Welcome to “Sounds of Korea” on KBS WORLD Radio. This traditional music program invites you to deepen your understanding about Korean traditional music by taking a closer look at various music-related topics every week. Today, we’ll talk about yanggeum, a western-style string instrument. I’m your host ________. Please stay tuned, I’ll be back shortly.  

Korean traditional string instruments generally have strings made of twisted silk threads, while the string instruments developed more recently, such as steel gayageum가야금 or steel hyeongeum현금, have metal strings. The only string instrument that was fitted with metal strings since the Joseon era was the yanggeum양금. The letter ‘yang’ in ‘yanggeum’ indicates that the item originated from the West such as ‘yangbaechu양배추’ meaning cabbage, ‘yangpa양파,’ or onion, or ‘yanbgok양복’ or western-style suit. Similarly, yanggeum means a string instrument that originated from the West, more specifically, Europe. In the old days, Europe was written in Chinese letters as ‘Gurapa구라파,’ thus yanggeum was also called ‘Gura metal instrument.’

More interestingly, this string instrument was first made in the Middle East, not in Europe. Very similar to the dulcimer, the yanggeum is played by striking the strings with a bamboo beater, much like how the piano keys make sound by causing the small hammers strike the strings. It is said that the dulcimer was brought into China during the Ming Dynasty by Italian missionary Matteo Ricci and later Joseon diplomatic delegates to China imported the instrument to be played in Korea. The first yanggeum piece we have for you today is “Gunak군악,” or military music, from “Yeongsanhoisang.” Kang Yu-kyong plays the geomungo and Jo Il-ha the yanggeum.

Gunak (Military Music)/ Geomungo by Kang Yu-kyong, yanggeum by Jo Il-ha

The geomungo sounds heavy and powerful while the yanggeum sound crisper and more vibrant. Perhaps Joseon diplomats might have bought the yanggeum for its intriguing sound. But Korean musicians probably couldn’t have played Korean music with this imported instrument, because Korean music sounded quite different from that of China or Europe. Joseon musicians had to find new ways to play and tune the instrument. And the person who found it was renowned pragmatist Hong Dae-yong홍대용 in the late Joseon period. Hong was very knowledgeable in music theory and played the geomungo and gayageum like a professional. He sometimes invited other musicians to hold a concert for his friends. When he was sent to China as a royal envoy, he was so captivated by a pipe organ at a Catholic church that, after studying it for a long time, he confidently said that he could make it by himself if someone would only fund the project. He must have felt that it was his calling to localize the yanggeum, an expensive imported instrument that was being neglected in Korea. So, Hong Dae-yong tried several playing techniques and at last came up with a technique that was just right for Korean music. Coming up next is a freestyle yanggeum sanjo movements with various beats. Kim Kyung-hee plays the yanggeum and Kim Chung-man the janggu.  

Yanggeum Sanjo movements with various beats/ Yanggeum by Kim Kyung-hee, janggu by Kim Chung-man

Although the yanggeum was modified to suit Korean music, it still differed from traditional Korean instruments in many ways. One of the most distinctive characteristics of Korean music is yoseong요성, variations in pitch caused by vibrating the strings. String instruments like gayageum or geomungo are played by plucking the silk strings with the fingers or a short bamboo stick named suldae술대with the right hand and then pressing or pulling the strings with the left hand to produce different pitches. But such yoseong cannot be achieved with the yanggeum because it is played by striking the thin metal strings with a bamboo stick. So, although the yanggeum produced exotic sounds, it must have been rather monotonous to listen for a long time, which was why the instrument was suitable for band music like the military music piece we heard earlier. But gayageum virtuoso Seo Gong-cheol서공철 wrote a sanjo piece for yanggeum and now the instrument is used more freely in other music pieces. Today’s last piece is “Gap” performed by gugak rock band Dongyang Gozupa.

Gap/ Performed by Dongyang Gozupa