▲ Kim Ji-yeon, Professor of Daejeon University Hyehwa Liberal Arts College / Director of Art Educational Research Center

The age of the 4th Industrial Revolution requires manpower with creativity and humanity. And Kim Ji-yeon, Professor of Daejeon University Hyehwa Liberal Arts College and Director of Arts Educational Research Center, asserts that these ‘creativity and humanity’ can be gained through ‘art education’. There are many forms of art but Kim focuses on music. The collage and the center provide unsparing support for the activities of the in-house music groups and clubs from regular concerts to voluntary performances. Established in 2015, the Hyehwa Coir, in particular, has been leading the activities and has engaged in more than 30 concerts and contests big or small. Its engagement is further backed up by the Hyehwa Chamber Orchestra, set sail March this year, and they are busy preparing to join various projects organized by the Daejoen Culture and Arts Foundation, Daejeon City, Deajeon Metropolitan Office of Education and the Ministry of Education. They are also planning to hold an art education camp for students during the vacations and pushing forward running an art academy in cooperation with public organizations in the city. As a scholar, Kim’s research ability was well proved that she once pursued fascinating studies on systematization of El Sistema (a music education program in Venezuela founded by Abreu, Jose Antonio in 1975) and on systematization of student orchestra projects. “Choir is a very creative art in terms of the fact that each different sound of persons gather together to make a single harmonized sound. And this requires listening to others, understanding their voices and ability to make harmony through compromise and cooperation” explains Kim. In other words, choir is about ‘we’ over ‘me’. It might sounds irrelevant but choir activities can significantly increase artistic sensibility and cooperative personality which is required in the coming age of the 4th Industrial Revolution. 

<Power Korea> ‘rewrites’ Korean article in ‘plain English’ with ‘key points’ 
Jon Kim powerkorea_j@naver.com