It’s become almost impossible these days to see the stars in the urban night sky because of bright city lights. It’s understandable that so-called ‘light pollution’ has become an environmental issue. But as recent as a few decades ago when electricity wasn’t so common, nights were really dark. There were candles and oil lamps, but only the rich could afford expensive candles and oil lamps often used by common people were not that bright. There wasn’t much that people could do at night, so they preferred to just go to sleep when the sun went down. It became natural for them to sleep when the sun set and to wake up and go to work when the sun rose. So, imagine how long and boring the nights were in winter. It would have been more unbearable if your loved one was far away. Perhaps this was why Hwang Jin-yi황진이, Joseon’s most well-known gisaeng and entertainer, wrote the following poem.

She described how she wants to spend a long, cozy night with her lover. Here’s traditional music ensemble SoulJigi singing “November.”

The next song we have lined up for you is “Winter,” a gayageum-accompanied song based on poetess Heo Nanseolheon’s허난설헌 poem of the same name. Heo is one of the most admired poetesses of the mid-Joseon period. She is the sister of Heo Gyun, the author of iconic “The Story of Hong Gil-dong홍길동.” She was talented enough to write poems at age eight, but the Joseon era wasn’t the right time for gifted women to thrive. Women were forbidden to have careers or engage in social activities outside of home. Arranged marriage was the only option available to them. It wasn’t surprising, therefore, that Heo Nanseolheon’s marriage was rocky. Her husband didn’t appreciate her talents and her own family was destroyed in political persecution. She lost her will to live after her little children got ill and died. She passed away at the young age of 27, leaving behind a will asking people to burn all her poems. The poem we have here shows how lonely her life was. 

How sad that she had no means to show her loneliness other than to pour out her heart in a poem. Here’s “Winter” performed by 25-string gayageum artist Jang Seo-yun. 

Coming up next is a geomungo solo titled “Soyeopsanbang소엽산방,” which means raking leaves at a house in a mountain village. The song’s composer, gayageum virtuoso Hwang Byung-ki황병기, described this piece as an ode to the rapidly passing time. Only three days remain in the year 2023. The year seems to have passed so quickly that many people probably couldn’t finish what they had set out to do at the beginning of the year. It’s better to not dwell on our regrets, but to burn them like fallen leaves and welcome in the new year with a clean, positive heart. Here’s geomungo artist Jeong Dae-seok to perform “Soyeopsanbang.”