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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

A Feast of Harmony of Music and the Mind

A throng of couples and groups made their way up the stairs to the entrance of the Sejong Chamber Hall of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in the early evening, just about the time when a fresh breeze provided a measure of relief from the mid-summer’s relentless heat.


After making on-line reservations at the Korea
Foundation Cultural Center’s homepage or receiving an invitation to the event, the concert-goers filed into the comfortably cooled auditorium for a night of musical entertainment.
Cross-Cultural Understanding
Entitled “Touch of Silk, Beat of Heart,” the event represented the fifth such concert organized by the Korea Foundation, since 2003, as part of its ongoing efforts to provide foreigners residing in Korea with an opportunity to personally experience various aspects of Korean culture and arts. The concert’s theme focused on presenting a dramatic contrast between the tranquil melody of the gayageum, one of Korea’s most representative traditional instruments, with the pulsating rhythm of an array of percussion instruments.
The concert opened with performances that featured the gayageum, or gayatgo, a unique instrument with silk s that are plucked or played with a bow, which is often the lead instrument of traditional Korean music works. Known for its clear and lyrical resonance, the gayageum produces a wide spectrum of soothing sounds. And to complement its exquisite melody, the Sookmyung Gayageum Orchestra group performed in elegant silk attire, adorned with traditional Korean patterns. Recognized for pioneering a new realm of traditional Korean music, the Sookmyung Gayageum Orchestra has gained widespread popularity for its diverse repertoire, which ranges from traditional Korean music to classical and contemporary works. After leading off with Arirang, it performed Symphony No. 25 in G Minor by Mozart, Sarangga (Song of Love) from “Chunhyang,” a Beatles medley, and selections from the soundtrack of the movie “Comrades, Almost a Love Story.” Transcending East and West, as well as the past and present, the gayageum’s charming melodies delighted the audience, which expressed their appreciation with rousing applause.

Melding of Sounds and Instruments
The second part of the concert was performed by Gong Myoung, a percussion quartet that features a kind of fusion music, which is rooted in traditional Korean influences. Along with traditional percussion and wind instruments, like the buk, janggu, jing, daegeum and piri, they also included a classical guitar, triangle, and tambourine, in addition to being accompanied by a classical music group with violin and cello, providing a diversity of sounds that was likely a first-time experience for many of the listeners. Of note, it exuded with a sense of vibrancy that reflected the sentiments of the Korean people, who are known for their revelry of song, dance, and any kind of public get-together.
While swaying to the rhythm, clapping their hands, and shouting encouragement, the audience, which included peoples from some 45 countries of various backgrounds and generations, was mesmerized by the reverberating rhythms of the Gong Myoung’s percussion instruments. In fact, the performers responded to the audience’s enthusiasm by playing even more passionately. Moreover, whenever the performers used an everyday item, like a water bottle, as an instrument, this brought a roar of approval from the audience.
During the finale, people from the audience danced to the music in the aisles and on the stage, while continuing to applaud long after the performers had taken their final bows. Koreans use “sinmyeong” to describe a sense of great enjoyment or exhilaration. This concert event provided the audience, as well as the performers, with an opportunity to truly experience sinmyeong.


Korean Art Troupe Tours Africa and the Middle East
As part of the Foundation’s efforts to annually organize touring performances of Korean art troupes, the Chongdong Theater Art Troupe was dispatched to Africa and the Middle East in May 12-24. Composed of 27 artists and staff, the troupe performed traditional Korean music and dance, including chamber music, traditional Korean songs, gayageum sanjo, samulnori ensemble, and traditional Korean orchestral music, Hwagwanmu, Samgomu, Buchaechum, Pangut and Sogochum.

The Chongdong Theater Art Troupe staged a total of four performances,
at the Al-Hussein Culture Hall of the School of Life in the capital Amman and the City Hall Theater in Irbid, in Jordan, and at the Nyama Choma Ranch Theater, Safari Park Hotel, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The tour performance was co-hosted by the Korean embassies in Jordan and Kenya, Jordan’s Ministry of Culture, the city of Amman, the city of Irbid, and Kenya’s Ministry of Culture. The performances were all successfully presented thanks to the active support of the related organizations in Jordan and Kenya, while the local audiences, though not familiar with Korean culture, responded with spirited appreciation to each of the performances.

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