Green shoots of barley are sprouting in the south during spring season. These young buds endured a long, harsh winter and finally came out to flourish in the warm weather. Back in the day when food was not as plentiful as now, people must have felt both grateful and proud to see these little green signs of future abundance. There was a special song that the people of Gyeongsang-do Province used to sing while they harvested barley, titled “Ongheya옹헤야.” Koreans farmers used a tool called dorikkae도리깨, a type of flail, which is wielded to separate grains from the husks. This farming tool has two or three short wooden sticks attached to a long pole. The farmer would swing it in a large circular motion to thresh the barley that was placed on the ground. The song “Ongheya” was originally very slow, which would not have been that strange given that wielding a flail like this would have been pretty exhausting. It became a much merrier, faster paced song when professional singers adapted it later. Now, “Ongheya” has become more than a work song from Gyeongsang-do Province. It gives inspiration for other various music pieces. “Ongheya for a Gayageum Quartet” composed by Lim Jun-hee is one such arranged piece. The Gyeonggi Gayageum Ensemble performs this week’s rendition.  

Music 1: Ongheya for a Gayageum Quartet/ Performed by Gyeonggi Gayageum Ensemble

Folk songs were sung in the past to provide comfort and joy to ordinary people while they worked or had fun. In present day, folk songs have been reinvented into various types of music, such as pop, jazz or even orchestra pieces. Coming up next is “Seodo Arirang서도아리랑” played with the goeumjeodae고음저대, a North Korean version of the Korean traditional wind instrument daegeum대금. “Seodo Arirang” refers to the Arirang of the Pyeongan평안 region in the northwest coast of the peninsula. Compared to the Arirang sung in the Gyeonggi region, Seodo Arirang is faster and features geographical locations from North Korea. However, the melodies are similar, especially with instrumental pieces. In the 1950s, Goeumjeodae was modified in North Korea as a part of the country’s musical instrument modernization project. The daegeum was divided into goeum고음, jungeum중음, and jeoeum저음, which means high, middle, and low notes. The haegeum해금 was also changed into daehaegeum대해금, junghaegeum중해금, and sohaegeum소해금 according to size. Such detailed changes made the Korean instrument easier to make more varied sounds and distinguished traditional music played in North Korea from that played in South Korea. Here’s “Seodo Arirang” performed by Kumgangsan Opera Troupe, comprised of ethnic Koreans in Japan.  

Music 2: Seodo Arirang/ Goeumjeodae by Ri Suk-im, performed by Kumgangsan Opera Troupe

That was “Seodo Arirang” performed by Kumgangsan Opera Troupe with Ri Suk-im playing the goeumjeodae. 

World-famous K-pop group BTS is known for telling their own stories through music and connecting with worldwide audiences, as well as incorporating Korean culture into their songs. Street dancers such as b-boys have long been doing the same through their art. “Flying Korean,” an album released in 2007, features various folk songs arranged for street dance. In addition to western instruments like drums or guitars, Korean instruments such as the piri, daegeum, haegeum, and sogeum소금 are played to create a dynamic harmony. B-boys drew explosive reactions from the younger crowd by dancing to the album’s vibrant music. We will listen to “Monggeumpo Taryeong” from the album to wrap up this week’s Sounds of Korea. Jin Seong-soo will play the taepyeongso.

Music 3: Monggeumpo Taryeong/ Tapyeongso by Jin Seong-soo