Yonsei University Forms Fact-Finding Committee... Plans to Announce 'Position' Today
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] After allegations arose that the 2022 Yonsei University College of Music Piano Department's first round regular admission exam pieces were leaked, Yonsei University launched an internal investigation.
On the afternoon of the 1st, a post titled "Yonsei University Piece Leak" was uploaded on online communities where people preparing for music college entrance exams gather.
According to the post, on the 31st of last month, in an open KakaoTalk chatroom where people preparing for H University’s College of Music entrance exam gathered, a person identified as A asked, "Are you going to take the Yonsei University exam?" and said, "I'll tell you just one piece from the first round." Then, A explained the piece in detail, saying, "It's Liszt, I'll only tell you it's Liszt. It starts with thirty-second notes from the first bar."
When other chatroom participants asked how A knew this, A replied, "It's connections," and said that among Liszt’s pieces, it was not the "Transcendental Etude." A also showed confidence by suggesting a bet to those who doubted him.
Later, the first round exam pieces released by Yonsei University Admissions Office on the previous day (the 1st) included a piece matching A’s description. The piece was 'Grandes etudes de Paganini No. 4 (S.141 No. 4)', which starts with thirty-second notes.
As the controversy grew, a person presumed to be A reportedly proposed a one-on-one chat to the manager of a Naver cafe related to music college entrance exams. A claimed, "I said it jokingly, thinking that if I mentioned Liszt’s 'Devil’s Fire,' it might come out as a Yonsei exam piece."
However, the 'Devil’s Fire' A mentioned refers to Transcendental Etude No. 5, which contradicts A’s earlier statement in the open chat that the Transcendental Etudes would not appear.
The cafe manager stated, "Since A’s statements are inconsistent, we cannot help but suspect that he knew exactly which piece would be on the exam," adding, "(A) said he would post an explanation separately but did not, and since 11 p.m. yesterday, we have not been able to contact him."
A netizen who runs a music college entrance exam academy raised their voice, saying, "The Paganini Etude is considered one of the most difficult pieces in the collection. It is not a work that can be guessed by chance without knowing the designated piece." Other netizens compared this incident to the drama 'Penthouse,' which involves entrance exam corruption, commenting, "This is a real-life Penthouse," and "Is it Eunbyeol?"
Meanwhile, a Yonsei University official told Kukmin Ilbo on the 2nd, "We are currently discussing internally, and a fact-finding committee at the College of Music has been formed," adding that they would announce their position by today (the 3rd).
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