The phoenix is an imaginary bird that supposedly shows up only during a peaceful time under the rule of a virtuous king. This is why the phoenix is used as the Korean president’s symbol. The phoenix is said to sit only on royal foxglove trees and eat only bamboo fruits. This is why Korean scholars used to plant royal foxglove trees around the men’s quarter and wish for the coming of a wise and benevolent king. But a kind king wasn’t the only person scholars waited for. A scholar also longed for his loved ones to come. His longing and sorrow only worsened when raindrops fell on royal foxglove leaves. Let’s listen to a poem-based song titled “On a Royal Foxglove Tree” sung by Kim Nari.

This week’s artist is King Sejong, the most multitalented king in the history of Joseon. King Sejong was not only the creator of the Korean alphabet hangeul한글, but also the inventor of many scientific equipment, such as the rain gauge and the sun dial. He was a legislator who also enacted the law that helped people who were unfairly made to work as slaves. King Sejong was an innovator, a pioneer, a game-changer and a giant in various fields. Amazingly, he was talented even in music. During King Sejong’s reign, music that originated in China was performed at the royal ancestral ceremonies held in Jongmyo, the ancient royal shrine. He used to complain that Koreans listened to Korean music while alive but had to listen to Chinese music after death. 

In the old days, percussion instrument called ‘pyeongyeong편경’ was used for royal memorial services, but pyeongyeong was all imported from China since the special type of jade employed in making this instrument could be found only in China. But King Sejong found the same jade in the Namyang region in Korea and ordered government official Park Yeon박연 to create Korea’s own pyeongyeong. When the instrument was tested, King Sejong pointed out that one of the notes was out of tune. Upon examining the instrument, they found that a single jade plate was slightly not ground enough. This anecdote demonstrated how musically discerning King Sejong was, able to pick out problems not plain to others. The king composed several pieces of music with his talent. The results included “Botaepyeong보태평,” “Jeongdaeup정대업,” “Yeominrak여민락” and many more. “Botaepyeong” and “Jeongdaeup” were used as Jongmyo ceremonial music by King Sejo, King Sejong’s son, and are still performed to this day. “Yeominrak,” which means to enjoy music with the people, was originally composed to accompany “Yongbieocheonga용비어천가,” a collection of epic poems about Joseon’s founding. Let’s listen to the National Gugak Center’s Court Music Orchestra performing “Yeominrak.”

Geomungo solo “Surijae수리재” was written by geomungo virtuoso Jeong Dae-seok in 1984. He had a friend by the name of Kim Gyu-hyeon김규현, who happened to be a woodblock print artists and expert on Tibet. Kim lived in a two-story thatched roof house built on the riverside in Hongcheon홍천, Gangwon-do Province and the name of that house was Surijae. Comprised of three movements, “Surijae” describes the peaceful natural scenes enjoyed from the house, such as the gourds covering the thatched roof, white smoke climbing out from the busy kitchen, and a wooden boat moored in the river. The piece is well-suited to the geomungo’s heavy and serene sound. Here’s geomungo virtuoso Jeong Dae-seok performing his own composition “Surijae.”