GANG Donghoon

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GANG Donghoon

Participating Project	International Creator Residency Program (Individual Projects)
Activity Base	Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2026.1 - 2026.3

Purpose of the residency

Japan’s proactive adoption of Western culture through the Meiji Restoration transformed Western music from a tool of domestic modernization into a mechanism for colonial assimilation. This research focuses on Isawa Shūji, a U.S.-trained educator who established Tokyo’s first music school and implemented sound-based assimilation policies in Taiwan. The study specifically examines his Shōka (school song) textbooks—a strategic musical compromise between West and East—and analyzes how these were adapted within the colonial-era Korean Empire. By tracing these historical transformations, this research seeks to uncover the enduring impact of colonial soundscapes on contemporary East Asian music education and cultural identity.

Plan during the residency

・A Historical Study of Isawa Shuji and the Implementation of Shōka in Colonial Taiwan’s Music Education System
・A musicological analysis of Shōka based on Primary School Songbooks(小学唱歌集)
・An investigation into a new musicological formation of Shōka produced through Isawa Shūji’s strategic compromise between Western and Eastern musical systems(和洋折衷)
・Tracing the historical trajectory of JOAK, Japan’s first radio broadcasting station, and JODK, the colonial-era station established during Japanese rule in Korea
・Organizing the research and developing the practical components and musical scores for the work

Creator Information