"i-dle" compresses the journey of children from different backgrounds finding a single voice.
On the 31st, tvN's new variety show Ensemble released a Highlight video. The earnest voices of children who could not even read the lyrics ripple with emotion as they gradually form an ensemble.
Ensemble is a program that depicts the 90-day miraculous journey of 31 global children from 17 countries growing into an ensemble choir, showing the process of sharing hearts through music and creating genuine "mingling (mingling, coming together)." Children with different backgrounds, languages and stories are connected by the single language of "song," and the show is expected to deliver the moving expansion of difference into something special.
The released Highlight video features the 31 children who performed on the stage of the Korea International Choir Competition (KICC) in February. As they come from 17 countries around the world, they are children with special narratives shaped by various cultures. Like performers on stage wearing the same uniform with different ties, their living environments and languages differ, but they gathered to become one through "choral singing."
Leading and guiding the children's awkward first steps and turning the impossible into possible as chief directors are Korea's top music directors Kim Moon-jung and Chae Mi-hyun. Director Kim Moon-jung said, "The genre of choral singing seems like a really good tool. There is great meaning in different and diverse voices coming together to create a single value," conveying a distinctive philosophy toward the project.
However, it is by no means easy for children with no choral experience to create a single harmony. Moreover, many children are even awkward at reading Korean lyrics and have never experienced listening to others' voices and singing together. As a result, Director Kim Moon-jung's blunt assessment that "they were not at the level to perform on stage" was voiced. Nevertheless, thanks to the directors' meticulous and affectionate coaching combined with the children's earnest desire to become one through song, anticipation and curiosity are already growing over what kind of miraculous change they will achieve in 90 days.
Director Kim Moon-jung's firsthand feeling of why the children desperately gathered in the choir Ensemble was also revealed, adding to the poignancy. For children who had to endure discriminatory looks because of their immigrant backgrounds or because they look different, this place finally becomes a space that accepts "me" as I am. Even if they complain that Korean is difficult, there are adults and friends who empathize and hold their hands. One child's confession, "Being in Ensemble makes me feel ordinary," clearly shows the project's aim to respect difference as a specialness rather than a flaw.
The process by which children who have overcome wounds embrace one another with the single language of "song" and become truly united resonates as a powerful echo in itself. The children's excited voices—"I'm looking forward to how all my friends will blend happily without discrimination"—and Director Kim Moon-jung's conviction leading the 90-day journey—"our final appearance will probably sparkle a lot"—heighten expectations for the premiere.
The producers said, "We hope the process of the children matching their voices to become 'Ensemble' will be a time to reflect on true harmony and respect for diversity. Above all, we hope the harmony of Ensemble, born from the synergy of the children's differences and their pure passion, will give warm comfort and hope to viewers."
Ensemble will premiere on Tuesday, Apr. 14 at 10:10 p.m.
[Photo] Provided by tvN.
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