A new document with records of pro-Japanese acts by Ahn Eak-tai (1906-1965), the composer who wrote the music of South Korea's national anthem, was discovered.

The document mainly records that Ahn performed the “Kimigayo,” the Japanese national anthem, on Meiji-setsu (November 3, now Culture Day), a Japanese holiday, in 1941. In the past, pro-Japanese acts of Ahn Eak-tai, a composer and a conductor, had been at the center of several heated debates, but this is the first time that his performance of the “Kimigayo” was cited.

Lee Hae-young, a music lover and a professor at Hanshin University (International Relations) said, "I recently uncovered a document recording Ahn Eak-tai's pro-Japanese actions, along with a Japanese acquaintance," and released the document to the Kyunghyang Shinmun on August 30.

The document Lee released was an article titled, "A Look into Ahn Eak-tai," which Japanese diplomat Koichi Ehara, known as Ahn's patron, had submitted to Record Art, a Japanese music magazine in 1952.

In his article, Ehara writes, "In the fall of 1942, I was in Bucharest, Romania on official business. On the morning of Meiji-setsu, I attended a ceremony at the Japanese legation. There was a young man wearing a white tie playing the piano when we sang the ‘Kimigayo.’ He was thin and tall, and had a face that drew people in. After the meal, he was introduced to me as Ahn Eak-tai, a composer and conductor studying in Europe at the time."

Lee, who analyzed the document, said, "The year 1942 seems to be a mistake made by Ehara or a typo. Given the overall context of this article, the year 1941 would be correct." In the same article, Ehara mentions, "I lived with him from the year Germany and the Soviet Union engaged in war." The Eastern Front began in 1941 and by 1942, Ahn Eak-tai was already residing in Ehara's house in Berlin. The “Kimigayo” which Ahn performed at the time is a song praying that the rule of the Japanese Emperor continue for thousands of years to come, and is still sung today.

Ehara, who wrote the article, is a figure who appears often in connection to the pro-Japanese actions taken by Ahn Eak-tai. Ehara graduated from the Tokyo Imperial University (currently the University of Tokyo) Law School and worked as a councilor at the Manchukuo legation in Berlin. At the legation of Manchukuo, a puppet government which Japan had established, Lv Yiyuan from Manchu was formally the minister, but scholars believe that Ehara was the actual heavyweight in Japanese diplomacy in Germany. Ehara also wrote the lyrics to Manchukuo, a symphonic fantasia for orchestra and mixed chorus, which Ahn Eak-tai wrote in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of Manchukuo. The fourth movement in this music praises the harmony of the five races (the cooperation and unity of the Japanese, the Chinese Han, Korean, Manchurian, and Mongolian), which is the founding principle of Manchukuo. Ahn Eak-tai conducted this piece in Berlin on September 1942, and this is cited as one of his pro-Japanese acts.

In particular, due to the similarity of this music and the melody in Symphonic Fantasy Korea, the matrix of the “Aegukga,” the controversy surrounding the national anthem of Korea continues to this day.

"A Look into Ahn Eak-tai" also states that on the afternoon that Ahn performed the “Kimigayo,” he conducted the “Etenraku,” the court music of Japan at another concert. "It was slightly strange how Ahn, who was born in Joseon, had turned the ‘Etenraku’ into a symphony, but (...) I could not help but agree after unconsciously letting out a cry of admiration." Ehara also mentions Ahn's attitude in life and his exceptional resourcefulness. "Ahn does not smoke or drink; he refrains from seeing women; with the exception of eating and sleeping, he lives solely immersed in music. He tried to compose whenever he could. (...) At the time Ahn was studying under Richard Strauss, and we were all surprised at his resourcefulness in obtaining the favor of an old master difficult to approach. But it would be better to say that it was his nature and innate ability rather than resourcefulness."

In the past, the music circle mostly believed that Ehara had laid the bridge in the relationship between Ahn Eak-tai and Richard Strauss, who was the president of the State Music Bureau under the Nazis. However, Lee said, "Ehara is testifying that it was Ahn and his exceptional resourcefulness that built a relationship with Strauss. The relationship between Ahn Eak-tai and Strauss and Ahn Eak-tai and the Nazis may be closer than we think." Lee elaborated, "At the time, Ahn Eak-tai had a membership to the State Music Bureau, but this would only have been possible if he had undergone a thorough verification of his philosophy by the Nazis."

On this issue, Yi Gyeong-bun, a music scholar and also the writer of Asylum Music, Nazi Music and Lost Time 1938-1944, said, "In the list of musicians which the Nazis had invited for a performance before the German soldiers in 1944, Ahn Eak-tai was included along with a Japanese conductor and violinist. We need more research into the Ahn Eak-tai's collaboration with the Nazis."