Korea in April is beautiful with spring flowers covering just about every inch of green space. Dainty petals of cherry blossoms, bright yellow rape flowers of Jeju Island, luscious camellia flowers in Busan, and azaleas and forsythias along the streets and city parks are nature’s signs that spring is finally here. And what better place for a spring outing is there than Seoul Namsan Gukakdang, a music hall for Korean traditional music nestled in a flowery and cozy part of Mt. Nam in downtown Seoul?

Seoul Namsan Gukakdang is the latest favorite of tourists looking to enjoy spring flowers and traditional musical performances all at once. Located in the Namsan-gol Hanok Village midway up the Namsan Beltway, Seoul Namsan Gukakdang can be reached in many different ways. Some people take a leisurely stroll along the Namsan Beltway to arrive at the Namsan-gol Hanok Village, or get off at Chungmuro Station of subway lines 3 and 4 to walk about 200 meters to the hanok enclave. You can tell that you’re nearing the hanok village when traditional Korean houses start showing up. On one side of the village stands the music hall built in the traditional hanok style. Here’s Mr. Choi Chan-ho of Seoul Namsan Gukakdang to explain more about the musical venue.

This building won the president’s prize at the 2009 Korea Architecture Awards. Although modern construction methods were used in its making, the building showcases the beauty of Korean traditional architecture. The building’s acoustic layout was customized for traditional music without compromising the architectural integrity of a traditional hanok. From the front entrance you can see that the building is built in a square shape with a yard in the middle. People often think that it is a single-story building, but it actually has two basement floors. The performance hall is located in the first underground floor and there is even a Korean-style garden called Chimsangwon on the same floor. Visitors can also see Seoul Tower from the basement floor and Korean native flowers in the garden. Even though the building has some modern features, it certainly exudes the ancient charm and characteristics of Korean architecture.

Aiming to build Korea’s largest and most well-known traditional music concert hall, the city government of Seoul invested some 12 billion won, or approximately 10 million dollars, to build a three-story hanok with a total area of nearly 2,400 square meters. There are two other venues for traditional music in Seoul – the National Theater of Korea and the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts. But Seoul Namsan Gukakdang stands apart from these venues in that it is built in the hanok style and located in Mt. Nam where people of the olden days came to enjoy entertainment in natural surroundings. The interior of Seoul Namsan Gukakdang is also replete with traditional features.

The traditional Korean interior makes you feel like you’re at your grandfather’s house. The traditional hanok windows are made of paper and our windows are not only paper-paned, but also sport a traditional lattice pattern. The yard for outdoor folk plays is designed to bring the audience and performers closer together. As for the sound system, we set up the stage as to amplify the natural sound as much as possible without relying on modern audio systems. You can hear the natural sounds of Korean music without the man-made devices.

On the stage is an original folk play entitled “Let’s Play, Bukcheong Lion,” written by master playwright Oh Tae-seok.

The story is about a tiger maiden who falls in love with a human and saves mankind from a plague. The dances are entertaining for having combined all the signature traditional folk dances of Korea and the plot is easy even for foreigners to understand. Moreover, the audience is only two steps away from the stage, allowing the audience to see and hear the performance up close and personal. Here’s the playwright Oh Tae-seok.

This medium-sized theater allows clear views of the stage from anywhere in the audience. The capacity is only 300 seats and the theater is structured in a way to allow the sound to travel clearly to every corner. It’s made for Korean traditional plays or pansori performances.

- Almost all gukak performances I’ve seen were held in open venues, which were quite noisy and scattered the sound. But this play invited the audience to enjoy every bit of it. The Korean music performances were particularly enjoyable because they were performed live. In most plays the audience has to look up to the stage, but this theater had the audience look down on the stage, which was more comfortable for us. The theater is very inviting like a family backyard. I can even walk around during the play.

Performances are not the only offering here at Seoul Namsan Gukakdang. One of the most popular programs there is Misuda, a hands-on cultural experience program. Here’s Mr. Choi Chan-ho to explain more about the program.

The Misuda program includes listening to traditional music, dressing up in hanbok, and participating in a traditional tea ceremony. Listening to music makes your mind beautiful, which is the reason for the letter “mi” meaning beauty in “misuda.” Wearing hanbok makes you an exceptional beautiful person, thus the letter “su” meaning exceptional. Lastly, “da” means tea for the tea ceremony which cleanses your body and mind. That’s how we came up with the name “Misuda.”

The Misuda program composed of these three traditional experiences lasts for about 100 minutes. The participation cost is 50 thousand won or about 47 dollars per person, and the program is offered in English, Japanese, and Chinese, which is a huge drawing point for foreign tourists. In last year alone, more than 2,500 foreigners took part in this program.

The Misuda program begins with teaching participants about the basic Korean etiquette, like which foot goes first when climbing up the stairs, how to take off your shoes, and how to greet each other. The first part of the program is hanbok dress-up.

- I’m Victoria from Ukraine. I have on an orange skirt and a dark violet top. There are butterflies on the white sleeves. They’re very intricate and pretty.
-It’s very beautiful and I feel like I’m in a TV drama. Many Korean historical dramas are aired in Japan, too, so I had a lot of fun today.

Next up is the tea ceremony experience. Participants sit demurely and learn how to make and drink traditional tea.

Today’s tea is green tea. The instructor explains about the benefits of green tea and teaches how to boil water and brew tea.

Participants steep themselves in the Korean tea culture as they make their own brew of traditional Korean tea. Japanese participants, in particular, appear deeply interested in the Korean tea ceremony, which differ from their own.

- I asked the instructor whether Koreans drink tea first and then have cookies. In Japan we eat cookies first and then drink tea. The Korean tea ceremony was so interesting that I want to bring a friend with me next time.

Following the tea ceremony is a traditional music session. Participants not only listen to Korean music, but learn about the traditional musical instruments used in the performance.

Janggu, the two-sided drum of Korea, is the most familiar instrument to foreigners, since the drum is ubiquitous in Korean folk plays and samulnori. Unlike other drums, janggu’s pitch can be controlled. Next instrument is gayageum.

Stringed up with 12 silken threads, gayageum is known as a female instrument for its delicate and soulful sound. Descriptions of daegeum, a large Korean flute, and haegeum, the Korean string instrument, follow. Learning about these instruments deepens people’s appreciation of them even further. After the instrument overview session comes a traditional music performance.

Hi, I’m from France and I just watched a Korean music performance. It was very moving and very different from other concerts I’ve seen. The sound of string instruments was so beautiful. This music had something different from other kinds of music. I enjoyed it.

Participants can even learn the Korean song Arirang. Today they learn Jindo Arirang, an Arirang with a faster beat.

The key to further enjoying traditional Korean performances is learning how to do chuimsae, or improvised interjections meant to encourage the performers.

Visitors have a wonderful time doing chuimsae, slapping their knees and shrugging their shoulders to the rhythm, and merrily singing Arirang. It has been an unforgettable day for these foreigners.

I’m Pussan Kumar from India. I enjoyed learning about Korean traditional culture. I liked Korean tea, traditional music, and traditional costume. I especially liked the music. Very unique. I could see what kind of music ancient Koreans enjoyed. All my experiences today were great.

Seoul Namsan Gukakdang offers not only lovely spring sceneries and traditional music, but also the rare opportunities to immerse oneself in Korean culture, like dressing up in hanbok and drinking Korean tea. Such interesting and classical experiences make Seoul Namsan Gukakdang a popular spot for both foreign and local visitors.