미국 현지조사를 통해 본심상건-심태진․태임의 삶과 예술

Abstract

This paper describes the details of the field investigation in the United States on the master of Korean classical music of Chunggoje 中高制 (lit. central style), Sim Sang-gŏn 沈相健, and his daughters, Sim T'ae-jin 심태진 and Sim T'ae-im 심태임, conducted from October to November 2018. It is no exaggeration when we say that the lives of Sim Sang-geon's two daughters, T'ae-jin and T'ae-im, are a compressed projection of Korea’s turbulent modern and contemporary history, including the Japanese colonial era, the post-liberation era and the Korean War. In this field investigation in the United States, I visited the homes of Sim T'ae-im, who lives in Miami, Florida, and Sim T'ae-jin, who lives in Pensacola for interviews. And I also visited Sim Sang-gŏn's graveyard in Phoenix, Arizona before visiting, for the purpose of recording their footprints, Wilshire Ebell Theatre and MacArthur Park in Los Angeles where they performed. Sim T'ae-jin, who lives in Pensacola, Florida, USA, talked about her life, including her story when she was introduced to Korean classical music, her performances at Cho T'aeg-wŏn's 趙沢元 Dance Company, her marriage, and the settlement in the United States. In particular, she gave testimony to her father, Sim Sang-gŏn's Korean classical music acquisition process and performances, and the family history of Chunggoje Sim Chŏng-sun 沈正淳 and the history of transmission of Korean classical music. Sim T'ae-jin learned kayagŭm sanjo 伽倻琴散調 (solo music for kayagŭm), tan'ga 短歌 (short song), Zither, instrumental music, etc. from her father, and learned Buddhist dance, improvisations, etc. from Han Sŏng-jun 韓成俊, the greatest dance master of her time. In 1948, with her father, she went to the United States as a member of Cho Taeg-wŏn's Dance Company to perform. Married in 1949, she had two daughters, and she is currently having a peaceful life with her daughter and son-in-law in Pensacola, Florida, USA. Sim T'ae-jin, at the age of 99, still preserves her father, Sim Sang-gŏn's kayageum sanjo and tan'ga, and it is no exaggeration to say that she is the last guardian who keeps the tradition of Korean classical music of Chunggoje. Sim T'ae-im, the youngest daughter of Sim Sang-gŏn, lives in Miami, Florida, and knew relatively well about family history, including her father, Sim Sang-gŏn. In particular, her unusual activities as a member of a Korean classical music family, such as learning ballet just after the liberation of Korea, from Chŏng Chi-su 정지수, a dancer who studied in Japan and later went to North Korea, and the fact of performing ballet, arouse interest. A former first graduate of the Chŏng Chi-su Ballet Research Institute, she quit ballet when her teacher went to North Korea and later married a U.S. dispatch troops soldier, and followed her husband to the United States of America in 1957. In 1964, when her father's illness deepened she invited him to the United States for medical treatment, and the following year, when he died, she buried him at Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona. Kayagŭm was engraved on the tombstone to honor the artistic soul of her father who was a master of Gayageum-sanjo. Sim Sang-gŏn and his daughter Sim T'ae-jin were part of the Cho Taeg-wŏn Dance Company for two years from 1948 to 1949, performing in major cities in California, and in Hawaii, New York and Washington, etc. Especially in the case of the performance in Hawaii, the local newspaper of compatriots, the Newspaper of the People, covered the activities of Cho Taeg-wŏn's Dance Company in detail, and it can be seen that there was full support from the Korean society, such as the formation of a sponsorship association. Cho Taeg-wŏn's work, "Though old in body, not old in mind" (Sinro simbullo, 身老心不老), premiered at the American Museum of National History in New York in 1949 is considered a monumental work inspired by the changgo 杖鼓 (hourglass drum) rhythm played by Sim Sang-gŏn. Cho Taeg-wŏn's Dance Company, which was founded shortly after the liberation of Korea for the purpose of promoting Korean culture abroad, consisted of dancers and musical accompanists, and Sim Sang-gŏn and his daughter Sim T'ae-jin participated as musical accompanists and contributed to the promotion of the cultural excellence of Korean dance. Their activities are significant in that they have greatly contributed not only to the history of Korean music but also to expanding the aesthetic horizon of modern new dance. In addition, Sim Sang-gŏn and his daughter Sim T'ae-jin have left an unusual footprint in that they are the first Korean classical musicians to go abroad since the liberation of Korea.