Abstract

This study traces the evolutionary journey of EakTai Ahn’s signature piece, Symphonic Fantasy Korea, from its inception in 1937 to the 1946 Barcelona premiere of its revised edition following Korea’s liberation. Newly uncovered sources reveal that Ahn finalized Symphonic Fantasy Korea in the United States in March 1937, premiered it in Dublin in 1938, presented a revised rendition in Budapest in June of the same year, and performed it as a Japanese citizen in Belgrade and Budapest in May and September 1940, respectively. Furthermore, this study examines the transformation of Symphonic Fantasy Korea into Kyokuto (Far East) and Manchukuo (Manchuria State) under the influence of Japanese diplomats in Budapest and various European cities. Drawing on the author’s discovery of EakTai Ahn’s orchestral work Pastorale, which incorporates the Korean folk melody Banga Taryeong (Milling Song)—a melody also present in the second movement of Symphonic Fantasy Korea, Kyokuto, and Manchukuo—this study proposes that these three symphonic fantasies are revisions of the original work, Symphonic Fantasy Korea, rather than standalone compositions.