In old times, people believed that a fan possessed eight virtues. First, it creates a breeze to keep you cool. It can also be laid on the ground to sit on,

shield you from the harsh sun, serve as a pointer hand, or be used to call out to someone far away. If you run into a creditor, you can hide your face behind it, and in front of elders, it helps cover your mouth when yawning. Most importantly, even when it becomes tattered, you can simply throw it away without feeling guilty. The fan is also an essential tool in pansori. When the pansori singer stands alone on stage holding the fan tightly with both hands, the fan can serve as a source of strength and presence for the singer. It can also function as a prop for pansori. When spread fully, it can become a saw for Heungbo흥보 breaking open a gourd, and when folded, it can turn into a cane for the blind father of Sim Cheong. Let’s now listen to “The Millstone Song” from the pansori “Simcheongga심청가” sung by Yu Taepyungyang. This is a scene where Simcheong’s father joins village women pounding rice to make flour. 

This week’s artist is Ureuk, the legendary gayageum musician from the ancient Silla신라 Kingdom. Even those unfamiliar with traditional Korean music

likely have heard the phrase, "Gayageum is Ureuk, geomungo is Wang San-ak왕산악." But while Wang San-ak is credited with creating and playing the geomungo, the six-string zither, Ureuk was not the inventor of the gayageum.

According to the History of the Three Kingdoms, it was actually King Gasil가실 of the Gaya가야 kingdom who first created the gayageum. He is said to have created the instrument to bring the music of different regions together. The name ‘gayageum’ simply means the “string instrument of Gaya.”

King Gasil entrusted the task of composing music for the new instrument to Ureuk, and he wrote twelve pieces based on the traditional music of various regions. Later, when Gaya was on the brink of collapse, Ureuk likely faced a difficult decision of sharing the fate of Gaya and vanishing into history or seeking exile in Silla to preserve the spirit of the gayageum. Ureuk chose the latter. King Jinheung진흥 of Silla welcomed Ureuk’s exile. Although some of Silla officials objected, saying it was unwise to embrace the music and instruments of a fallen kingdom, King Jinheung not only granted Ureuk a place to live, but also sent three disciples to study music and dance under him. 

These three disciples were remarkably creative. They reorganized Ureuk’s twelve original pieces into five new compositions. At first, Ureuk was furious at them, but upon listening to the music they performed, he is said to have said, “It is joyful, but not indulgent; sorrowful yet not despairing—this is music that is rightly balanced. You may present it before the king.” Gaya and Silla had different cultures, so it was natural that their musical tastes also differed. Though the new music no longer sounded like that of Gaya, Ureuk must have accepted this Silla-style transformation as a necessary way to preserve the essence of Gaya’s culture. Thanks to his choice, the gayageum continues to be passed down to this day, in a form that still echoes the spirit of its origin. Let’s listen to “Sangnyeongsan” part of the “Yeongsanhoisang” collection with Lee Ji-young playing the gayageum. 

You may have seen a ceremonial military band dressed in traditional yellow robes, marching while playing drums and long brass horns. This music is called “Daechwita대취타,” and the band that performs it is known as a chwitadae취타대. The word “chwita” is made up of two characters: chwi, meaning "to blow," referring to wind instruments, and ta, meaning "to strike," referring to percussion instruments. 

“Daechwita” is performed on grand occasions, such as a king’s procession or a military parade. In times when there were few entertainments for ordinary people, a royal or military procession led by the chwitadae band must have been a rare and exciting event. Let’s listen to “Daechwita” performed by the Court Music Orchestra of the National Gugak Center.