Korea

in the 1960s, the South Korean state began to identify a canon of traditional music, to protect if against colonial, industrial, and modernizing forces

- "cultural properties" system put in place entertainment to recognize and support "national traditions" and culture bearers - this recognition brought great prestige and benefit to certain artists designated "Human Cultural Treasures" - the "cultural properties" system created standardized ways of presenting Korean traditional music and dance at home and abroad - it created a frozen image of "traditional Korea": Korea before the colonial era - this move toward preservation undercuts the flexibility and improvisation of Korean traditional music - traditional music continues to flourish and remain flexible outside of these official institutions

samulnori caught the attention of the

- "world music" scene of the 1980s and 90s - in north america, it can cut against disempowering racist stereotypes of asian Americans

end of the Asia-pacific war

- 1931-1945 - ends Japanese colonial period - Korea is divided into two protectorates

civil war (Korean War) began in

- 1950 - hostilities ceased in 1953, but war never officially ended - in the 1980s, movements for democratization and labor rights led to the first free and direct elections in 1987 - south was governed mainly by authoritarian, development-oriented governments with American support

musical accompaniment and the shaman's improvisations are structured traditional rhythmic patterns called

- Jangdan - nearly all Korean traditional music is based on these rhythmic patterns - sequences of rhythmic patterns create an overall arc of acceleration and emotional cleaning - this fits within a broader aesthetic of transformation

after 1876,

- Korea becomes isolated from China - this created a uniqueness of Korean musical style - during this period, Russian, American, and Japanese developed interests in Korea

at the World Cup championships (soccer championships) held in South Africa in 2010

- Korea manifested its own national and international infusion of styles - this national identity was expressed through singing "Arirang" - this is a national folk song of Korea and is understood in both north and South Korea as a song of unification - this was expressed in the 2010 World Cup championships by both north and south Koreans marching together to the song

siminyo

- Korea's "new folk song" style - it combines quasi-traditional Korean melodies with western instruments, harmonies, and song structures - Korean women often sing sinminyo songs while working in rice fields and to relieve stress

samulnori

- Korea's most popular "traditional-like" music - it is dramatic and transformative, moving from slow to extremely fast - it conveys energy and power and today is associated with the slogan "dynamic Korea" - it is more congenial to South Korea capitalism than court or other styles - it is a blend of tradition and modern sounds and concepts - it blends rhythmic materials from throughout Korea

example of thematic transformation in music

- Ludwig van Beethoven spent more than 25 years completing his final masterpiece, the Beethoven Ninth symphony, whose premier performance he never heard because he was totally deaf by then - the final movement of the symphony is a choral movement whose main theme is taken from a poem by Friedrich Schiller entitled Ode to Joy - the poem suggests that no matter what the challenges may come in life, we can experience joy - the choir sings the Ode to Joy poem set to music by Beethoven, then there is a magnificent thematic transformation as the Ode to Joy melody is transformed into a Turkish march, with drums, triangle, and cymbals

diving Korea

- USSR took north - US handle south - boundary? 38th parallel, 38 degrees latitude line

animism

- a belief in innumerable spiritual beings concerned with human affaris and capable of helping or harming human interests - includes a belief that all objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence - also the belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe

Sinawi

- a genre of polyphonic, improvised chamber music - created by members of the lowly cheonmin class - this style gradually began to flourish throughout the country among elite audiences - performances use rhythm patterns drawn from shamanist tradition, arranged in increasing tempos - this rhythmic progression reflects the transformation from sorrow to joy, paralysis to motion

trot

- a korean form of the foxtrot - was a popular genre that arose in the late colonial era, and was popular throughout much of the 20th century - scale and text themes were inspired by a style of Japanese popular ballad called enka - narratives were changed to speak to Korean colonial modernity

sanjo or "scattered melodies"

- a solo improvisatory form for one melodic instrument, accompanied by an hourglass drum - also a shamanist-inspired tradition - follows the same structure of rhythmic patterns as Sinawi music with increasing tempos - it was developed by traditional professional folk musicians - the colonial and post-colonial periods saw dramatic changes

example of South Korea establishing cultural institutions to define, preserve, and perpetuate practices

- a traditional Gugak piece featuring a gayageum (like the Chinese "Qin" or "zither") a heagum (like a Chinese erhu or middle-eastern kamancheh) and Janggu or Korean drum (like a middle-eastern dumb)

over time, the melodic ornamentation characteristic of central Korean style was replaced with

- a western style vocalization with undifferentiated vibrato - in this way, a process of canonization and standardization, quite at odds with the original performance practice, and with Jordan traditional music more broadly, took hold

sikkim gut ceremony

- an all night cleansing shaman funeral ritual from Jindo island, the third largest island in Korea located at the southwest border of the country

example of ecstatic shamanism

- begins with an invocation to the spirits and accelerates as the dance progresses - shout-singing and rhythmic accompaniment - there is a thematic transformation as the music moves from a slower rhythm to a faster one

k-pop

- blends aspects of prior Korean popular music with those from a wide range of western genres - this style celebrates the optimistic promises of modernity

late 20th century pansori

- came to be seen as a quintessential expression of a complex emotional concept translated as "resentful sorrow" - like the American blues, which is an expression of Americana, pansori is thought to express something essential about the Korean people

ecstatic shamanism

- can be understood with this framework - shamanism existed long before Buddhism and Christianity were introduced into the country

shamanism rituals

- can last several hours and may last several days - separate sections of instrumental music accompanying these rituals: chanting and dance invoke spirits, signal possession, allow space for spirits to offer blessings and advice and send spirits off

ecstatic shamans

- chant invocations to the spirits - instrumental music accompanies them - they sing chorsues - they shout/sing vocal interjections, called chuimsae (chemise is a part of most Korean traditional music, outside of court and aristocratic genres) - audience members also contribute vocal interjections

china's influence on Korea

- china helped the silica dynasty unify the peninsula in the 7th century CE - Korea maintained formal allegiance to the Chinese emperor

in ecstatic shamanism, one becomes a shaman by

- contracting a "spirit sickness" (shinbyeong) - what needs to be understood is that originally, only women can be Shamans - through Shaman training, people learn to manage this illness - shamans then go onto help others manage imbalances in the spirit realm (these imbalances manifest themselves as illness or misfortune) - shamans are hired to contact spirits for advice and blessings

special concert preceding the South Korean Winter Olympics in 2018

- from a lottery of 40,000 participants, 500 were selected to attend the concert - during the olympics, Norway and Germany won 14 gold medals, followed by Canada winning 11, and the US winning 9 - South Korea won 5 gold metals, and North Korea won none - the North Koreans were publicly humiliated when they returned to the north and were punished by digging ditches and cleaning sides of the roads - concert featured arirang as the closing number, but there were also some other magnificent songs performed

how sinawi exemplifies several key characteristics of Korean traditional music

- improvisation - "living tones": a close connection between pitch and ornamentation - "rough beauty": an emphasis on timbral variety - in recent decades, efforts to return to improvisatory performance have emerged

primary export-driven economy boomed in the 1990s until the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997

- in 1998, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailed out Korea's debt by loaning 55 billion dollars to the country (the largest bailout in history) - this was done on condition that Seoul cut public spending, open its market more to foreign goods and investors and curb the ability of the business corporations to expand

percussion traditions: samulnori

- in the late 19th century, professional percussionists and dance musicians traveled the countryside, playing in villages and ceremonies - performances included tight-rope walkers, plat spinners, puppet theater, etc - in the late 1970s, during the period of increased interest in Korean folk culture, a group of musicians who were sons of performers in this tradition, formed a new group and called themselves "Samulnori" meaning "four things playing

4 things about shamanism

- it is Korea's indigenous (native or original) religion - many of Korea's most famous traditional music genres have ties to shamanism - shamanism seeks to heal or mediate crisis. This has continuing relevance to contemporary Korean society with its multitudinous crises - ecstatic shamanism is on the rise, even outside of its traditional geographic strongholds

anxieties about national identity

- lead people to identify, categorize, and promote traditional music, and as in this case, to search for "authentic" original versions - universally modern

pungmul

- literally "wind objects" - was played by common people in pre-colonial Korea - previously known as nongak or "farmer's music" - today, it is called upon to represent the rural past and the common folk

the modern Arirang

- modeled after Jeongseon Arirang from the province of Gangwon-do (in central-eastern Korea)

South Korean population

- more than 80% of the country's population lives in urban (city) areas - this is a dramatic change from the demographics of the 19th century where the urban population was only 5% - the urban sprawl creates many problems and challenges

pansori

- musical epic storytelling - features a solo singer with "buk" (barrel drum) accompaniment - the singer tells stories from Korean folklore using: 1) narrative: description of plot setting and characters 2) song 3) dramatic gestures

East Asian countries have emulated western cultural forms in order to

- negotiate their own sense of modernity - this allure could also come partially from an urge to join the fantasy of a global, essentially western contemporary culture

North Korea background

- north Koreans are relatively poor. the average wage is 10$ a month - only about one percent of the population could be considered wealthy - the government is politically stable - the policies isolationist. - until only recently has the government been willing to reach out to other nations - example: the recent Olympic Games in South Korea which attracted North Korean athletes and culture

Korea's indigenous religion, Shamanism

- often regarded as the wellspring from which Korean culture sprang - a form of animism

Korean religion

- peacefully coexists with Christians, Buddhists, Confucianists and Islamists and the original predominant religion, Shamanism - Buddhism was first introduced from Qin, China in 351 AD

korean music of 1990s and beyond

- since the 1990s, Korea's prosperity has generated immigration of foreign workers - people have come from china, Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan, North Korea, Russia, west africa, the United States, and elsewhere - this increasing diversity has led to an increasingly diverse set of musical communities and scenes

South Korea background

- south korea is strongly influenced by the United States - there are large communities of immigrants from South Korea living in the united states and other English-speaking countries - the government is politically stable - the policies isolationist - until only recently has the government been willing to reach out to other nations - example: the recent Olympic Games in South Korea which attracted South Korean athletes and culture - Christianity has grown dramatically among the elite and poor. This has produced anxieties in South Korea about Korean tradition and modernity - there has been a rise in interest in Korean culture in Japan, Taiwan, China, and Southeast Asia, and beyond - new political relationships in the 20th century introduced modern notions of citizenship, national system of education, media attention - all of these changes of massive social and political transformation promoted a perception of the loss of Korean cultural traditions

1910

- the Japanese colonize Korea - this further isolates Korea from China

the dawn of contemporary Korean pop: Kpop

- the US military governed for four years after the end of the Asia-pacific war (world war 2: 1941-1945) - during this period and after, the US exerted a strong neocolonial influence because of American military radio and contact with American military and civilians - in the later 1980s, several styles of protest music helped bring about the end of South Korean authoritarianism - these protest songs and a blending from a wide range of western genres led to the development of K-pop

a national institute for national music was established called the "national gugak center"

- the center modeled on Japanese kokugaku, which uses the same Chinese characters - at first, the center only focused on music and dance of the court aristocracy - in the 1960s, the center broadened to include musics from other traditional classes - this was meant to emphasize Korea's historical coherence as a country

three years after the end of the Asia-pacific war,

- the democratic people's Republic of Korea was founded in the north - the North Korean state has tried to rid the country of the remnants of the class-based, pre-modern society ad to purge the influence of Japanese colonialism and capitalism

musical ensembles reflect the importance of

- the masses, a propaganda technique - large choirs, huge orchestral ensembles, massive stage effects are all part of the North Korean propaganda machine

song and film Arirang

- the song appeared in a 1926 film, also called Arirang, by filmmaker Na Ungyu - the song and the film, which dealt with the pressures, sorrows, and psychoses of colonial life, resonated with audiences - the song became a symbol of hope for a better world for the future despite the difficulties of the present - there is a brief commentary about the film - as the document indicates, the audience cried and sang the song repeatedly at the conclusion of the film

hereditary shamanism

- the spiritual needs of the wealthy are addressed - hereditary shamanists lived in the southwest regions of Korea in a fertile agrarian area with a complex hierarchal (ranked according to state) social structure - the shaman mediates between the spirit world and the living through ceremonies

the state of Korea has used music in an effort to create vigorous patriotism in several ways:

- the state hires composers - musical content is highly controlled, must reflect state doctrine or nationalism socialist ideology, militarism, and Neo-confucian thought (after the order of the Chinese leader Mao Zedong and the classless society) - contact with the outside world is severely limited - musical culture was made to conform to western ideals using western instruments and techniques

2008, The New York Philharmonic

- they performed its first ever concert in Pyongyang, North Korea in 2008 - it was the first significant cultural visit from the United States since the Korean War of 1950 to 1953

like southwest shamanism, pansori features

- timbral contrast, raspiness, and a mix of the region's plaintive and vigorous melodic modes

history of arirang

- traditional performance practice, the singer chooses from among the song's innumerable verses based on the audience and occasion - this is characteristic of Korea traditional music: social improvisation

specialized art high schools

- trained students in the performing arts to preserve this national identity - one of these is the Cheonan Girls' high school - it is located southwest of Seoul and is dedicated to the performing arts

history of Arirang

- traveling entertainers brought songs to different regions of the Korean peninsula - these songs stayed behind and, over time, were transformed to follow the melodic characteristics of the region - as a result, there are many folk songs with the word, "Arrange" in the title

western music in Korea

- was first introduced by military bands and Protestant missionaries in the late 19th century - later, western music pedagogy was introduced in schools - as the style bagel to gain broad acceptance, college music departments, conservatories, and private studios flourished

four purposes of pungmul

- was performed in rural ceremonies to bless houses, crops, villages, and special events - it accompanied and encouraged rural work - it was used to fundraise for village projects, temples, etc - was one of the principal forms of rural entertainment until the mid-20th century

different versions of the Arirang

- were quickly recorded by multiple singers and disseminated via was media

western art music's influence on Korea

- western art music has shaped Korean traditional music throughout the 20th and 21st centuries

the process of Korean modernity undermined hereditary shamanism

- with the radical changes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many people worked to improve their social standing - descendants of shamans and shamanist musicians (all lower-caste) left the practice behind - the government did not embrace shamanism for many years because of its marginal and suspect status

Korea is divided into two protectorates

1. North (soviet-stewarded) 2. South (American-occupied)

prescribed order for pungmul procession

1. a flag-bearer leads procession 2. instrumentalists follow flag-bearer. These included a small gong, a large gong, a Janggo (hourglass-shaped drum) and a barrel drum (referred as a "buk") 3. dancer-acrobats follow the four instruments 4. the last group consists of actor-dancers who parody social roles such as Buddhist monks, aristocrats, scholars, Korean and American generals, politicians, etc

the dream of the south Korean people

1. become a successful and dynamic nation 2. become united, even if raucous and confused 3. be at ease with the past and ready for a glorious future

problems and challenges of urban sprawl in South Korea

1. economic instability 2. precarious international relations 3. fragmentation of modern life 4. patterns of social marginalization: treating others as insignificant or peripheral

2 forms of shamanism

1. ecstatic shamanism: developed from the northern and central regions of the peninsula 2. hereditary shamanism: came from the south and eastern seaboard

impacts of Chinese culture on Korea

1. hierarchical (ranked) organization of society 2. Korea was not feudal (medieval), with only aristocracy and peasantry 3. Korea, like china, had a large bureaucratic class between the aristocracy and the lower classes 4. many members of the lower classes were slaves, though slavery wasn't hereditary or permanent 5. each class had its own style of music

what cultural practices did Korea import from Russia, america and Japan

1. military marching bands 2. christian hymnody 3. western popular music 4. western classical music education are compositional technique

shamanist patterns are often in

12/8 time

Arrange and the agonies of Korea's modernization

= a song created in the early 20th century, but inspired by a traditional song - its history, dissemination, reception and stylistic characteristics reveal a great deal about Korea's disturbed modernity

Bureaucracy

government

in the 1980s, the pungmul became a tool of

protest during the movement board democracy

knowledge of western art music is an effective way to

raise someones social status

example of pansori singing

tells a story

the first air-to-air combat in history occurred in

the Korean War (1950-1953)

another hereditary shamanism gut ritual

the calling of the god by one to carry on the work of the shamanist

pansori is through to originate in

the southwest of Korea - 17th century by male professional musicians with connections to shaman culture - singers were often shaman - began among lower classes, but later was patronized by the middle class, and eventually royalty

South Korea established cultural institutions

to define, preserve, and perpetuate practices regarded as national traditions

orchestral version of the "Arirang" folk song

was broadcast throughout North Korea on the north Korean state television system

most shamanists in early Korean history were

women

korean language

bears trace resemblances to Mongolia, and the grammatical structure is nearly identical to Japanese

seoul

capital of South Korea and is home to 13 million people

Pansori song

a song that expressed the thought, feelings, and emotions of a story being told by the singer

agrarian means

agricultural

ecstatic shamanism

is a means of managing spirits, coping with illness, accidents, failures, etc - it also has a means of coping with social tension - it occupies a transitional space between relatively fixed realms of social life - shamans often work acts of transformation

korean music is useful because

it can transform isolation into unity and sorrow into exhilaration and joy

the most important rhythmic instrument in Korean music

janggu or janggo