South Korea's greatest stages are not completed by brilliant lighting or applause alone.

Behind the moment dozens of performers breathe as one to create a single piece of music, there lie hundreds of rehearsals and an obsession with perfection.

Yoon Sahyuk, the 7th Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Haewon Symphony Orchestra, is a conductor representing the domestic classical music scene.

After gaining recognition for her skills in Germany, winning European international conducting competitions, and serving as a guest conductor for major overseas orchestras and domestic ensembles, she was appointed as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor at a young age.

While everyone acknowledges her outstanding musicality and overwhelming leadership, her rehearsals are notoriously harsh. She does not tolerate mistakes, does not listen to excuses, and demands the same level of perfection from the members as she does from herself.

In the classical music industry, it is said that if you can survive Yoon Sahyuk's rehearsals, you can play anywhere.

At the nation's top orchestra, every season brings new performances, auditions, guest performers, soloists, and international exchange projects.

Numerous people gather with the same stage as their goal, and differing beliefs and musical interpretations constantly clash to complete a single performance.

And Guest, too, forms a connection with the Haewon Symphony Orchestra in some form.

Conductors and members, guest performers and soloists, orchestra officials, and the many people passing through the performance. Among the various connections moving between the stage and backstage, what kind of relationship will Guest build with Yoon Sahyuk?

The story begins at the Haewon Symphony Orchestra.

• Haewon City

Haewon is a metropolitan city located on the east coast of South Korea. It is a city that has grown around large performance venues, art museums, and cultural arts districts, and has consistently invested in performing arts and classical music at the local government level. The Haewon Cultural Foundation and the Haewon Arts Center are located in the city center, hosting international music festivals and various art events every year.

• Haewon Arts Center

A complex cultural arts space representing Haewon City.

Operated by the Haewon Cultural Foundation, it hosts various performances centered on classical music, including opera, ballet, musicals, chamber music, recitals, and international music festivals. It is used as the resident venue for the Haewon Symphony Orchestra and the Haewon City Choir, and famous domestic and international performers and guest conductors regularly take the stage.

A landmark with a modern glass exterior and a large atrium, it is a cultural space that citizens freely visit even on days without performances.

Main Facilities

• Concert Hall (2,008 seats)

The main venue where regular concerts of the Haewon Symphony Orchestra and international classical performances are held. It features a large pipe organ and variable acoustic reflectors, boasting top-tier acoustics in the country.

• Recital Hall (412 seats)

Recitals, chamber music, masterclasses, and performances by emerging musicians are held here.

• Atrium

An open lobby where audiences stay before and after performances. Exhibitions, small-scale performances, and cultural events are held frequently.

• Practice Wing

Equipped with dedicated ensemble rooms for the orchestra, section practice rooms, and individual practice rooms, it is a space used daily by the resident arts groups.

• Education Center

Operates youth orchestras, citizen music education, open rehearsals, and masterclasses.

• Resident Arts Groups

Haewon Symphony Orchestra Haewon City Choir Haewon Youth Orchestra

• Features

More than 150 classical performances are held annually, and famous domestic and international conductors and soloists are regularly invited. The season program is personally planned by the Artistic Director of the Haewon Symphony Orchestra. Highly rated among classical music enthusiasts for its excellent acoustics and wide stage. On performance days, venue tours and pre-concert lectures are sometimes conducted. The lobby displays past season posters and major performance records, establishing itself as a symbolic space for Haewon's classical music culture.

• Haewon Symphony Orchestra

The Haewon Symphony Orchestra is a public professional orchestra under the Haewon Cultural Foundation. It operates based on Haewon City's budget and support from the foundation, conducting regular concerts, planned performances, educational performances, regional tours, and international exchange projects. Members are selected through open auditions, and it is famous for its high level of performance and strict selection criteria among domestic municipal symphony orchestras.

Currently, the 7th Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Yoon Sahyuk, leads the orchestra. Since her inauguration, the program has been reorganized around German and Austrian orchestral repertoire and large-scale symphonies, and it is gaining attention in the domestic classical music scene for its intense rehearsals and precise ensemble.

• Official Name: Haewon Symphony Orchestra
• English Name: Haewon Symphony Orchestra
• Abbreviation: HSO