Read Aloud Lyrics is an ongoing series of concerts conceived by Sung Hwan Kim in musical collaboration with David Michael DiGregorio. The lyrics, as sung, are often received or perceived differently as they fall on different ears, play in different times or places, or make their way through different systems of propaganda or education. For example, the song “나는 공산당이 싫어요 Na-neun gong-san-dang-i silh-eo-yo,” based on the propaganda slogan taught in South Korea during the Cold War, translates as, “I hate the communists.” Even though the meaning in Korean may be translated, the political gravity that the slogan used to carry in one place at one time dissipates as the listeners only hear a balladic melody merged with foreign words. Some texts were taken from historical accounts that surfaced in the multi-part work, A Record of Drifting Across the Sea. For each concert, a multilingual lyrics sheet with explanations is distributed, and then audience members are invited to read aloud the explanations before the song is sung.

[Written: May 24, 2026]

Handout for Read Aloud Lyrics iii, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, 2025

Chung, Hayoung, "Queer Bird faces," interview, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, 2025