KOREA MUSIC

Korean music reached its peak of excellence somewhere around the 15th century when the Yi kings of the Joseon dynasty ruled while the invasion from Japan totally washed away Korean music for somewhere around forty years. Korean music saw the light once again after 1945 but as was destined, it was split in 1951, which led to the split in cultures as well. South Korea took much of the western instruments and culture from the U.S. Troops who were stationed there. Traditionally, Korea had folk and classical music that was mostly played in courts. There were various genres of music like the Sanjo, Pansori and the Nongak.
♦ The court music of Korea was called the "jeongak" and was basically made for the sophisticated and literate upper class with an intellectual strain in them. It emanates slow music that consists of single beats, which are as long as three seconds. It is soft and calming to the mind as it uses instruments that do not use metal to produce sound. Most of the instruments are either made of bamboo or silk, so they create a muffled sound.
♦ Pansori performances include a singer and a drummer. "Pan" means a place where many people gather and "sori" means sound. Unlike court music, it is more about common people and their lives. "The Tale of Chunyang" is an ancient and literary pansori composition adored by the people and the recital covers a spectacular eight-hour performance. Pansori performers were inspired by popular love stories and satires. Pungmul, another popular genre which is Korea's folk music, is an expression of different emotions.
♦ Modern-day music is known as K-pop, a Korean blend of pop and rock, which is very popular amongst the people.
♦ Dance in South Korea is equally interesting as there are two types of dance as well; one for the court and the other for the common people to enjoy and participate. The traditional dance of Korea had its origin in the shamanistic rituals. In the case of music, the Japanese invasions led most of the dance forms to die a slow death. There are many dance forms that are lost.
♦ Paintings in South Korea are petroglyphic, those that are done on rocks. The themes of the paintings took a turn when Buddhism arrived in China. The techniques used in paintings have also changed, though originally, Korean techniques did exist.