National Gugak Center releases English-language guide to traditional music

Contemporary Gugak Orchestra (National Gugak Center)
Contemporary Gugak Orchestra (National Gugak Center)

The National Gugak Center has published the 11th volume of its English-language booklet the Korean Musicology Series, which focuses on the rich tradition of Korean music, known as "gugak."

The Korean Musicology Series, launched in 2007, is a collection of books that introduces traditional Korean music to foreign-language audiences, offering accurate and in-depth information.

Beginning with its first volume "Music of Korea," which offers an overview of gugak, the series has introduced pansori, sanjo, Korean music notations, folksongs, dance, yeonhui (traditional performing arts), ritual music of the Korean court, classical vocal music (including gagok, gasa and sijo) and, most recently in 2019, the performing arts of North Korea. These volumes have been distributed to universities and research institutions worldwide.

The latest installment focuses on contemporary gugak and how it continues to pursue the creation of "new" music based on Korea's traditional music heritage.

In this context, the book explores the evolution of contemporary gugak, examining its history, discourses, compositional techniques, approaches, orchestras, challenges and future directions.

This volume completes the Korean Musicology Series, which has aimed to comprehensively cover all major aspects of Korean traditional music, said an NGC official.

Kim Myung-seok, acting director of the National Gugak Center, expressed hope that this new volume would serve as "both a guide and a resource as a compendium of research on contemporary gugak."

The booklet can be downloaded for free as a PDF from the National Gugak Center’s website under the research section.