Green+ is performing in HUFS International Model United Nations June 2012. Photo provided by Green+.
Campaigns, fundraisers, posters and picket parades are not enough to satisfy Green+, which has its own active way of saving the environment. By writing, composing and recording environment songs to perform in front of an audience, the members of Green+ wish to lead people in protecting the environment. Green+ is a group of amateur university singers who have gathered within the world environment organization “Daejayon,” meaning the great nature in Korean. They came together when they realized that many people think of environment lessons and campaigns as dull and tiresome. The members began to look for new ways that could draw people’s attention and introduce environmental crisis effectively.
“In our effort to find more interesting ways of delivering our message about the environment, we finally decided to make use of singing, which we anticipated would do the job effectively,” said Yi Jong-eon (Inha Technical College, 3), a member of Green+.
Green+ is different from other university environment groups in Korea in that it neither belongs to a single department nor a university. Consisting of students from both Korean and foreign universities majoring in various fields, Green+ has an advantage of having numerous perspectives in finding ways to solve the environmental crisis.
“Green+ is the only student environment group in the world that expresses the fervor for saving the environment through melody,” Lee Sang-yun (Berlin University, 1) said.
Green+ accepts members through an intense audition, but the audition is not about singing well. Since the songs of Green+ require the singers to create a beautiful harmony, the audition is about choosing the voices that can fit well with that of other people.
Composing and writing lyrics is all up to the members of Green+. Despite the fact that none of the members have majored in music, they are able to write fresh and melodious songs with their pure passion for the environment.
The process of making a song starts from choosing a topic. Among many environmental problems such as desertification, biological diversity and climate change, they choose a specific subject to work on. The members then write down correlating descriptions and feelings about the topic which form the lyrics. They create the basic outline by humming many different melodies in their heads.
“We try to focus on the storytelling of environmental problems rather than the musicality when creating a song,” Yi said.
The members of Green+, who are posing on Ewha campus, draw people's concern for the environment through music. Photo provided by Green+.
When the song is ready to be sung, the members prepare for recording and practice every week. Just as environmental activities require cooperation from many different people, the cooperation of singers is essential in creating a harmony. Due to their arduous efforts, Green+ has performed in several huge events. Among their performances, the members recall their performance at the “World Conservation Congress” as the most memorable. Sponsored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and held every four years, the World Conservation Congress is the most authoritative conference in the environment field and it was Green+’s first performance in front of a mass audience.
“We introduced our songs to people from all over the world and delivered our will to take the initiative in the environmental movement,” Yi said. “It was a great opportunity to sing in front of specialists of environment activities.”
Nevertheless, Green+ faced certain hardships during their activities. Performing in front of middle and high school students in “Little Daejayon Environment Camp,” they were received with indifference. It made the members feel depressed, but they were able to overcome the problem through their passion.
“Young students who are used to idol group songs seemed bored at first,” Yi said.  “However, as the songs went on, they started listening more attentively and in the end they were singing with us. We were surprised by the power of music that bonds people together.”
Members of Green+ take pride in impressing the audience with their music. Seeing people engaging in environmental movements after listening to their songs is when the members feel their efforts have finally paid off.
“It means a lot when people tell us that they will have keener eyes toward the environment after listening to our songs,” Yi said.
By fitting in and creating harmony with others, members of Green+ are able to obtain more than just knowledge about environmental problems. University students who are passionate, energetic and interested in solving environment problems are welcome to try out for Green+.
“We plan to continue performing to deliver the true meaning of environmental movements,” Yi said. “We look forward to meeting many student environment activists who are talented in music.”
저작권자 © Ewha Voice 무단전재 및 재배포 금지