorcycle from our village, with no internet at all, where people lived by farming or selling goods," adding, "The bride marrying a 17-year-old groom looked very sad." She continued, "It was heartbreaking to see the bride accept it as just her life without hope." "I am living while nurturing my dreams in Korea..." Ellah added.

Ellah is still thirsty. She wants to stand on various stages such as opera and musicals in Korea, but opportunities have been limited so far. She also wants to become a member of the National Chorus and travel the world communicating with audiences through her voice. She said she wants to be an opera singer like Jessye Norman.

"Jessye Norman’s expressiveness is so beautiful that you can understand what she is saying just by her facial expressions. I want to be a singer who truly shows what singing is like on stage."

On the 28th and 29th of this month, Ellah will take the stage at the Small Theater of Seoul Arts Center for the first time. This performance is mainly inspired by Ellah’s story of going to find water in Malawi. It conveys the thirst she felt searching for water in the barren land of Malawi and how that process resonates with the journey of seeking inner water in our lives.