해방기 부산미국공보원과 부산음악사회

Abstract

USAFIK OCI focused on public affairs and election promotion to the 5·10 election, but after the transfer to the U.S. Embassy USIS under the Department of State, the focus of its activities shifted to cultural and educational projects. Busan USIS is a good example of this shift. It was established as the first local branch of USAFIK OCI and achieved monumental achievements, and after becoming Busan USIS under U.S. Embassy, it was combined with Busan Musicians’ Association to embody the practice of cultural strategy. The purpose of this paper is to detail the activities of the Busan Branch of USAFIK OCI and to identify the impact of the combination of the Busan USIS under U.S. Embassy and the Busan Musicians’ Association on the growth of the Busan music society. The combination with the local performing arts organizations can be seen as a strategy designed to expand support for the activities of Korean artists and arts organizations in order to form a close working relationship with Korean. Nevertheless, the active and intensive engagement between the two sides paved the way for the professionalization of music, the recognition of music as an object of appreciation, and the establishment of concerts as an artistic context. Given that it was a win-win strategy for both sides, it is difficult to blindly criticize it in terms of cultural policy or dismiss it as mere propaganda. Based on the US Embassy’s USIS, multifaceted and continuous research is needed on the mechanisms and effects of the Americanization phenomenon in Northeast Asia.