The title Kotmun is a Korean word, meaning ‘a gate of flowers.’ In Korea, ornamenting doors with the drawings or wood-sculpting of flowers was not just an act of decoration; it was one of the common practices to bring good spirits to houses and to people who lived there. Many pass or peek through these doors—an act of desire to get to another place. At some times, however, one just gazes at the doors, and their beautiful flowers and colors. One forgets why she was looking at them in the first place or what they wanted to seek beyond them. They are on the border in-between, enchanted by their exquisite beauty.

With Kotmun, the composer hoped to auralize this moment of awareness. With the help of poetic elements of recorded sounds and the thematic structure of the composition, the composer aimed at creating the uneasiness and yet, spell-bounding experience of this border.

Kotmun was commissioned by IMEB (Institut de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges), Bourges, France.