Hong Nan-pa

Hong Nan-pa (April 10, 1898 – August 30, 1941) was a Korean composer, violinist, conductor, music critic and educator. He is best known as the composer of "Bongseonhwa" (, literally "garden balsam") written in 1919. It is generally considered as the first true Korean original song composed in Western style. It was widely sung during the period. Hong also contributed to developing Korean culture during the period with his diverse cultural activities.

Biography Hong Nan-pa was born at Hwalcho Village of Namyang Township in present Hwangseong County, Gyeonggi. He was the second son to his father, Hong Sun of the native Namyang Hong clan and his mother from Jeonju Yi clan of Jeolla. He had one brother and two sisters. Nan-pa was his ho, or art name, but his given name was Yeong-hu. His family moved to Seoul when he was still a young child. As he lived near the Ewha Haktang located in the neighborhood of Jeong-dong, he attended Jeongdong Methodist Church and got access to hymn, a Western music.

He learned basic Confucian studies at a local seodang (a kind of elementary school) and entered a middle school in 1910 which was affiliated with the Hwangseong Young Men's Christian Association (, Korean YMCA). Since then, he had a violin and received music lessons. At the age of fifteen, Hong was admitted to the Western music department of Korean Court Music Study Institute ( Joseon Jeongak Jeonseupso) that was the only music school in Korea at that time. He studied vocal music and violin from Kim In-sik . After the graduation, he was hired as an assistant teacher at the school.

In 1918, he went to Japan to enter Tokyo Music School in Ueno but returned to Korea to participate in the March First Movement as temporarily absent from the school. One year after the movement, he went back to Japan. However, Hong was rejected to continue his study at the school because of his involvement in the independent movement, so that he came back to Korea in despair. During his stay in Japan, he published the first Korean music magazine titled "Samgwang" (, literally "Three Light"). After his return, he worked as a news reporter for Maeil Sinbunsa, and even attended Severance Medical School which became later the medical department of Yonsei University.

In April 1920, Hong included the score of Aesu (, literally "sorrow"), a violin piece on the end pages of his short novel "Cheonyeohon" (lit. "a maiden's soul). He asked Kim Hyeong-jun for lyrics for the tune, which became "Bongseonhwa" . In 1922, Hong made efforts to promote music while he participated in Yeongakhoe (, Music Research Society) established by Gyeongsang Akuhoe (, Gyeongsang Music Friend Society)'s lead. In 1925, he had the first solo violin recital as a Korean and published Eumakgye (, Music World), the first music magazine published in Korea. In 1926, as Hong entered Kunitachi College of Music as a transfer student, he was accepted to play first violin at the New Symphony Orchestra (, now the NHK Symphony Orchestra). After graduation in 1929, he returned to Korea and published the first volume of Collection of 100 Korean Children's Songs through Yeongakhoe. Hong also published Eumakmanpil (/, Music Essays) in Changjo in 1938.

Popular culture Hong Nan-pa was portrayed by Lee Ji-hoon in the 2018 SBS TV series The Hymn of Death.