Hi everyone, it's Yukimi. Thank you for tuning
in today. If you are new here, welcome. I'm the
creative mind behind the YouTube and podcast
show, The Piano Pod. It's a space where I sit
down with fellow pianists, educators, composers,
and other artists to talk about where classical
music is heading. Over the past six seasons,
The Piano Pod has grown into a real community.
artists, educators, students, and music lovers
who show up for thoughtful, honest conversations
about our field. It has truly become one of the
most meaningful parts of my life, and if you
haven't listened to any past episodes yet, you
can visit thepianopod .com to start exploring,
whether you want deep conversations, artist stories,
or a fresh way of looking at classical music
today. For my longtime Pianapod listeners, I'm
excited about today and honestly a little nervous
to share something new and very personal. Alongside
everything I already do as a pianist, educator,
producer, and writer, I'm stepping into something
that feels like the most natural next chapter
for me. I'm starting a long -term creative project
called the Zainichi Music Project, and I am thrilled
to share that it has been approved and sponsored
by the New York Foundation for the Arts, an organization
that truly champions artists like me. It's a
huge step, even though it's just the beginning,
and it feels like the exact green light I needed
to finally move into a journey I have been circling
for decades. This episode also marks the launch
of my new Substack podcast, Zainichi Music Project
with Yukimi Song. Since this is the very first
episode, there is no intro music, no theme, nothing.
Nothing fancy. It's just me speaking to you as
a friend. And honestly, that feels right. Starting
simple feels true to where this project begins.
Before I go further, I want to share something
I rarely talked about publicly, a part of my
identity that shaped everything, even when I
wasn't speaking about it. I am a third -generation
Zainichi Korean. My community, generations of
Zainichi Koreans, didn't end up in Japan through
immigration. We were brought into Japan's orbit
through its imperial rule over Korea. Under colonial
law, Koreans were labeled as imperial subjects.
It wasn't full citizenship, but it also wasn't
immigration. It was the reality of being part
of a colonized population with no real choice
in the matter. Here's the part that's important
to understand. After World War II, everything
changed abruptly. Japan rebuilt itself as a homogenous
nation. And in that process, the limited legal
status Koreans held under colonial rule disappeared.
By the time the San Francisco Peace Treaty took
effect in the early 1950s, right in the middle
of Korean War and the division of the peninsula,
Zainichi Koreans were left with no recognized
citizenship at all. Overnight, we became effectively
stateless. Starting from my parents' generation,
We were born and raised in Japan, yet we grew
up inside a fragile legal and social framework,
shaped by forces far beyond our control or understanding.
This is what makes the Dainichi story unique.
We didn't arrive in Japan by migration or choice,
yet we were never fully included in the society
we were born into. We weren't treated as immigrants,
and we weren't recognized as citizens. Not by
Japan and not automatically by either Korean
state. We lived in an identity gap created by
history. So for generations, Zainichi Koreans
have lived entirely in Japan, but always in an
in -between space shaped by history, politics,
and silence. Present, but unseen. Living our
whole lives there, yet never fully anchored.
or recognized. That is what makes our story so
distinct. This is the heart of why this project
matters to me. If you want to hear more about
my story, the statelessness, the two names all
Zainichis were given at birth, all of it, I've
written about it in my Substack essay, Behind
the Mic, Reclaiming Voice Through Sound. You
can find the link in the show notes. So all of
that brings me to this moment. The Zainichi Music
Project will grow over the next few years as
a living archive. I will be researching, commissioning
new piano works to Zainichi Korean composers,
recording performances, interviewing scholars,
descendants, and artists, creating documentary
material, and eventually presenting screenings,
and public lectures. I know it's a big goal,
but I'm excited. Now my goal is to bring music,
history, and lived memory into one space. Something
honest, human, and grounded. This is a long journey
and today is just the very first step. So thank
you for listening and thank you for being here
as this new chapter begins. If you would like
to follow the project, Please follow the Zainichi
Music Project on Instagram or TikTok or both.
And if you want to support the work, read the
essays and follow the podcast version, you can
subscribe on Substack, Zainichi Music Project
with Yukimi Song. For those listening through
the PianoPod feed as a bonus episode, please
continue following our regular bi -weekly show.
And if you can, I'd be so grateful if you could
also support this new initiative by subscribing
to the Zainichi Music Project podcast and Instagram
and TikTok accounts. More soon, and thank you
again for being here. Happy Thanksgiving!