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What is Gugak?The term gugak translates into “national music” and comprises roughly of two bigger genres, folk music and court music.
While court music includes ritual and aristocratic music like aak (imported from China), dang-ak (a fusion between Chinese and Korean court music) and hyang-ak (purely Korean), the folk music has p’ansori (vocal), sanjo (instrumental music), jeong-ak (instrumental and vocal music), nongak (“farmers’ music”,  drumming, dancing, and singing), shinawi (shamanistic music)  and salpuri (dance, related to shaman rituals). Today, we also have newer additions to Korean Music, Changjak-gugak or Shin-gugak, newly-composed Korean traditional music and fusion gugak, with western elements.
I would like to give you a general overview of Korean Traditional Music and focus on two interesting topics, P’ansori and Fusion Gugak afterwards.

InstrumentsOne unique aspect of Korean folk music you will come across, is the freedom a master musician possesses during the performance. Improvisation during a concert, be it as soloist or ensemble, is allowed and depend on the personal preference of the musicians.
Popular instruments in Korean Traditional music are the plucked zither gayageum, fiddle haegeum, bamboo flute daegeum, hourglass-shaped drum janggu, which is the most prominent rhythm instrument in Korean music. Inspired by the western orchestra, there are also orchestra like formations with traditional instruments in Korea, including a conductor.

Rhythm and TheoryOne unique aspect of Korean folk music you will come across, is the freedom a master musician possesses during the performance.Improvisation during a concert, be it as soloist or ensemble, is allowed and depend on the personal preference of the musicians. The basic rhythm in folk music are called jangdan (can also mean tempo, accent) and while they follow set patterns, it is expected that a skilled artist is able to improvise individually, using the patterns as foundation.

Most used patterns are: jinyang (slow), jungmori (medium), jungjungmori (medium-fast), jajinmori (fast) and hwimori (very fast). Referring the the “modes” in Korean Traditional Music, there are many “modes” for example in p’ansori, since a musical piece is not characterised through keys or mode but rather the nature of the melody itself. Two essential and basic modes you’ll find in Korean Traditional Music are called  gyemyeonjo (sad style) and ujo (majestic), both use a five-pitch scale without semitones (anhemitonic pentatonic scale).

Let’s talk about P’ansoriP’ansori became internationally recognized in 2003 as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO. It is being performed by a solo singer (sorikkun) and a drummer (gosu) and was formerly considered as an entertainment for the lower class, until the patronage by the yangban (upper class) made p’ansori popular.

Today, there are five surviving P’ansori, Chunhyangga, Simcheongga, Heungbuga, Sugungga and Jeokbyeokka and each one of them conveys are different message to the audience.
Previously the songs of one p’ansori were performed throughout the whole day or only pieces of it, as entertainment for a banquet or celebration for passing a government exam, but at the present day people expect a p’ansori performance by a master singer to be complete, hence performances can last between three to eight hours (with small breaks of course).

The five P’ansoriChunhyangga is a romantic love story about a woman, who endures hardships and stays faithful until her lover returns. Their relationship is not an usual one, as she is the daughter of a gisaeng (female entertainer) and he is of noble birth. This famous story was retold in movies for the cinema and also in a modernized TV Series, Sassy Girl Chun Hyang.

Simcheongga emphasizes filial piety in showing the audience the sacrifice the girl Simcheong makes to give her blind father his eyesight back.
To regain his sight, the father promises a wandering monk hundred sacks of rice but because he is as poor as a beggar and can’t fulfill his promise to the monk, his daughter Simcheong sells herself to fishermen who are in need for a sacrifice for the water god.

Heungbuga teaches confucian family values (the rightful order within a family) with the story of two brothers.
While the poor, younger brother is rewarded with riches for his honest life after he mends the broken leg of a swallow, the older brother who inherited the family fortune falls into disgrace after he purposely breaks the leg of a swallow to gain the same riches as his younger brother.

Sugungga is a witty tale about a rabbit, who escapes from the underwater palace, after he got caught to get his liver sacrificed to the sick dragon king. After convincing the king that he forgot his liver on land, rabbit manages to save his life.

Jeokbyeokka is the re-telling of the famous Chinese tale the “Red Cliff” and displays warfare, the code of honor between men, the lifes of soldiers and generals. It is said, that Jeokbyeokka is the most difficult p’ansori to master, both in technique and understanding of the story.

Where to go?

National Gugak Center (http://www.gugak.go.kr/eng/index.jsp)
National Theater of Korea (http://www.ntok.go.kr/english/)

And what about Fusion Gugak?Fusion Gugak is not to be confused with Changjak-gugak or Shin-gugak, which means newly-composed Korean traditional music. While Changjak-gugak stays faithful to its roots in traditional theory and forms, Fusion Gugak experiments with western popular music, be it in instrumentation, usage of synthesizer or even dance.
Highly popular are musicals like Miso, with a storyline from Korean folklore and a combination of korean and western music and formations like SOREA, a girl group-esque ensemble, comprised of players of the gayageum, haegeum, daegeum, kkwaenggwari (small, flat gong), janggu, who speak to a younger audience in and outside of Korea with their rigorously choreographed performances and attractive looks.
Soundtracks of Korean TV Dramas (OST), often include Fusion Gugak and official institutions, such as the KTO (Korea Tourism Organization) use the music of Fusion Gugak to introduce Korea to foreigners.

But there are also other trends within Fusion Gugak, the group AUX experiments with western instruments, such as keyboards and drums and gives us unique sounds outside the mainstream, much like a indie band – but originating from Korean Music. AUX won the Grand Prize in 2010 at the prestigious Korean Music Project and in 2011 they represented Korea at the competition Asian Beat by Yamaha.

Have a peek at their unique style in the video here!

Royal Clothes
	King and Queen's Ceremonial Robes The early Joseon Dynasty kings made neo-Confucianism the ruling ideology. Its emphasis on formality and etiquette dictated the style of dress for the royal family, aristocrats, and commoners for all types of occasions including weddings, and funerals. Integrity in men and chastity in women became the foremost social values and was reflected in the way people dressed.  The Beauty of the Hanbok

Kinds of Hanbok
	The various kinds of the hanbok are classified according to the social status, class, gender, and age of those who wear them. Today, the hanbok is worn mostly on special occasions, and is divided into categories based on its function. These include, but are not limited to, weddings, 61st birthdays, first birthdays and holidays. Myeongeol Hanbok Koreans traditionally show their respect to their parents early in the morning on the first day of the New Year by bowing deeply. Customarily, both parents and children wore hanbok. Children's hanbok usually consists of a rainbow-striped jeogori (jacket) and either a chima (girls' skirt) or a baji (boys' pants). Dol Hanbok The first birthday of a child, the dol, is traditionally celebrated with wishes for longevity and health. Children wear the dol-hanbok or dol-ot on this special day. A boy usually wears a pinkish jeogori (jacket) with a long blue goreum (cloth strings). Girls usually wear a rainbow-striped jeogori for special occasions. Currently, the trend is for girls to war a dangui, a kind of ceremonial coat. Hoegabyeon Hanbok / Gwanryebok Hoegabyeon is when children throw a party to celebrate the 61st birthday of either parent and wish for their longevity. Men who turn 61 wear a geumgwanjobok, while women wear a dangui, a kind of ceremonial dress for special occasio Hollyebok (Wedding Hanbok) Unlike hanboks for daily use, hanboks worn as a traditional wedding costume is marked by its bright appearance. The bridegroom wears the baji (pants), the jeogori (a jacket), the joggi (a vest), the magoja (an overcoat), and the durumagi (an overall coat). The bride wears a green chima (a skirt), a yellow jeogori (a short jacket), and a wonsam (a bride's long overcoat). Her hair is prepared using a jokduri (a special head ornament). Saenghwal Hanbok The use of rational hanboks follows complex rules, and requires meticulous attention. Because of this, a simplified version of the hanbok has been introduced for daily use which incorporates simplicity and convenience. An increasing number of people want to express their individuality by wearing something that combines traditional beauty and modern simplicity. The modern version comes in a wide variety of styles and fabrics. > For more information on the evolution of Hanbok, click here.