Pagh‑Paan was born in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. She studied music at the Seoul National University from 1965-71. In 1974 she received a DAAD scholarship to study in Germany and entered the Freiburg Musikhochschule, where she studied composition with Klaus Huber, analysis with Brian Ferneyhough, music theory with Peter Förtig and piano with Edith Picht-Axenfeld.
After completing her studies, she took guest professorships at Graz in 1991 and Karlsruhe in 1992-93. In 1994 she became a professor of composition at Hochschule der Künste in Bremen. She founded and serves as director of Atelier Neue Musik.
Honors and awards
2009 15th KBS Global Korean Award
2009 Member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin
2007 Order of Civil Merit of the Republic of Korea (South Korea)
2006 Lifetime Achievement Award of Seoul National University
1995 Heidelberg Artists Prize
1985 Scholarship from the Kunststiftung of Baden-Württemberg
1980/1981 Scholarship at the Südwestfunk's Heinrich‑Strobel-Stiftung
1980 1st Prize of the City of Stuttgart
1979 1st Prize at the Rostrum of Composers (Unesco, Pads)
1979 Nan‑Pa Music Prize, Korea
1978 1st Prize at the 5th Composers Seminar in Boswil (Switzerland)
Works
Her works include:
2010/2011 Hohes und tiefes Licht
2010 Im Lichte wollen wir wandeln
2010 Silbersaiten
2010 Silbersaiten II
2009 Silbersaiten III
2009 Unterm Sternenlicht
2009 Attende, Domine, miserecordiam tuam
2009 Den Müttern
2008 I thirst
2008 Fanfare
2007 Bleibt in mir und ich in euch
2007 Qui-Han-Nim / Edler Mann
2007 Gi-da-ryu-ra / Warte nur
2007 Das Universum atmet, es wächst und schwindet
2007 Vide Domine, vide afflictionem nostram
2007 In luce ambulemus
2006 Mondschatten (Moon Shadow)
200 5HANG-SANG III
2005 Hin-Nun II / White Snow
2004/05 Wundgeträumt
2003 Moira
2002 Louise Labé
2002 Silbersaiten
2000/01 Dorthin, wo der Himmel endet
2000 Roaring Hooves
1999/2000 IO
1999 BI-YU
1998 sowon...borira
1997/98 GO-UN NIM
1997 In dunkeln Träumen...
1997 Die Insel schwimmt
1996 NOCH...
1996 NE MA-UM
1995/96 SOWON / The Wish
1995 TA-RYONG V
1994 HANG-SANG II
1993/94 TSI-SHIN-KUT / The Ritual of the Earth Spirit
