Meet Guus Hiddink, Seoul Philharmonic's new honorary ambassador

한국 월드컵 신화, 이제는 서울시향의 얼굴로 서울시향, 히딩크 전 감독 홍보대사로 위촉

On the cultural front.
A few months ago, we brought you a story introducing Maestro Jaap van Zweden, the new music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
Turns out he will be joined by his longtime friend Guus Hiddink in elevating the orchestra to, in his words, "the absolute top."
Our culture correspondent Song Yoo-jin reports.

2002 is a year Korea will never forget.
The Korean men's national football team reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time, its best performance to date.
At the heart of this "miracle" was Guus Hiddink, the then-manager of the team.

22 years later, Mr. Hiddink has returned to Korea, this time for the arts.
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the country's oldest orchestras, has appointed him as its honorary ambassador.
Its new music director, Jaap van Zweden, played a big role in the former coach accepting the offer.
Their friendship dates back decades when Mr. Hiddink watched a documentary featuring the maestro.

"I saw the similarities, what we tried to do to get the best out of the individual player and to melt it into a team performance and that's why I approached him."

Beyond their Dutch heritage, it's their shared values that bind them together.

"We like also to help people. I have my foundation, Hiddink has his foundation, and where we see similarities is that we see people who need help in life. We like to help them and we see how important it is."

Despite stepping down as coach of the Korean national team after the 2002 World Cup, Korea holds a special place in Mr. Hiddink's heart.
He became the first honorary Korean in 2002 and has been leading the Guus Hiddink Foundation since 2007, building futsal fields nationwide to make football more accessible for the disadvantaged and disabled.
As an ambassador for the SPO, he's dedicated to that same goal.

"When I was a soccer player, a football player in the early days, very early days, they sent us to clubs, to universities, to high schools outside our training, outside our matches which means that we bring our football to schools and to universities and to clubs. We have to bring also music classical music or whatsoever into the school system as well."

Football and orchestra music may seem worlds apart, but they share the ability to bring people together, from the players to the audience.
And that's what Mr. Hiddink hopes to do: promote harmony through music by introducing Seoul Philharmonic to the world.
Song Yoo-jin, Arirang News.

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2024-04-01, 21:00 (KST)