MBC Gala Project‚ "Good Day, Miss Camellia!"
To celebrate the 130th anniversary of the German-Korean relations and the 50th anniversary of the recruitment agreement for miners and nurses, a gala project took place on October 26th at the Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt.
The gala provided an opportunity to connect with Koreans living in Germany. The show that included performances of Lee Mija, Cho Youngnam, and 2PM was dedicated to the miners and nurses who were sent to Germany during the 60s to give Germans new hope.
The song ‘Miss Camellia’ that had been released in 1964 was of great comfort for the guest workers from overseas and was very popular at the time. The ensemble ‘Arirang’ beautifully accompanied the whole concert with their string and wind instruments.
Lee Mija herself was really honored and touched to be asked to perform in Germany again after her successful concert in 2002. She hand-picked the artists that were to perform with her for this concert that aim to raise money for treatment expenses and also donated to good causes.
“This concert is something I have wanted to do for a long time," Lee Mija said. “If I was asked to name the most meaningful moment in my life as a singer, it would be the concert celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Sejong Center, a concert to show support for the soldiers who were sent to Vietnam, and the upcoming concert prolongs this moment. It is an opportunity to fulfill my long-time wish in a meaningful way,” she continued and showed her big heart through her words.
Next year will be Lee Mija’s 55th anniversary as a singer and she didn’t just present us with her songs, but spent her time first and foremost by helping other people.
About Cho Youngnam and 2PM she said the following: “Cho Youngnam is an excellent singer, and since we can’t just represent our generation, I looked at several K-Pop singers. I did not want a group who looked like hippies or had songs that were too difficult to understand, so 2PM is just the group I had been searching for.”
When Cho Youngnam was asked about his feelings about partaking in this concert, he said, “It definitely shows my luck with women. In the world of singers and songtresses, I am the only one who may refer to Lee Mija as a ’big sister.' This makes me very proud.”
2PM’s Taecyeon expressed his feelings aboit the concert, “It’s a great honour to share a stage with the seniors. As an idol group who represents K-Pop, we’ll give our best.”
Apart from this, we had a chance to interview some of the nurses who came to Germany in the 60s. They were guests of honour at this gala, of course, and we were curious about their lives.
German is not an easy language, but they learned it in six months despite the difficulties, and they supported each other while living together in the dorms. But why did they come to Germany in the first place?
In response to this, the ladies who wore beautiful traditional hanboks, explained that it was because of an advertisement in a newspaper. The ad only referred to a three year contract, but the nurses stayed, brought their families along and are now able to call Germany their second home where they found new friendships and a new life.
Friendship is the theme of the event, because there were a few surprises during the gala. One very heart-warming moment was when a lady spoke about her old friend, Hildegard, in the video. Hildegard, who was present during the gala, was asked to come on stage when her old best friend from the video entered the stage as well. The two shed tears of joy, and as a special gift Hildegard was given a photograph of herself and her friend and a beautiful shawl.
The 2500 tickets for the gala were sold out in a matter of three hours. The whole gala was filmed and will be broadcasted before the 1st December (MBC’s Founding Day).
Lee Mija asked the audience present during the gala and the audience at home: “Please watch closely and judge this performance honestly. Don’t just say it was good. Just say it, if it really was, because I consider this concert the last great joy in my life as a singer.”
CREDITS: KIRIKIRIMAI15@KPOPMAGAZIN.DE (SOURCE) ; @Chan_to_the_Ho (GERMAN > ENG TRANS) ; sashssi@2ONEDAY.COM (EDITOR)
No comments:
Post a Comment