Korean Composer Park Younghi in Germany to Receive Germany's First Class Order of Merit

German Government: "Contribution to the Development of Contemporary Music"

Park Younghi, a Korean composer residing in Germany, will be awarded the First Class Order of Merit by the German government.

The Korean Cultural Center in Germany announced on October 29 that composer Park Younghi will receive the First Class Order of Merit, conferred by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on this day.

The Office of the Federal President of Germany announced on October 10 that Park Younghi would be awarded the First Class Order of Merit. The award ceremony will be held in Bremen, where Park Younghi resides, taking into account her health as she turns 80 this year. Mayor Bovenschulte of Bremen will accept the medal on behalf of the president. The ceremony will be attended by Lim Sangbeom, Ambassador to Germany; Yang Sangkeun, Director of the Korean Cultural Center; Seo Junghyun, Consul at the Consulate General in Hamburg; Mirjam Boggasch, Dean of the University of the Arts Bremen; and Winrich Hopp, Artistic Director of Musikfest Berlin.

Born in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do in 1945, Park Younghi graduated from the composition department and graduate school at Seoul National University and studied abroad as a scholarship recipient from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She later served as a professor and vice president of the Composition Department at the University of the Arts Bremen.

She has made a significant mark on contemporary European music. Park was the first female composition professor in the German-speaking world and received the European Church Music Prize in 2015. In 2020, she was awarded the Berlin Art Prize in music, becoming the first Asian recipient of the Berlin Art Prize and the first female winner in the music category. In 2022, she became the first Korean to be appointed an honorary member of the German Music Council. She was also the first woman to be commissioned by the Donaueschingen Festival for contemporary music.

This year, at Musikfest Berlin, a commemorative concert was held by the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate Park Younghi's 80th birthday, with her works performed at the closing concert. In June, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra performed Park Younghi's piece "Woman, Why Are You Weeping? Whom Are You Looking For?", which expresses the sorrow of Mary Magdalene before the tomb of Jesus, at its regular concert.

The German federal government cited "her contributions to the development of contemporary music and efforts to promote cultural exchange between the two countries" as reasons for awarding the Order of Merit.

Previously, among Koreans, Yun I-sang, a musician recognized as a master of contemporary music in Europe, received the Grand Cross of Merit in 1988, and former football manager Cha Bumkun was awarded the Order of Merit in 2019.

Park Younghi expressed her gratitude, saying, "I am thankful that the audience has listened to each of my works with an open mind and supported me."

Ambassador Lim Sangbeom stated, "Park Younghi's award demonstrates the elevated status of our musicians active abroad," adding, "Not only K-pop and popular music, but also Korean contemporary music is gradually expanding its presence in Germany, the home of classical music."