Danish Korean band Meejah returns to Seoul with requiem confronting Korea's adoption past

For post-rock modern band Meejah, Seoul always holds a special place. Band leader Mai Soon Young Ovlisen, an adoptee raised in Denmark, first made a stunning debut in Seoul two years ago, performing on Nodeul Island as part of an International Korean Adoptee Association (IKAA) gathering, where hundreds of adoptees come to experience Korea — many for the first time — and to connect with others who share their story. They were also able to share a night of music at Strange Fruit, located near western Seoul’s Hongik University, with award-winning band Wings of the ISANG, and play another show at ACS in downtown Seoul’s Euljiro.

Their latest return to Seoul carries just as much weight, not only because of the band’s packed schedule, but also because of the timing. Their latest work, a 10-movement composition titled "R.E.Q.U.I.E.M. Light and Loss (For the Uncrushable Soul and the Little Ones Sleeping on the Mountainside)," will debut during this visit.

“It doesn’t follow the requiem format exactly, but takes inspiration from it,” Ovlisen explained. “I also see it as a maternal requiem — giving single mothers their rights back and taking away the stigma they’ve faced.”

For Ovlisen, who feels a profound artistic and spiritual connection to her birth country, this piece engages with Korea’s complex historical, political, religious and emotional landscape surrounding orphans, adoptees and single mothers. These themes gained renewed attention this spring when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) confirmed that human rights violations had indeed occurred in the past during international adoptions. Yet, due to time and the sheer volume of cases, hundreds of other submitted testimonies could not be fully investigated, Ovlisen’s case included. She has spotted inconsistencies and errors in her own paperwork.

On Sept. 10 and 11, the Danish Korean Rights Group will hold a conference at the National Assembly to advocate the importance of continuing this investigation, and Ovlisen will be in attendance to show her support.

“R.E.Q.U.I.E.M. Light and Loss” confronts different layers of Korea’s adoption history and its impact. The work draws on real testimonies, historical records and this past spring’s TRC findings, addressing themes of loss, stigma and systemic abuse, from children marked as “expired” in adoption files to the neglect and deaths of those in agency custody and the complicity of institutions and individuals who profited from the system. Some movements serve as prayers for the dead, while others call for truth, justice and the restoration of dignity to adoptees and single mothers. The closing movement, "Uprise of Voices," is both a protest and a plea: a demand for transparency, access to identity and recognition of these rights as fundamental and undeniable. It also acknowledges the thousands of children and women whose pain may never be known, no matter what investigations are done in the future.

“On a personal level, I think there are so many cover-ups still," Ovlisen said. "It’s very confusing to deal with. I think of it more from an eagle’s perspective, that everything is clear and see-through. There are no lies and cover-ups. I’m concerned with emotional healing and the government at least acknowledging it, and to find basic information about your family line. I see it as a huge imbalance, and I want to have that balance restored on a human level.”

Though this Meejah piece is rooted in adoptee and single-mother history, the requiem’s reach extends further. Its language of grief, memory and resilience resonates with anyone who has experienced loss or displacement, or who has struggled to find a sense of belonging. In its sweeping soundscapes, listeners can hear not only the echoes of Korea’s past, but also something deeply human: the universal need for dignity, remembrance and connection. They make these powerful statements not only in the composition and lyrics, which already carry a strong message, but sonically, often combining ambient rock sounds with traditional Korean instruments to complete this intimate, haunting, emotionally fused landscape that stays with the audience long after leaving the stage.

The band will kick off a mini-tour in Seoul with a performance in solidarity with the issues and confirmed findings, at Jazzxover, a new club in eastern Seoul’s Seongsu-dong, which will mark the new album’s premiere Sept. 9. Meejah will also perform on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at an event hosted by Debaser Magazine alongside Sabbaha, Fat Hamster & KANG New, and Cloud Underground at Baby Doll in western Seoul’s Sinchon. The band is also on the lineup for MU:CON Showcase, playing at Cave in Itaewon on Sept. 12.