The United States has been the most decisive external factor influencinn Kim (Kog Korean society from liberation to the present. In particular, during the postwar reconstruction period, American aid, influence, and the resulting dependency were extensive—and music was no exception to this process. This paper aims to examine the internationalization of Korean music during the Cold War period that followed the U.S. military occupation, which was both the most formative era in shaping the Korean music scene and the period that institutionalized modern musical practices.

Specifically, this research investigates Korea–U.S. musical exchanges during the Cold War, focusing on the dispatch and tours of American musicians, ensembles, scholars, and composers organized under U.S. Cold War strategies, as well as the overseas study, training, and performances of Korean musicians. These exchanges encompassed both Western art music and traditional gugak, thereby revealing the parallel yet interrelated paths of musical internationalization. The visits of American musicians often included extended tours through East Asia, situating Korea within a wider regional framework of Cold War cultural diplomacy.

Building upon previous scholarship on Cold War music studies currently active in Korea (Kim Hee-sun 2019a, 2019b, 2021a, 2021b, 2022a, 2022b, 2022c, 2024; Kim Eun-young 2021, 2024, 2025; Lee Hee-kyung 2024; Shin Hye-seung 2024) and drawing on primary sources such as Korean and American newspapers and magazines, this paper reconstructs the chronology and typology of musical exchanges between the two nations from the 1950s to the 1970s. Through this analysis, it reinterprets the characteristics and meanings of the United States’ musical Cold War strategies toward Korea, the idea of a “Free Asia” alliance in the cultural sphere and its musical traffics, and the nature of Korea’s international musical exchanges during the Cold War.