[Translated][MISSION] Reviving the Spirit of Liberation Through Two Songs from Hero: Ahyeon’s TikTok Piano Story
2025-08-20Every year on August 15, Korea commemorates Gwangbokjeol (광복절), the National Liberation Day marking the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945. “Gwangbok” means Return of the light, symbolizing freedom won through immense sacrifice. To honor this history, art has long served as a powerful way to keep this history alive, and one remarkable example is the celebrated musical “영웅 (Hero)”.
The musical Hero tells the story of Ahn Jung-geun, Korea’s national independence fighter, alongside the fictional character Seolhee, who represents the voices of ordinary people during colonial times. Two of its iconic songs, “Hero”, expressing courage and determination, and “Your Majesty, I Remember You”, embodying grief and ‘Han’, a cultural emotional of Korea that intertwines sorrow and endurance, still echoes strongly with people today.
This year, ahead of Gwangbokjeol, I came across a TikTok live stream by Ahyeon, a 29-year-old pianist who performed both of these songs on his piano. Playing piano is only his hobby, yet through TikTok he shares music with sincerity to audiences around the world. As a non-Korean, I initially did not know the full background of these songs. But when I heard Ahyeon’s piano, I was struck by the depth of emotion, something that went beyond language. It made me curious to learn more about the musical Hero, the story of Ahn Jung-geun, and the history behind Korea’s liberation struggle. In that moment, music became my bridge to history.
In our online interview, Ahyeon explained why he chose these two songs: “I chose them because they represent the main characters of Hero, Ahn Jung-geun and Seolhee. Many of my viewers abroad are not familiar with Japanese colonial history or even with this musical. I wanted to play pieces that could create an immediate emotional connection through music,” he said.
For him, Hero captures the turmoil of someone risking everything for a cause larger than themselves. The lyrics embrace fear, courage and determination all at once. Meanwhile, Your Majesty, I Remember You conveys the tragic memory of Empress Myeongseong’s assassination. “’Han’ is a uniquely Korean emotional concept, grief blended with acceptance and endurance. I wanted to convey that the sentiment through the piano so that people could feel it even without understanding Korean,” he explained.
Ahyeon believes that social media can serve as a new gateway for young people to connect with history. “In an age of algorithms, we often consume content passively. That actually gives us a chance to embed historical memory into the content that young people are already engaging with,” he said.
Rather than treating history as an obligation, he suggests reimagining it through creative forms: musical covers, digital art, gaming narratives, dancing interpretations, or even memes. In this way, the spirit of liberation becomes a living conversation instead of a burden. “A piano cover can reach someone scrolling late at night halfway across the world. If they feel something, or even just musical appreciation, a seed of history is planted,” he added. As someone who experienced this firsthand, I can testify that he is right: his performance led me, a foreigner viewer, to learn more about the musical Hero and the sacrifices behind it.
When asked what he would like to say if Ahn Jung-geun and Empress Myeongseong could hear his performance, Ahyeon responded with deep sincerity: “I want them to know that the trembling, the doubts, and the wavering they must have felt, I felt it too through the music. They were not perfect heroes but human beings who chose to act despite fear. That humanity is what makes their sacrifices so meaningful today.”
Ahyeon first discovered Hero’s song on YouTube back in 2018 and later experienced the film version in theaters in 2022. Though he has not seen the live stage production, watching the film on the big screen with others left a lasting impression, a collective memory of history shared through music and performance. On this year’s Gwangbokjeol, Ahyeon—who shares his performance regularly on TikTok @ahyeon.stn –reminds us that history lives not only in textbooks or theaters, but also in the digital spaces we inhabit every day. Through piano, he shows that the spirit of liberation is not merely about the past, it is about finding courage to face the present with the same determination.
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