The tradition of a country itself carries a significant meaning, but the value of it will shine out when it also reflects the lives of modern people. During the period when South Korea mainly pursued fast economic growth and the Western-style living, the country’s traditional culture had been neglected by the public for some time.

But these days, the understanding among the people to have interest and deep knowledge of their nation’s tradition has become wide spread. In order to follow the new trend, professionals engaged in the fields of traditional culture are also making various efforts to encourage the public to become familiar with the beautiful traditions of Korea.

In the traditional music circle, young musicians continue to take the lead to facilitate people’s easy access to conventional tunes through various methods, including integration of traditional sounds with western or popular music. Amid such efforts being made lately, one of the traditional musical instruments that is arresting people’s attention is the haegeum. The first music of today’s program will be a haegeum piece that well-demonstrates the rueful melody.



Composed by Lee Jun-ho, “From Evening to Dawn” / Haegeum by Jeong Su-nyeon

The haegeum is a traditional string instrument that is held vertically and played by bowing. Although it has been played since the ancient Goyreo Dynasty, originally, it is known to be enjoyed by nomads who used to live in northern China. In order to make it easier for the horse riders to play it, the size of the string instrument is not only small but it’s also quite simple to play.

With the shape similar to a hammer, the head part is the soundbox made from bamboo. The rod-like neck stands vertically from the soundbox and two strings made from intertwined silk threads are fixed to the shaft. The melancholy tune is rendered by inserting the bow made with horsetail between the two silk strings and bowing against them.

It’s relatively free to give variations to the notes because the tune changes according to the point where the left hand holds the strings or the strength of the player plucking them. Therefore, the most prominent feature of the haegeum is that it can play a wide range of sounds.

In the olden days, it is said that the string instrument was also very useful for other purposes besides playing music. Traditional entertainers and beggars imitated various animal sounds by utilizing the haegeum to evoke laughter from viewers to cadge for foods or earn some money.

When playing serious tunes, the haegeum offers a very doleful melody. However, the fiddle-like instrument is also suitable for playing humorous music thanks to its slightly nasal sound. This time, why don’t we take a listen to a folk song “Ongheya” originated in Gyeongsang Province that was specially arranged for the haegeum performance.
Composed by Ryu Hyeong-seon, “Hei-ya” / Haegeum Played by Gang Eun-il

During Joseon era, a noble-class scholar had interest in the haegeum and started to learn how to fiddle it. What he also learned was how to mimic the chirpings of insects and birds’ singing. When his friend listened to the unique sounds played on it, the companion got upset at the matter and told him to stop from playing such music that only suits beggars. People in the past thought that music also had to follow the right path and it’s improper to follow a mere passing trend.

One day, when this aristocrat met a haegeum master named Yu U-chun and consulted on the matter, Yu gave the following comment: “It’s so pathetic. All kinds of sounds in the world, including humming of mosquitoes, buzzing of flies, and even croaking-like sounds made by scholars, all have a good reason. What’s the difference between the haegeum music I perform and the tune played by a beggar?”

As such, whether players evoke laughter by imitating the sounds of nature or move the listener’s heart with the most exquisite melody, there is no difference in the point that all kinds of music are, after all, played to soothe one’s mind.

Many countries in East Asia also have various musical instruments that resemble Korea’s haegeum and also produce similar sounds. Among them, the erhu of China is also frequently played in Korea. While the haegeum plays clear and high-pitch sounds, the Chinese string instrument produces low and soft sounds. When you listen to Kim Se-yeong’s erhu performance playing “The Spring of Hometown,” you will notice the clear difference.



The Spring of Hometown / Erhu Played by Kim Se-yeong

The haegeum is also called “bisabijuk.” In Korea, string instruments are referred to as “sa” meaning “string” and wind instruments are referred to as “juk” meaning “bamboo” in Chinese characters. Since “bi” is used to negate the following letter, bisabijuk means that “it is neither a string nor a wind instrument.”

Korean string instruments are played by plucking the strings like the gayageum or the geomungo. So, there is a huge difference between the haegeum and other traditional string instruments as a bow runs between the two strings of haegeum to produce continuous sounds. Therefore, although the haegeum is categorized as a string instrument, it’s also regarded as a wind instrument.