<description>&lt;p&gt;Happy Thanksgiving! In this bonus episode, I’m sharing something deeply personal — a part of my identity I’ve rarely spoken about publicly. I am a third-generation Zainichi Korean, born and raised in Japan, and I’m finally stepping into that history through a new creative initiative called &lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nyfa.org/projects/project-info/?id=YS2055"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Zainichi Music Project&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, now sponsored by the &lt;strong&gt;New York Foundation for the Arts&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This episode marks the beginning of that journey — a project that will grow into a living archive of research, new music commissions, recordings, interviews, and documentary work.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;In this episode, I talk about:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;What the word &lt;strong&gt;Zainichi&lt;/strong&gt; actually means,&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How Japanese colonial rule — not immigration — brought our community into Japan,&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How postwar restructuring and the San Francisco Peace Treaty left Zainichi Koreans stateless,&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;What it meant to be born and raised in a country that never fully recognized us as citizens,&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;And why this project is my way of honoring our history, resilience, and creative legacy.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;For those who want to go deeper, please read my Substack essay, &lt;strong&gt;“&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://thepianopod.substack.com/p/reclaiming-voice-through-sound"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Behind the Mic: Reclaiming Voice Through Sound&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;,”&lt;/strong&gt; where I share more about my experience growing up Zainichi.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thank you for listening — and for being part of The Piano Pod community. If you’d like to follow this new project, you can subscribe to &lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://zainichimusicproject.substack.com/"&gt;Substack&lt;/a&gt; and follow @zainichimusicproject on Instagram and TikTok.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;More soon, and thank you for supporting this next chapter.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

The Piano Pod - a global hub for innovation, education, and connection in classical piano music

Yukimi Song

Bonus Episode: Introducing the Zainichi Music Project

NOV 23, 20256 MIN
The Piano Pod - a global hub for innovation, education, and connection in classical piano music

Bonus Episode: Introducing the Zainichi Music Project

NOV 23, 20256 MIN

Description

<p>Happy Thanksgiving! In this bonus episode, I’m sharing something deeply personal — a part of my identity I’ve rarely spoken about publicly. I am a third-generation Zainichi Korean, born and raised in Japan, and I’m finally stepping into that history through a new creative initiative called <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nyfa.org/projects/project-info/?id=YS2055"><strong>The Zainichi Music Project</strong></a>, now sponsored by the <strong>New York Foundation for the Arts</strong>.</p><p>This episode marks the beginning of that journey — a project that will grow into a living archive of research, new music commissions, recordings, interviews, and documentary work.</p><p><strong>In this episode, I talk about:</strong></p><ul><li>What the word <strong>Zainichi</strong> actually means,</li><li>How Japanese colonial rule — not immigration — brought our community into Japan,</li><li>How postwar restructuring and the San Francisco Peace Treaty left Zainichi Koreans stateless,</li><li>What it meant to be born and raised in a country that never fully recognized us as citizens,</li><li>And why this project is my way of honoring our history, resilience, and creative legacy.</li></ul><p>For those who want to go deeper, please read my Substack essay, <strong>“</strong><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://thepianopod.substack.com/p/reclaiming-voice-through-sound"><strong>Behind the Mic: Reclaiming Voice Through Sound</strong></a><strong>,”</strong> where I share more about my experience growing up Zainichi.</p><p>Thank you for listening — and for being part of The Piano Pod community. If you’d like to follow this new project, you can subscribe to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://zainichimusicproject.substack.com/">Substack</a> and follow @zainichimusicproject on Instagram and TikTok.</p><p>More soon, and thank you for supporting this next chapter.</p>