
Songs of Love 하와이 연가
SYNOPSIS

A musical documentary that takes you on a journey of untold stories of sacrifice, love, and unbreakable bonds of the first Korean immigrants in Hawaii.
With the pandemic heightening ethnic tensions in the world, the film also highlights the diverse immigrant waves that arrived in Hawaii. Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish, Filipino, and other nationalities arrived during the plantation era and represents the colorful cultural landscape of the "Aloha State" today.
1903년 1월 13일은 한국인 102명이 최초로 하와이 땅을 밟은 날로, 한국인의 미주 이민역사가 시작된 날이기도 하다. 그로부터 120여년이 흐른 지금, 102명이던 한국인은 7만여 명이 되어 하와이 각자의 자리에서 소임을 다하며 새 역사를 만들어가고 있다.
하와이 심포니 오케스트라의 한인계 악장, '이기 장(Ignace "Iggy" Jang)'이 아름다운 하와이 풍광 속 한인 이민 선조들의 사랑의 흔적을 찾아 떠난다.
In the first episode of Songs of Love, world-renowned Hawaii Symphony Concertmaster Ignace “Iggy” Jang accompanied by his wife, pianist Christine Suehisa-Jang begin the musical journey at a historical site on Oahu’s North Shore where many of the first wave of Korean immigrants and other immigrant groups are laid to rest as they arrived for new opportunity at the neighboring Waialua Sugar Plantation in 1903.
Three musical stories at each location of cultural relevance including the Pu’uiki Cemetery, Hawaii State Capitol, and aboard the Korean Naval Ship, Marado, represent hope, growth, and peace. With each location transition, Iggy’s violin performances of historically relevant Korean music are interwoven with historical archived photos helping us remember these early pioneers to Hawaii and the life they paved for their descendents. The sacrifices they made, the struggles they faced, all for the love of their children, grandchildren, and the future generation of Korea.
Upcoming Screening ㅣ 상영 일정
- 한국문화원, 로스앤젤레스, 2023년 9월 22일 저녁 7시
- 워싱턴 DC, 2023년 10월 27-29일, 장소 추후 공지
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Jinyoung Lee Won
Director, Writer
Graduated from Ewha Women’s University, Dept of Journalism and Visual Art. After moving to Hawaii in 2003, Won worked with various media companies and has published several Hawaii travel books.
In 2017, Won established Now Production, a comprehensive content production company to produce various video content. Her first film directorial work ‘Words of Wisdom from the Rainbow State’ was officially invited to 10 international film festivals, including the 41st Hawaii International Film Festival and she won ‘First Filmmaker Award’ from the Liberty International Film Festival and the Tagore International Film Festival. Won is also a recipient of the East-West Literary Award & the Excellence Award at the Overseas Korean Literature Award.

Michelle Goodin
Producer
Born to a Korean mother and 4th-generation Japanese father, Goodin was born and raised in Hawaii and earned a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
For the past 20 years, as a global luxury fashion group buyer and in merchandising sales, Goodin was in charge of marketing and sales in the Americas catering to Asian and American demographics. Goodin managed multiple aspects of production and is responsible for funds procurement, global marketing and content distribution by utilizing the Hawaii network accumulated over a long period.

Pawel Nuckowski
Director of Photography
Born in Poland and now living in Honolulu, Pawel worked and lived around the world while making documentaries and TV series for over 20 years. One of the most memorable documentaries he worked on was about Polish-Scottish immigrant history. The 20 episodes made with the Polish-Scottish immigrants was funded by the Polish government and the Irish Multi Cultural Center in 2012. It was aired in Polish and Irish public television. Pawel is currently producing a weekly TV series for KHON TV in Hawaii while working on various projects including Songs of Love. Pawel contributed in producing of Songs of Love and WWRS by sharing his ideas as a filmmaker who formerly produced immigrant history series, and by being a director of photography with great insight.

Ignace "Iggy" Jang
Violinist
Violinist Ignace “Iggy” Jang who performed in Songs of Love serves as concertmaster of the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra. His performances have received praise in the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia for its excellent sense of style, impressive musicianship, and uniquely beautiful timbre. Born to Korean parents in Grenoble, France, Jang began violin studies at the age of five. A graduate of the Paris Conservatory, he earned an Artist Diploma degree from Indiana University and went on to serve as a visiting scholar. A multiple prize winner, Jang’s performing experience includes such venues as the Théatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris and the Seoul Arts Center.

Christine Suehisa-Jang
Pianist
Pianist Christine Suehisa-Jang was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Her first mentors were teachers Jeannette Chun and Ellen Masaki, who encouraged her to pursue music in college. A winner of the Honolulu Symphony Youth Talent Pool among other competitions, she remembers to this day the inspiration Vladimir Ashkenazy gave her at a masterclass.
Suehisa-Jang went on to further her studies at the renowned Juilliard School, where she received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees under the tutelage of Martin Canin, Daniel Pollack and Seymour Lipkin. She has enjoyed teaching piano for over three decades and is also in demand as a collaborator, having performed in the U.S., Japan and France.

Diana S. Kim
Researcher
Diana S. Kim is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and core faculty member of the Asian Studies Program. She is the award-winning author of Empires of Vice: The Rise of Opium Prohibition across Southeast Asia (Princeton University Press, 2020) and her scholarship is animated by concerns with how modern states develop capacity to define people at the edges of respectable society, constructing what it means to be illicit, marginal, and deviant, with regional focus on Southeast and East Asia. Diana is a Silvers Grant recipient with the New York Review of Books, and she received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and B.A. from Korea University.
Credits
Music Performed B VIOLINIST IGNACE “IGGY” JANG & PIANIST CHRISTINE SUEHISA-JANG
Directed, Written, and Produced By JINYOUNG LEE WON
Produced By JINYOUNG LEE WON, MICHELLE GOODIN
Co-Produced By DOYEON LIM
Director of Photography PAWEL NUCKOWSKI
Music Arranged By KIM JEE-HWAN
Sound Engineer PIERRE GRILL
Wardrobe and Styling Amos Kotomori
Advisory DUKHEE LEE MURABAYASHI
YEAJEE LEE