Dimensions / 35.5×43.2cm

In this drawing, Nam June Paik notated part of the Korean song, Be in the Geumgang, by composer Nanpa Hong. The word ‘prelude’ added to the lower-left corner seems to indicate that this part is the first two bars of the song. Poet Eun-sang Lee wrote its lyrics in the form of a traditional Korean three-stanza poem when he went to Mt. Geumgang in 1930, and he sang of the picturesque scenery wishing to live there in retirement. From his earlier days Paik paid much attention to the Korean sentiment embodied in traditional literature, and actually composed pieces of music based on literary works by Sowol Kim and Byeok-am Cho. One of the scenes of Paik’s 1999 video Tiger Lives shows Paik himself singing Be in the Geumgang.