Country of Origin : Seoul, Korea

国籍：韩国首尔

Occupation : Opera singer, vocal trainer, music and Korean language teacher

职业：歌剧演员、声乐培训师、音乐老师、韩语老师

Years in China : 17

在华居住时间：17 年

How did your China journey begin?

你的中国之旅是怎样开始的？

My first time in China was 18 years ago. I visited Xiamen as a tourist with my mum, my aunt and her daughters. Not many tourists came here at the time, and everything was rather cheap. We had booked 3 rooms in Mandarin Hotel but they gave us an upgrade to stay at whole Vila. Yes, we got a 5 stars vila all to ourselves! That was so beautiful, like a wonderland. An unforgettable first impression.

我第一次来中国是在 18 年前。我和妈妈、姨妈和她的女儿来厦门旅游。当时来这里的游客不多，而且东西都相当便宜。我们在悦华酒店订了 3 个房间，但他们给我们升级到别墅房。没错，我们住进了一套五星级别墅！那里美得就像一个仙境。厦门给我留下了难忘的第一印象。

Before coming here, I did my Master’s degree in Korea and I spent 3 years in Bergamo, Italy, where I got a vocalist degree. I had heard that Xiamen was a musical city, with Gulangyu, the piano island… Many even call it “the Venice of China”! And completing my studies in Italy, I came here and I wandered along Huangdao Road, which reminded me of the very beautiful coastal highway that goes from Italy to France. Then, I visited Xiamen University with its beautiful campus with the help of my tour guide… I fell in love with this place.

来厦门之前，我在韩国获得了硕士学位，然后在意大利的贝加莫待了 3 年，在那里我得到了一个声乐学位。我听说厦门是一个音乐之城，有号称“钢琴岛”的鼓浪屿……很多人甚至称它为“中国的威尼斯”！在意大利完成学业后，我来到厦门，沿着环岛路闲逛，我想起了连接意大利到法国的那条非常美丽的沿海公路。然后，导游带领我参观了美丽的厦门大学……我爱上了这个地方。

Another reason why I chose to live in China was to stay closer to Korea. I chose not to settle in Italy, because my grandma on my mother’s side was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I had concerts programmed in Italy, like Puccini’s Madama Butterfly where I would sing as a soloist, but my grandma was everything to me. She raised me because my mum, a busy hotelier, did not have enough time to take care of me when I was a child. So, I chose Xiamen wholeheartedly, to be closer to Korea and to visit my grandma often.

我选择住在中国的另一个原因是离韩国更近。因为我的外婆被诊断出患有阿尔兹海默症，所以我才不打算在意大利定居。我原本打算在意大利开音乐会，独唱普契尼的《蝴蝶夫人》，但外婆是我的一切。小时候，我妈妈忙着经营酒店，没有时间照顾我，是外婆一手把我带大。所以，我一心一意想要留在厦门，因为这里离韩国更近，可以经常回国看望我的外婆。

What fascinates you about China or Xiamen?

中国/厦门有哪些方面吸引你？

China is my second hometown, soon I will have lived here for longer than I have in Korea!

中国是我的第二故乡，再过几年，我住在中国的时间就比住在韩国的时间还长了！

I love Xiamen seaside, so I am always happy to enjoy the sea and the sun. I also love flowers and green trees that you can find here all year long. Xiamen is just a paradise. I work hard here, I have many things to do, but I am still happy, I feel like I am on holiday. And both people and the weather are so warm. There is a big international family here, and I am a member of it. On Huangdao Road I see the tourists drinking from coconuts, eating tropical fruits like mango and pineapple… It is lovely, this is my wonderland, I feel like a baby girl here.

我喜欢厦门的海边，喜欢蔚蓝的大海和温暖的阳光。我还喜欢这里一年四季花团锦簇，绿树环绕。厦门就是一个天堂。我在这里要努力工作，有很多事情要忙，但我依然很高兴，因为在这里生活就像度假一样，我能感受到这里的人们和天气一样温暖。我是厦门国际大家庭的一员。在环岛路上，我看到游客们喝着椰汁，吃着芒果、菠萝等热带水果……这很可爱，这里是我的仙境，我觉得自己在这里像个小女孩。

Something I love about this place are the opportunities I have to be on stage here. Although classic opera stage performance is very limited, I cooperate with jazz bands and have plenty of other chances to perform. As a vocal trainer, I teach not only classical songs but also jazz and other styles. I used to love rock and heavy metal! But now I have come back to classic again, and I am learning tango songs in Spanish, I love them! I try my best at tango dancing as well!

我喜欢厦门的原因是我有机会在这里登台表演。虽然表演经典歌剧的机会非常有限，但我与爵士乐队合作，有很多其他的表演机会。作为一名声乐培训师，我不仅教古典歌曲，也教爵士乐和其他风格的歌曲。我曾经非常喜欢摇滚和重金属！但现在我又回归古典音乐，我正在学习西班牙探戈歌曲，我非常喜欢这些曲子！我也很努力地学跳探戈！

Another great opportunity China has given me is teaching. I started teaching music to mostly Korean and foreign children, because Chinese music theory is different. I can play the piano, the recorder and the harmonica, and sing at the same time, that’s why I could start teaching foreign young learners.

我在中国的另一份主业是音乐老师。因为中国的音乐理论不同，所以我的学生大部分是韩国和其他国家的孩子。我会弹钢琴、吹竖笛和口琴，还可以唱歌，这就是我可以教外国孩子的原因。

Did you know an extended way to write music in China is numbered musical notation also known as “jianpu” (简谱 or simple sheet music)? Numbers, lines and dots are used to write down the notes and beats, and children learn music with different instruments like the “hulusi” (葫芦丝, curcubit or gourd flute, a reed-free wind instrument made out of pumpkin).

在中国，有一种用数字代表音符的乐谱，被称为“简谱”。数字、线条和圆点代表音符和节拍，孩子们学习各种不同的乐器，比如葫芦丝，这是一种用南瓜制成的簧管耦合震动类乐器。

What is your unique China story?

你在中国有什么特别的故事？

I was a part-time member of the choir which performed Turandot in the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, staged by maestro director Zhang Yimou!

我曾在北京奥林匹克体育场表演歌剧《图兰朵》，由大师级导演张艺谋执导！

I can speak Italian, English and Korean, so when I moved to China, I thought to myself that if I also learned Chinese then I could do everything! Therefore, I decided to study Chinese in Xiamen University. After learning Chinese, I started to have plenty of opportunities to perform in Chinese! I joined the Minnan singing competition and got 3rd place!

我会说意大利语、英语和韩语，刚来中国时，我想，如果我学会了中文，那么未来就有更多的可能了！所以，我决定在厦门大学学习中文。学完中文后，我得到了很多用中文表演的机会！我参加了闽南语歌唱比赛，获得了第三名！

Last year, I was invited to perform in the Chinese New Year Concert on Xiamen TV on which I performed the “Beautiful Xiamen” song. I was very touched and moved to have this privilege. For that occasion, I learned some classic songs in Chinese, I learned them all by heart! This was an extremely special occasion to me. I will cherish this memory for the rest of my life.

去年，我应邀参加了厦门卫视的春节音乐会，演唱了《美丽的厦门》。有幸获得这次宝贵的机会，我非常感动。为了这次演出，我学会了一些经典的中文歌，将它们熟记于心！这对我来说是一个非常特别的时刻。我将永远珍藏这一段记忆。

What I feel is unique for me here is that I never stop working! I have been doing my best from the beginning. When I got here, I first worked in a Korean school 1 day per week and then was teaching Korean and music part time. One day, a friend introduced me to a good contact who works on TV and I got to perform at very important concerts, like the Chinese new year concert I mentioned before. Furthermore, I met some friends in the culture department and we started arranging small Opera performances for government events, then I started teaching Korean children at the Korean weekend music school of the Embassy.

我在中国的独特经历就是，我从来没有停止工作！我从一开始就一直在努力工作。刚来这里时，我先是在一所韩语学校工作，每周上一天班，兼职教韩语和音乐。有一天，朋友给我介绍了一个电视台工作的人，让我有机会在非常重要的音乐会上表演，比如我之前提到的春节音乐会。此外，我认识了一些文化部门的朋友，我们开始为政府活动安排小型歌剧表演，周末去大使馆教韩国孩子音乐。

2 years ago I joined the competition Xiamen Travel Line organzied by the Xiamen Travel department, every year I am invited to the participate in it. I usually take part in plenty of video recordings like promotional videos for the school and two weeks ago, when Xiamen was in lockdown, I participated together with other friends in the Xiamen Jiayou video, it was a pleasure. I am always busy and so happy!

两年前，我参加了由厦门旅游部门组织的厦门旅游线路比赛，此后每年我都应邀参赛。我还制作了大量的视频，比如学校的宣传片。两周前，厦门封城时，我很荣幸和朋友一起参加了“厦门加油”的视频录制。我忙并快乐着！

Also, China is the place where I can make my other dream come true. This dream was to help others as much as possible. I found a way to help was to make charity concerts raise money for organizations which help the orphans and the elderly in China and my friend introduced me to an opportunity. We first arranged a charity concert together with the Guanren community and people donated money to fund different associations in Xiamen. This concert with Guanren was repeated a few times. I am so glad that every year I have the chance to contribute in this and other ways like their charity markets.

另外，我在中国还实现了另一个梦想。这个梦想就是尽一己之力帮助别人。我发现可以通过举办慈善音乐会，为帮助中国孤儿和老人的组织筹集资金，我的朋友给我提供了一个这样的机会。我们与官任小区合作举办了一场慈善音乐会，人们纷纷捐款资助厦门不同的协会。我们举办了好几场类似的音乐会。我很高兴，因为每年我都有机会以各种方式为中国的慈善事业尽自己的一份力。

From the bottom of my heart, I always dedicate every charity concert to my little sister, who passed away at a young age. She was very smart and we were very close, like friends. The devastating loss of my sister inspired me to help others. I am always grateful that my friends and family are healthy.

发自内心地说，我的每场音乐会都是献给我的妹妹，她在很小的时候就去世了。她非常聪明，我们像朋友般亲密无间。妹妹的离开激励我去帮助别人。我的朋友和家人都很健康，对此我常怀感激之心。

I am fortunate that I can work, help and share my luck with others, because some people really don’t have anything and they have not way to change their current situation. Gladly, the community here in Xiamen is very generous and, together, we make a better society. I always thank God, my friends, family and everybody for every opportunity we get to exchange culture, and share time. I am so happy to live in Xiamen.

我很幸运，因为我可以工作，可以帮助别人，可以和别人分享我的幸运，有些人真的一无所有，他们没有办法改变现状。但庆幸的是，厦门的社区慷慨解囊，为社会创造一个更美好的明天。我总是感恩上帝、朋友、家人以及每个人，让我们有机会交流彼此的文化，度过欢乐的时光。生活在厦门，我很幸福。

To hear Hana’s precious voice, visit her WeChat Channel at Hannasingwiththeart.

想聆听 Hanna 美妙的歌声，请访问她的微信视频号：Hannasingwiththeart。

作者：Hanna 翻译：潘泽彬

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