In this work, Nam June Paik notated part of the Korean song I shall live at Geumgang, composed by Hong Nan-pa. The word ‘prelude’ added on the lower-left corner seems to indicate that the notated part is the first two bars of the song. The song’s lyrics are traditional Korean three-stanza poems written by the poet Lee Eun-sang, Lee wrote the poem, expressing his wish to live in the picturesque scenery, away from the world, when he went to Mt. Geumgang in 1930,. From his earlier days, Paik paid much attention to the Korean sentiment embodied in traditional literature, and composed music based on literary works by Kim Sowol and Cho Byeok-am. One of the scenes in Paik’s video work Tiger Lives (1999) shows the artist himself singing I shall live at Geumgang.
