South Korea: 'Barbed wire' piano marks anniversary

The piano's polished exterior is in stark contrast to the razor-sharp barbed wire used for its strings

A piano made with barbed wire from the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which divides North and South Korea, has been made to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, it's reported.

The instrument, commissioned by South Korea's Ministry of Unification and Cheil Worldwide marketing, will form part of an exhibition organised by the Seoul Museum of Art to mark the anniversary, the South Korean newspaper website Hankyoreh reports.

Dubbed the "unification piano", the instrument uses barbed wire in place of standard piano strings to produce a unique sound. It was produced by musicians from the world music group GongMyong, meaning "resonance" in Korean. The group is known for composing and performing original music, and its musicians collected barbed wire from an army base near the DMZ over several months before bringing the instrument to life.

The idea for the piano was conceived by Lee Seong-ha, who works for Cheil Worldwide and ran the project. Mr Lee says he was inspired following a visit to South Korea by the Pope in 2014. "I saw him receive a crown of thorns made from barbed wire from the armistice line. This made me think that barbed wire is a symbol of war and division, but could also become a material for peace."

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