Mark Knezevic asks why people in South Korea gravitate more to classical
music than do Americans.  But allow me to point out to the gentleman from
Down Under that we Americans outscore Koreans when it comes to shopping
and watching TV, so there.  Indeed, Western classical music is embraced
by Koreans in a way the Americans do not, and I think a large part of that
is tied to child-rearing.  An awareness of music is part of middle class
culture:  if you have children, it is expected you will give them music
lessons.  Moreover, Koreans tend to do what is expected.  And I think that
music is seen as a way to achieve in a widely respected field; combine
that with a social dynamic that provides a rather heavy handed incentive
to succeed, and you have a fairly high percentage of the children of the
nation engaging in classical music performance.  Tickets to classical
concerts- at least when foreign talent is not on display- are quite
inexpensive, so cost need not deter people from attending concerts.
I think South Koreans have a greater desire to at least appear to be
sophisticated than does the proverbial man-on-the-street in the US.
And an awareness of music is an avenue toward that end.

Music also is a beneficiary of certain Korean attitudes toward child
rearing in another way.  Korean children are subject to a discipline in
a variety of forms that American children are not.  And what better way
to instill a disciplined work ethic in children than to expect that they
hone their skills on a musical instrument? So this process creates a
considerable base of musically aware people.  Even though Mimi Euzst might
claim that piano teachers get paid for "showing up", they often do have a
long-term affect on the lives of their young students.

Finally- and I'm basing this on an acquaintance with the Korean expatriate
community- many Koreans who don't really care about the music still buy
tickets.  I've noticed the following in Washington D.C., which has a goodly
number of "twinkies", "fresh-off-the-boats" and Koreans at various stages
in between.  Concerts at which Koreans predominate in the audience (e.g.
those sponsored by the Korean Concert Society) are attended by people who
do so because of some form of social pressure or social engineering.  So
they tend to attend concerts with a "Korean" angle:  Korean performers,
or Korean sponsorship.  But that leads to an audience is likely to fidget
during a performance more than classical music audiences in general.  My
take on that is many attend because "you are supposed to" or they want to
be seen, not because of any great devotion to the music itself.

I hope I have not said anything to upset any Korean members of this list.
Koreans' participation in classical music is a marvel, and has produced
more than its share of outstanding performers.  I hope it continues, for
I find both hope and a sad irony in the following:  the future of Western
classical music lies in the East.

Larry Sherwood
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