Korea, located in East Asia, is bordered by China on the north and across the Sea of Japan from Japan. It is an ancient civilization with a cultural legacy extending back over four thousand years to the Gojoseon Kingdom (고조선). Korea's unique location and cultural development allowed it to serve as a conduit, transmitting culture from Korea, China and Southeast Asia to Japan.
Westerners often view Korea through the lens of technology products and K-pop and are surprised to find traditional Korean music not only existing, but evolving and prospering. Listen to ADG7 (악단광칠 Ak Dan Gwang Chil) perform a blend of Korean folk songs, shamanistic ritual sounds and traditional instruments from Hwanghae Province.
ADG7 (악단광칠) | Traditional Korean music in the 21st century. (0:00 to 3:40)
A Legacy of Music
Although music existed in ancient Gojoseon, details are scant and, thus, this music can't be recreated. The oldest Korean artifacts and written records about music date to a later period: the Three Kingdoms era (삼국시대), 57 BCE to 668 CE. A rich legacy of music may be traced to this time: court music, folk music, poetic songs, and music for religious rituals. This body of music is collectively called guk ak (국악), meaning national music.
For our jaunt into Korean music, we will focus on a traditional instrument played continuously from the sixth century to modern times (including in the above ADG7 video), the gayageum (가야금).
Gayageum
The gayageum (가야금), sometimes romanized as kayagum and kayageum, is a plucked chordophone belonging to the zither family. It features a flat wooden sound box with multiple strings stretched across it, is placed horizontally on the floor or on a stand, and is played with fingers. Gayageum is central to traditional Korean music, occupying a position similar to the piano in Western culture.
Gayageum Sanjo (가야금 산조) | Kwon Eun Kyung (권은경) playing a twelve-string gayageum sanjo | Wikimedia Commons
Construction
The traditional gayageum sanjo (가야금 산조) is approximately 142 cm long by 23 cm wide by 10 cm deep. Paulownia wood is used as a soundboard while the back and sides are constructed of hardwoods such as chestnut or walnut. The gayageum sanjo has twelve silk strings, although modern instruments may have as many as twenty-five strings. On the soundboard, anjok (bridges) are used to support the strings. These bridges may be moved to adjust tuning and intonation. The gayageum is closely related to other Asian zithers, including the Chinese guzheng and Japanese koto.
Korean legend says the gayageum was developed during the sixth century in the Gaya confederacy by King Gashil after seeing a Chinese guzheng. Hence, the name literally means "zither of Gaya,"i.e., from 가야 ( gaya, “Gaya confederacy”) plus 금 (geum, “zither”). However, archaeological excavations in the Jeolla-namdo Province have uncovered fragments of a gayageum from the first century BCE, suggesting the gayageum is considerably older than the sixth century.
This ancient gayageum of King Gashil is called the pungryu or Sejong ak gayageum and is associated with court music, chamber music, and lyric songs. The pungryu gayageum is larger and uses more widely spaced strings than the sanjo and modern gayageum.
Gayageum Sanjo
The gayageum sanjo (가야금 산조) is the most popular form of this instrument. It developed in the nineteenth century along with the emergence of sanjo music. Sanjo means scattered melodies and pieces often features fast tempos and improvisation after a slow introduction. The gayageum sanjo version of the instrument has closer string spacing and is shorter than the ancient Jeong ak gayageum, enhancing the performance of fast passages. Traditionally, gayageum sanjo uses silk strings, although some players of traditional gayageum styles have switched to nylon strings.
Modern gayageum are strung with nylon-wrapped steel strings, similar to the strings on Chinese guzheng, rather than the silk strings of the gayageum sanjo. Modern gayageum also have more strings than the gayageum sanjo, nearly double in number. This change in materials and number of strings yields increased volume and pitch range for contemporary music.
Technique
The traditional gayageum is played sitting on the floor with crossed legs, the lower bout of the instrument on the right knee and the lower bout on the floor. Modern gayageum is played elevated on a stand with the player seated or standing behind the instrument.
Gayageum is played directly with hands: right hand plucks, strums and flicks the strings near the bridge while the left hand pushes the strings on the left side of the bridges to change pitch and add vibrato and ornamentation. Gayageum tone is soft, delicate, and subtle, about the same volume as a tenor ukulele.
Gayageum Sanjo Solo | Pak Se Un plays a gayageum sanjo in nineteenth century style. The changgo, 장구, (hourglass drum) provides accents (6:30)
Gayageum Byeongchang
Gayageum Byeongchang (가야금 병창) is a traditional Korean style where singers accompany themselves on gayageum. We'll listen to "Saetaryeong," (say-ta-ri-young) an example of Namdo Minyo (남도민요), folk song from southern Korea. The lyrics speak of birds, good fortune, good harvest and the coming of Spring. Bird song is imitated in the melody: owl, crane, and barn shallows.
Gayageum Byeongchang, "Saetaryeong" | The Korean folk song, Saetaryeong (새타령), with gayageum, voice and changgo (5:26)
Gayageum & Popular Music
The gayageum has evolved beyond its ancient roots and is used in both popular and classical music. The use of electronic pickup systems and nylon-wrapped steel strings allows the traditionally soft spoken gayageum to be on equal footing with electric guitars and symphony orchestras. While scoring of the gayageum in popular music is a niche genre, it's use demonstrates this ancient instrument's versatility and appeal. Few instruments have enjoyed nearly two thousands years of continuous popularity!
Covering Rock Classics on the Gayageum (2:55)
La La Land - City of Stars by XOi | Pop fusion with gayageum (2:29)
A Legacy of Music
Korea and East Asia
Gayageum
Construction
History
Technique
Gayageum Byeongchang 
Gayageum & Popular Music
Into the Light—Music of Korea
