Seoul Arts Center chief Chang Han-na to appear on MBC variety show

Six months into her tenure, Chang makes her first variety show appearance on 'Radio Star' on Wednesday

Seoul Arts Center President Chang Han-na [MBC]

It is nothing short of a whirlwind start. About six months after taking office in April, Seoul Arts Center President Chang Han-na is set to appear on MBC's "Radio Star." The episode has even been titled "Janghan, Na" ("Great, Me"), a play on her name.

According to MBC, Chang will appear on the episode airing Wednesday, sharing what her new life as Seoul Arts Center president has been like. She will be joined by singer Kim Hyun-chul, baritone Ko Woo-rim and Harimu.

Chang began her three-year term on April 24, when she received her appointment letter from Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young. She is the first musician and the first woman to lead Seoul Arts Center since it opened in 1988, and the youngest president in its history.

According to a production insider, Chang will reflect on how surprised she was when the offer came out of nowhere — her performance schedule had been booked solid two to three years out. She accepted, believing she could use her accumulated experience to help the center reach a new level. In preparation for the role, she canceled appearances with four European orchestras scheduled for May and June, and stepped down as principal guest conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.

Since taking office, the word Chang has focused on most is "threshold" — as in lowering it. On Aug. 23, she staged a "silent disco" event in the Music Plaza between the Opera House and Concert Hall, where audience members danced to music through individual headphones. On Oct. 24, the center held its first "Seohwa Academy Blind Date Project" at the Calligraphy Museum, bringing together 36 single men and women born in the 1990s to paint and write together. The program, which selected 18 participants of each gender, filled its spots so quickly that a waiting list formed.

On the show, Chang said she finds herself counting down the weekends, eager to get back to work. "I want to get to the office as fast as I can," she said. "A space is completed by the people in it." She also shared her philosophy that all music has equal value and that everyone deserves access to the arts.

The episode also captures Chang handing out Seoul Arts Center merchandise to the cast one by one — a gesture she paired with a request that they keep the center in mind in their everyday lives. It marks her first foray into variety show promotion as president.

Chang also shares stories about the cello that has been her lifelong companion. The instrument dates to 1757, and she has always bought it its own airline seat rather than checking it as cargo. On one flight to Berlin, she had even buckled it in — only to be told by the captain that the cello could not remain on board for safety reasons. She ended up carrying it off the plane and waiting for the next flight. At another airport, she said, officials blocked her departure by demanding a passport for the cello, puzzled that two tickets had been purchased for only one passport holder.

Chang also recounts how she first made her name as a cello prodigy. At 11, she won the grand prix at the 5th International Rostropovich Cello Competition in Paris in 1994, marking her debut on the world stage. She had entered simply because she wanted to meet the cellist she admired most, Mstislav Rostropovich. A competition official, seeing "11" written in the age field, assumed it was a miswritten "21" and passed her application through. When the petite young girl walked onstage, jury president Rostropovich thought the cello itself was walking out alone — but the moment she played her first note, he was captivated. The two went on to form a teacher-student bond.

The episode also reveals an unlikely story behind her admission to Harvard. After she scored well on a US college entrance exam, Harvard sent her an application — but while she was away on a concert tour, her father threw it in the recycling bin, and it was only barely retrieved in time. As for choosing philosophy over music as her major, Chang said she had been performing since childhood and wanted to study something she could not learn on her own. She studied philosophy for two years before taking a leave of absence for her performance schedule — and said she remains on leave to this day.

Chang said that since taking office she has found herself waiting for the weekend to end. "I want to get to the office as fast as I can," she said.

shee@heraldcorp.com