Festival for Korean New Music (FKNM)

Changjak-Eumak — Korean Contemporary Music

Changjak-Eumak (창작음악, "composed music") is the Korean collective term for contemporary composition that uses traditional Korean instruments. On instruments such as Gayageum (twelve-stringed zither), Geomungo (six-stringed zither), Daegeum (transverse flute), Piri (double-reed instrument), or Janggu (hourglass drum), Korean composers today write works that oscillate between traditional sound aesthetics and contemporary avant-garde. FKNM makes this scene accessible to a Berlin audience.

A Festival Between Korea and Berlin

The festival was initiated by the Korean Cultural Centre Germany to connect Berlin's growing Korean diaspora with South Korea's contemporary music life. Berlin hosts one of Europe's largest Korean communities — many students at the University of the Arts (UdK) and the Hanns Eisler School of Music come from Korea, and several Berlin ensembles regularly collaborate with Korean musicians. FKNM serves as this bridge.

Programme Structure

• Concerts with established Korean ensembles such as ensemble nunc, K'ART, Ensemble PAN, or NMK
• Performances by Berlin ensembles interpreting Korean composers
• World premieres: FKNM regularly commissions new works
• Encounters between Korean and Western composers, concert talks
• Workshops on traditional instruments

The Concert Venues

In recent years, FKNM has been held at two main locations: the Konzerthaus Berlin on Gendarmenmarkt — one of Germany's most acoustically impressive halls — and the Korean Cultural Centre at Leipziger Platz, a more modern, intimate space directly at Potsdamer Platz. The dual location allows for different concert formats: large chamber and orchestral concerts at the Konzerthaus, smaller solo and duo programmes at the Cultural Centre.

Mitte and Berlin's Korean Pavilion

The Korean Cultural Centre at Leipziger Platz 3 is one of Berlin's most modern diaspora institutions. It acts as a mediator between Korean and German culture — from language courses and film nights to major concert series like FKNM or the K-Music Festival. The annual Hangeul Festival and regular lectures on Korean studies are also part of its offerings.