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There's a choir in Spain that sings Korean folk songs, while wearing Hanbok.
All members are local, except for the conductor.
They visited South Korea for a special concert tour.
Song Yoo-jin gets us better acquainted with Grupo Vocal Millennium
Promoting Korea by singing in Korean.
That's what the Grupo Vocal Millennium, or the Spain Millennium Choir, has been doing for the past 23 years.

It's the only foreign professional choir in the world that performs Korean folk songs, such as "Arirang", while wearing the Korean traditional Hanbok.
They're currently on tour here in South Korea.
And I got the chance to meet them in-person at one of their concerts in Seoul.
Maestro Lim Jae-sik was the one who started this journey.

"I joined a choir in Madrid in 1985, and one of my colleagues asked me to recommend a song she could sing.

I suggested my mother's favorite Korean song to her and she was amazing at it.
As I always wanted to promote Korean songs to the world, this made me think that I could do that by teaching professional vocalists to sing Korean songs."

After 15 years of effort, Lim finally launched the choir in 1999. 

It's now made up of 25 professional vocalists selected from the RTVE Choir, one of the most prestigious choirs in Spain.
Although based thousands of kilometers away, Grupo Vocal Millennium regularly performs in South Korea and has done so since 2001.
There's a special reason behind this.

"Sadly, Korean folk songs are being forgotten and neglected in their home country.
They cannot exist without the continuous interest and support from Koreans.
Through our performance, I want Koreans to realize how beautiful their songs are and cherish them going forward."

The choir also has been serving as a bridge linking South Korea and Spain.

"Whenever I perform in Korea, I'm so grateful because I can feel that the Korean audience are emotionally connecting with us.

It's like our two countries are exchanging each other's feelings."

Grupo Vocal Millennium's tour this year will take them across the country until August 24th.
Those interested can find more information on the choir's official website.
Song Yoo-jin, Arirang News.

           두물머리 사랑 (임준희 작곡, 탁계석 대본. 임재식 지휘 )2022. 8월 22일 세종대 대양홀