Korean Folk Music

Korean culture spans two countries each found on a peninsula protruding from the northeast corner of China. From 668 to 1910, Korea existed as a single kingdom, though today, it is divided into North Korea and South Korea which share a common language and culture.

Korean culture has a long history quite distinct from those of its more recognized neighbors China and Japan. In Korea, more than its immediate neighbors, rhythm plays an important role in nearly every music style. In fact, one of Korea's great musical contributions to eastern Asia was the chongganbo notation system, which used a grid to denote precise performance indications and rhythms.

As a more global cultural outlook emerged in Korea over the last fifty years, attention shifted away from traditional musical forms and toward a more Western-oriented sound. A long history of formal court and aristocratic music traditions have largely fallen away from the public interest. Compounding this dilemma is that many Korean folk styles are tied to ceremonies that are no longer relevant or practiced. Despite this, the 1980s and 1990s witnessed a growing interest in Korean folk music, mainly in South Korea, and the government has done its part to encourage and increase awareness in folk music. In addition, immigrant communities in places like the United States have helped to keep fading traditions alive.

P'ansori and Sanjo

Folk music in Korea may be performed both by amateur and professional musicians. P'ansori is one of the most refined folk styles and one that requires years of training from its performers. In p'ansori, a singer is accompanied by a barrel-shaped drum called a puk, and the two performers tell one of five folk stories that can last several hours.

Sanjo, another virtuosic form, is partly descended from p'ansori and pairs the hourglass changgo drum with a melody instrument. Each melody instrument has a long tradition taught to performers at schools by professional teachers. Sanjo performances are comprised of fast and slow movements, in which semi-improvised ornamentation is important.

Nongak and Samulnori

Nongak is a loud outdoor music often referred to as "farmers' music" that originated in the countryside but has since spread throughout the peninsula. Initially it was music to accompany the repetitive tasks of farming, but professional ensembles later emerged, touring the country to perform Nongak.

Samulnori is a more recent offshoot of nongak created in the late 1970s by a group of musicians that has since exploded in popularity both in Korea and abroad. Though based on nongak, in a normal performance samulnori uses only four instruments-changgo, kkwaenggwari, puk, and ching-and is performed indoors. (The world "samulnori" literally means "playing of four objects.") In addition, the musicianship is far more virtuosic than the farmer's music, and new songs are continually composed.

Min'yo (Folk Songs)

Traditional folk songs in Korea are called min'yo. Min'yo usually have a verse and refrain form, and solo improvisation is a common feature of many of them, particularly in a group performance setting. Some folksongs are performed throughout the Koreas, but there are regional differences in terms of rhythms, melodies, and vocal styles. Unlike the professional folk styles like p'ansori, sanjo, and nongak, many min'yo folk songs still retain much of their regional character.

Instruments

There are over 60 classified instruments used in Korean music, though in reality only about a quarter of these are played with any frequency. Koreans place their instruments into three categories: percussion, strings, and wind.

The four percussion instruments of the samulnori ensemble are also the most common percussion instruments played in Korea. The changgo is a double-headed, hourglass drum which is played horizontally so both heads may be struck. In samulnori, a seated player uses the left hand to play a mallet while the right plays a thin bamboo stick, allowing for the production of different timbres. The puk is a short barrel-shaped drum than can play subtle patterns to accompany min'yo songs or can pound out the basic rhythm in samulnori. The kkwaenggwari is a small, bright gong played by the leader of the group, while the ching is a slightly larger gong that emphasizes the main rhythm.

The kayagum is a 12-string zither than bears resemblance to the Chinese zheng and the Japanese koto. The strings are supported by bridges over a long soundboard. A player plucks the strings with the right hand while adding vibrato and pitch bends by pressing down opposite the bridge with the left. The komun'go is a six-string zither in which three of the strings lie over a fretboard. Two-bowed stringed instruments are found in Korea as well: a bowed fiddle with two strings called the haegum and a bowed zither called the ajaen.

The main wind instruments are the p'iri, taegum, and the tanso. The tanso is a small, five-hole flute that is easy to play and often serves as a beginner's wind instrument. The p'iri is a small double-reed instrument with eight holes that is played in many Korean genres. Lastly, the taegum is a long transverse flute that has a membrane-covered hole giving it a shrill sound like the Chinese dizi.

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