Hyunmin ‘Michael’ Kang is a musical composer, producer, and singer-songwriter based in Busan, South Korea. Leaving behind his Ph.D. program in political science, he has been in the music industry for four years and has written music for more than 20 musicals and theatrical performances. Hyunmin has worked to bring local communities in Korea and Japan together through music and raise public awareness about South Korea’s democratization movement. He has produced for HUE, South Korea's very first crossover duet, and has traveled throughout Japan and Korea to hold music performances that promote the value of Korea-Japan friendship. Hyunmin has also been active in raising public awareness about democracy through music by writing songs for “Buma: The Forgotten Name” and creating the orchestral rearrangement of “March for the Beloved” for the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising. He continues to work closely with theatres and artists to make a musical exposé of various social issues in South Korea such as gaslighting, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and Korean expatriates separated through war and history.

2023 IVLP Impact Award Project: Korea-Japan Song of Friendship (Continued)

The Korea-Japan Song of Friendship created new music and established new relationships among artists in Korea and Japan. The project used music as a bridge that connected people from Korea and Japan and created opportunities to share what is in their hearts about building a solid Korea-Japan community. A total of 70 people attended a weeknight performance in a jazz club in Fukuoka, Japan in early November 2023. A concert held at the Mahoroba Hall, in Dazaifu, Japan later that month was attended by 200 people.

Hyunmin also participated in the IVLP Impact Awards Alumni Discussion Series panel on “Sustainable Community Impact,” which you can read more about here.

2023 KOREA-JAPAN SONG OF FRIENDSHIP

KOREA-JAPAN FRIENDSHIP MEDLY

"This project has been very meaningful: bringing musicians and artists from Korea and Japan [together]. " - Project Participant

2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Korea-Japan Song of Friendship

The project focused on bringing artists from Korea and Japan to engage in a mutual process of writing a song of friendship as a symbol of going beyond political barriers to engage in constructive Track II diplomacy and to achieve mutual understanding about various issues surrounding Korea-Japan relations. 

The song is posted on two YouTube channels (both linked below), one of which has more than 30,000 subscribers, mostly from South Korea and Japan, to promote the values of friendship and non-political engagement between the two countries. 

2022 KOREA-JAPAN SONG OF FRIENDSHIP (KOREAN VERSION)

2022 KOREA-JAPAN SONG OF FRIENDSHIP (JAPANESE VERSION)

"During our [2022] engagement process, we were able to smoothly transition into talking about some sensitive issues regarding Korea-Japan relations as we discussed the lyrics and the underlying message they had to carry. It has led us to talk about our respective history in Korea and Japan, and how lack of engagement might have caused us to believe in certain misunderstandings that we had toward each other." - Hyunmin Kang

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Hyunmin participated in the IVLP Projects A Global Moment in Time - Peace and Justice in 2021 and 2023, both organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education. In 2021, they partnered with Global Ties Alabama, Global Ties Sacramento, Global Ties Akron, Cleveland Council on World Affairs, and International House. In 2023, they partnered with WorldOregon and Global Ties Miami. 

Hyunmin's exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "At an IVLP virtual session, I was amazed at how some American artists engaged with people from other disciplines to create unexpected but meaningful results, and that inspired me to make full use of my former career as a political scholar, even if I am working in a completely different field today."

"The IVLP Impact Awards also have given me the greatest 'excuse' to contact numerous individuals, agencies, and institutions to support my cause." - Hyunmin Kang

U.S. Communities Visited in 2023

Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Portland, OR

U.S. Communities Visited in 2021

Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Washington DC; Atlanta, GA; Louisville, KY; Boston, MA; Detroit, MI; Minneapolis, MN; New York City, NY; Tulsa, OK; Philadelphia, PA

"The IVLP experience has brought me new ideas and broader views about how I could use my skills as a former political scholar and a current composer." - Hyunmin Kang

Country: South Korea

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