Korean Folk Music

The music of Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division
of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music
used in shamanistic and Buddhist traditions. Together, traditional Korean music is referred to as gugak
(Hangul: 국악), which literally means "national music."

Korea's folk music tradition, with its generous use of bright rhythms and melodies, offers a more energetic and
capricious contrast to the nation's collection of classical music works. Folk music represents the soul and
sound of traditional Korean villages with an eclectic array of music forms including numerous folk songs,
various forms of instrumental pieces, pansori, and shaman ritual music. Some of the most prominent pieces
and folk music forms are as follows:
1 Sanjo
2 Sinawi
3 Pansori
4 Chapga
5 Folk Songs
6 Pungmulnori & Samullori
7 Shaman Ritual Music

Folk Music Pieces

1. Sanjo
The word sanjo literally means scattered modes and refers to the fact that these pieces employ a variety of
rhythmic and tonal modes. When court musicians first heard these sanjo pieces, they didn't think of it as music
but rather a disorganised collection of scattered modes. Kayagum master Kim Chang-Jo is credited with
creating the very first sanjo piece around 1890 and since then this solo instrumental form has been adapted for
most other traditional instruments. The music relies heavily on improvisation and the most prominent musical
characteristic is that the piece increases in tempo as it progresses through the various rhythmic modes. The
accompaniment of the janggu is also important in establishing the rhythmic foundation for the instrumentalist.
A sanjo is technically quite brilliant, particularly in the strident rhythms found in the final sections of the piece
2. Sinawi
Sinawi is an instrumental music form used in shaman ceremonies to accompany dancing and to help bring the
shaman to a higher state of consciousness. The music is highly improvisational and the instruments weave
together a thick layer of melodies played over the rhythms of a janggu. Sinawi also influenced the development
of both pansori and sanjo music forms
3. Pansori
Pansori is an epic narrative song form unique to Korean music culture. Musicologists do not necessarily agree
on the origin of the music form but one recent theory suggests that it developed out of Korea's story-telling
tradition, that story-tellers gradually began to include musical elements to make their performances more
captivating for the audience. The development of pansori was strongly influenced by shaman rituals as
illustrated by common elements which exist in both music forms. The vocalist alternates between speaking and
singing as the story progresses and uses a fan and a handkerchief to help illustrate the various scenes of the
story. The speaking sections are referred to as aniri, the singing as sori, and the actions as ballim. The barrel
drum player or members of the audience can call out words of agreement or encouragement throughout the
performance and these vocal exhortations are called chuimsae. Pansori was popular in the 18th and 19th
centuries and documents show us that there were originally 12 works but today only 5 works remain in
performance practice. These works are performed entirely by a single vocalist accompanied by a barrel drum
which is rather challenging as full performances can last up to 8 hours in some cases. The text of four of the
remaining works are traditional Korean stories while the fith work is based on a traditional Chinese story. The
5 remaining works of pansori are: Song of Chunhyang, Song of Shimchong, Song of Heungbo, The Underwater
Kingdom, and Song at Red Cliff
4. Chapga
This is a song form which was in vogue around the beginning of the 20th century. It shows influences from
panosir and folk songs, has various structural forms, and uses texts from numerous different sources. The
chapga form includes ipchang (standing songs) and chwachang (seated songs). The specific characteristics of
chapga songs differ according to region
5. Folk Songs
As Koreans are known for their natural singing ability it should be no surprise that the nation has cultivated a
large collection of folk songs. These songs are normally classified according to five regions of the nation:
northwestern region · Seoul & Kyonggi Province · eastern region · southern region · Cheju Island. Each region
has its own collection of songs and vocal styles which are quite distinctive. Also, each region bases its songs
on a slightly different melodic scale. There are a number of folk songs common to all regions of Korea
although they might exist in slightly different variations. Some of these common folk songs are: Arirang,
Miryang Arirang, Doraji-Taryong, Banga-Taryong, Kangwondo-Arirang, Nongbuga, Yukjabaegi, Susimga,
and Cheonan-Samgeori.There are also collections of folk songs associated with various activities, such as:
farm songs, fishing songs, work songs, ceremonial songs, marriage songs, and children's songs.
6. Pungmullori & Samullori
Pungmullori is a form of farmer's music which uses lively percussion and the melodic wanderings of the
taepyongso. This music was performed in villages at various farm festivals, occasions ,and celebrations, also
included dances and games. Samullori, which literally means "four-piece-play", is a modern percussion form
created in 1978 by Kim Duk Soo and three of his associates. This music is based on the traditional farm music
pungmullori and employs ggwaengari, jing, janggu, and buk. This music is rightfully brilliant and energetic,
popular both in Korea and internationally. Kim Duk Soo has combined this samullori music with other Korean
and Western instruments to create music with both Korean tradition and Western jazz elements
7. Shaman Ritual Music
For centuries Korean people have cultivated shamanism, developing a large collection of lively mystical
performance rituals. The musical elements include vocal songs, instrumental accompaniment, and purely
instrumental pieces, such as sinawi. The rituals are normally led by a single shaman accompanied by a small
energetic instrumental troupe. Rituals are performed for several purposes, such as sending wishes or appeals to
the gods, to contact the souls of ancient people, or simply to entertain and appease the gods. The musical
characteristics of these shaman rituals differ somewhat according to region much like the various folk song
styles. A number of shaman songs have become quite popular and have essentially been assimilated into the
general folk music tradition

The philosophy of the Orient is predominantly mystic. High value is placed on nature, as may be seen in the
concept of earlier times of music as a bridge from man to nature or to the gods. The sound of a plucked string
in which man participates in the act of creating the tone and listens as it follows its course as determined by
nature is highly satisfying to the Oriental conception of musical art."

- Hwang Byungki(contemporary composer)

Days, Children, and You

Korea has a national holiday dedicated to children. If you would like to celebrate it, Children's Day is observed
on May 5th

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