From July 3rd through the 21st, the 3rd annual Yeowoorak Festival was held at the National Theater of Korea. The Yeowoorak Festival began in 2010, and the title is an abbreviation for “Here is Korean Traditional Music” in Korean. As an example, you will be able to hear the traditional Korean pansori Chunghyangga, mixed with traditional Korean instruments and a western band. Here’s the music director for the Yeowoorak Festival, Jang Jae-hyo.

We began the festival in 2010, bringing four teams who based their music on traditional Korean music but performed mostly abroad. We wanted to show the Korean audience these groups that were well known in other countries, but relatively unknown here. Last year, we had four teams and a new group perform, but this year we’ve invited 13 groups to make the festival even grander in scale. It’s a festival that makes you think of what kind of music we enjoy in this day and age.

Unlike the past, traditional Korean music has been reinventing itself by communicating more with the audience, blending with various other genres and exchanging ideas with foreign artists. The Yeowoorak Festival is a great chance to listen to Korea’s traditional music.

The artists who participated in the 2010 and 2011 festivals mostly based Korea’s traditional rhythm with their own interpretations. For example, the group Baramgot used a traditional Indian instrument within their team while combining the sounds of the Bulshin gut from Korea’s eastern coastal regions. The Tori Ensemble used traditional Korean sounds called Deulsori as the base of their music. Another group called Gongmyung, a well-loved world music group, creates music using Korea’s traditional rhythm and melody in a more impromptu and fun way.

As such, the Yeowoorak Festival allows the audience to become one with traditional Korean music while also getting a feel for how versatile it is. Because of this charm, the number of teams who come to perform at the festival has grown from the initial four to 13, who fill up the National Theater of Korea’s many performance stages with music.

The biggest achievement that we’ve made was the development of a new type of audience. Many people come to the concerts at the National Theater of Korea, from young children to the elderly. Our guests were able to realize that we have musicians who experiment with different types of music based on our traditional sounds. It’s in harmony with the modern age we live in. We see them in shock, and falling in love with the music at the same time.



Through change and experiment, the Yeowoorak Festival has grown closer to the audience. The participating teams this year, like the previous years, are full of uniqueness and character. One of the performances included a grand traditional music opera based on Hwang Soon-won’s novel, Coarse Sand.

A voice actor would read excerpts from the novel while musicians would use eleven different traditional instruments to express what the characters were feeling. The actors used their body language to perform on stage. It was a unique opportunity to see a novel being performed on stage through music, acting and sounds.
Meanwhile, gayagum player and singer/songwriter Jung Min-ah’s performance was in a “Talk concert” style.

Under the theme “Your Story”, Jung used messages received on Facebook and Twitter as inspirations for songs and poems, combined with the music of a 25-stringed gayagum, drums, bass and cello.
Traditional Korean music was being transformed through these young artists. However, it wasn’t just young artists that took part in the festival. There were also skilled veteran performers such as master singer Ahn Sook-sun, master drummer Kim Chung-man, Lee Kwang-soo of the gongs etc. who held jam sessions using jazz and traditional music. Here’s Jang Jae-hyo to tell us more.

The average age of artists who take part in the Yeowoorak Festival is pretty young. However, veteran performers such as master singer Ahn Sook-sun and master drummer Kim Chung-man really added depth and stability to the performances. I think the great mix of young and old, of the veterans and new faces, is what makes the Yeowoorak Festival unique and enjoyable.

Most of the Yeowoorak Festival’s concerts were sold out. One of the most popular performances was “Sachunga” by young singer Lee Ja-ram.

Based on the epic The Good Woman of Setzuan, Sachunga has been restructured to fit in with Korea in the 21st century. The story begins with the question, “Are there good people in the world, and if there are, are they able to maintain their kindness?” Through a kind but ugly and jobless girl named Soon-duk, the story pokes fun at our twisted society.

The young singer, Lee Ja-ran plays multiple roles in the act, satirizing many problems in Korean society in 2012 such as appearance-oriented views, endless competition, youth joblessness and segregation based on education. That’s why we hear exhilarating laughter throughout the performance.

I think it breaks the barriers of a traditional pansori performance. It’s a comprehensive type of art. With song as the backbone, there are elements of theatrical expressiveness, music, traditional Korean instruments, Western instruments and even in the rhythm, there is a combination of traditional and Western rhythms. It is a combination of many different elements from the performers to the music, so I think it’s a very different concept in itself from the traditional pansori performances.



The pansori drama “Sachunga” was invited to the Chicago World Music Festival and Washington Festival in the U.S. last year. It was performed at the Lyon Public Theater and Paris Municipal Theater and gained so much popularity that a French book of the drama was published. The world stage recognized this performance, because it was something everyone could relate to.

- I didn’t think modern dance, traditional instruments, western music, traditional rhythm and western rhythm could create such perfect harmony. It was a very moving performance that’s hard to put into words. It was fun and exciting.
- I don’t think I was here to listen to pansori. One person was playing multiple roles. It was like a combination of pansori plus modern elements. I was able to laugh because of how the pansori described our modern society. It created a bond of sympathy through music. It was great to listen to.
- It’s not an old story, but something from our present day that’s been infused with pansori. That’s why we were able to relate to it more. I really enjoyed the performance because of the percussion instruments, the guitar and other instruments, as well as the person who performed in the middle.

Because the performance was sold out, organizers opened the outdoor stage for those who were unable to come into the performance hall. This was another factor that made the Yeowoorak Festival more enjoyable for the audience.

Finishing up their indoor performances, the musicians came outside for an encore performance. As the night lighting came on, the performers grew even more excited upon hearing the sounds of the summer night. The outdoor stage fit perfectly with the festival’s theme of change and experiment. The performers grew more confident through the new challenges they faced at the Yeowoorak Festival, hence the anticipation grows. Here’s world music band Ux’s leader Choi Soon-ho.

Our band is a fusion traditional Korean music band. We wanted to make traditional Korean music that was more fitting of the times. The Yeowoorak Festival, which grew even bigger this year, is the only stage for creative Korean traditional music. It’s a great attempt and start, so the festival in itself holds a lot of value. Fusion traditional Korean music is in a period of transition in reaching the regular audience. I think the festival will be a great way for us to pass through the transition period and it’s meaningful that we’re taking part in such an event.

The outdoor stage is more passionate than the indoor performance. The artists scream and shout. When Sarangga from the pansori Chunhyangga is sung in a different version, the venue feels like it’s become a rock concert. The audience members hold hands and sing Ganggangsuwolrae as the outdoor stage reaches its climax.

Audience members claim they never knew traditional Korean music could be so fun and exciting. There are also audience members who have been with Yeowoorak Festival since the beginning. Nonetheless, the performances leave a lingering image for everyone who took part.

- It was fun and exciting. I was really surprised. It’s a great performance even for the younger generation.
- I had so much fun. I think traditional Korean music must modernize itself for the younger generation to approach it, and this was helpful in that way. I think the future for Korean traditional music is bright, and it is reinventing itself so that people are becoming interested in Korean traditional music itself.

Over 5,800 people came to the Yeowoorak Festival this year. Five out of the 23 performances were sold out, so it is considered a great success for a traditional Korean music festival. The attendance rate showed the endless possibilities for traditional Korean music and the Yeowoorak Festival. Through the festival, popularizing Korean traditional music is now becoming a reality instead of a far off dream. The Yeowoorak festival is fulfilling the dreams of traditional Korean musicians by both preserving and popularizing traditional Korean music. We hope the festival will become one that the world can enjoy.