In the Name of Love: The GIC Citizens Choir Sings

By David Shaffer ||

I’ve never been much of an athlete, but I love to watch sports. Similarly, I’ve never been much of a singer, but I love to listen to good music. I thrive more with sedentary activities. So when it was announced that the GIC Citizens Choir was performing its fifth annual concert, I jumped into action to get myself a ticket for a seat.

The day of the concert came – October 24. With my digital ticket on my phone, I set out in the 5.18 Memorial Park direction of Seo-gu to find the Gwangju Student Education and Culture Center, where the concert was being held. It was my first time to see the facility; it was magnificent, with a modern design and with the event beaming brightly from its digital signboard over the entrance.

I entered the spacious auditorium and took a seat near the front, hoping to get some good photo shots. There were already what appeared to be hundreds filling the seats. The program soon began with the emcee for the evening, choir leader Han Mi-ja, giving the welcoming address. The choir walked in dressed in black – 22 sopranos and altos in floor-length dresses and 13 tenors and basses in black suits – followed by the pianist and then the conductor.

The first piece was “Welcome to My World,” composed by Richard Rogers of the famed Rogers and Hammerstein duo, with portions sung in English and others in Korean. I thought this was a quite appropriate way to start off the concert, especially since the choir included two members from the international community – Kazunko Anastasiia and Maryam Mashhady – as well as a similar ratio of international residents comprising the audience.

The next group of songs were “crossovers,” where the choir took traditional tunes and blended them with popular genres: “Solfege Symphony” (arranged by Christi Cary Miller), “Three Operatic Highlights” (arr. Russell Robinson), and “Memory” (from Cats, arr. Ed Loieski). Parts of “Memory” were sung solo by former Chosun University music professor Park Gye. The heavenly harmonies radiating from the ensemble were truly amazing. I had heard the choir perform before but never with such a lengthy setlist, and the auditorium’s acoustics were just right.

“The goal was to dismiss the idea that classical choral music was unapproachable by ordinary people.”

Three pieces of movie music comprised the next set: “Somewhere My Love” (from Dr. Zhivago), “Sunrise, Sunset” (from Fiddler on the Roof), and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (from The Lion King). In her introduction to this set, Han Mi-ja said that “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” was her personal favorite, but it was noticeably also the favorite of much of the choir. The previously statuesque choristers perked to life as the song progressed in their own, individual ways – nothing choreographed, nothing planned, just ripples of joy stirred by the song.

As the song ended, the choir filed off the stage as one choir member returned adorning a snow-white gown to do a “special stage” solo to the accompaniment of the choir’s pianist, Jang Hyo-jung. The snow-white soprano was Shin Ji-yu, a graduate student in the Music Department at Chonnam National University. She sang two songs: “When I Bloom as a Flower” (나 하나 꽃 피어), a Korean composition originating from a poem, and “Italian Street Song,” from the operetta Naughty Marietta. For this second piece, Shin performed what can best be described as flawless vocal gymnastics – she vaulted to the ceiling to reach the highest of the high notes! I was awed.

After a short intermission, the choir members filed back on stage single file – this time, the women were resplendently attired in a rainbow of colorful dresses, the men in blue shirts and white vests. They returned to perform two main sets: three foreign melodies and three Korean melodies. The Foreign Melodies set brought together “In the Name of Music” – from which the concert’s title, In the Name of Love, appears to have been adapted – as well as “What a Wonderful World” and “You Raise me Up,” all well-known tunes and well-executed by the GIC Citizens Choir.

The three Korean Melodies in the last full set were “Song of Autumn” (가을의 노래), “Heavenly Light, Your Fragrance” (하늘 빛 너의 향기), and “The Most Beautiful Song” (가장 아름다운 노래). The lyrics to these and to all of the songs performed in the program appeared on the side monitors in both Korean and English, along with descriptive information on the tunes.

The concert’s setlist concluded with “Beautiful Country” (아름다운 나라), followed by rounds and rounds of applause and calls of “Encore,” luring back conductor Jin Seong-in to masterfully direct the choir in one final song to cap off an amazing evening of music.

I say “amazing,” and not hyperbolically. Not only are all the members of the choir residents of Gwangju, they are all members of the GIC (the Gwangju International Center), a much smaller subset of the population. And to have that many GIC members so musically inclined is truly amazing.

The 2026 GIC Citizens Choir Concert oddly led to a sense of pride welling up in me as I left the premises – pride in being a member of the Gwangju community, pride in being a member of the GIC community, and pride in knowing some of the members of the choir. (I have known both Dr. Shin Gyonggu, executive director of the GIC, and Prof. Park Gye for many years – long before they became members of the Citizens Choir.)

The choir was originally formed in 2014. In the beginning, it operated as a project primarily involving local vocal music students along with members of the Gwangju Performance Project, a local expat performing arts group. In 2018, the GIC shifted the choir’s direction to actively invite local and international residents without formal backgrounds in music. The goal was to dismiss the idea that classical choral music was unapproachable by ordinary people and to promote cultural exchange through a shared love of singing.

The GIC Citizens Choir is also known for its performances at the annual May Concert. This event and others performances raise funds for marginalized groups in the Gwangju area and at times for international groups in dire need.

The GIC Citizens Choir’s goals are noble, its works are impactful, and its music is sublime. I will be back in 2027.

Interested in joining the choir? Contact the GIC External Relations Team: 010-4397-0911

(Photographs by the author)

Cover Photo: The GIC Citizens Choir performing during the first segment of their annual concert.