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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Rousing Response in Europe to a Creative Form of Korean Music

Baramgot’, an innovative group of Korean musicians, staged successful performances in the Netherlands and France, with support from the Korea Foundation and Korea Arts Management Service. This tour was especially noteworthy for the lavish praise that the European audiences expressed for the group’s distinctive brand of creative music.



‘Baramgot’ is a Korean music group that features a performer-based style of musical improvisation. With traditional Korean musical instruments, the group s its own form of progressive and melodious music, which combines the old with the new. More recently, Baramgot has come to be recognized as a foremost Korean group that specializes in a creative style of contemporary music, which has been adopted from sinawi, a type of traditional Korean music that emphasizes the improvisational ability of performers.

Music’s Universal Appeal
Following performances in Japan and Brazil in March 2008, Baramgot staged concerts in London and Paris later that year, along with presenting “Ha Yong-bu Chum Pan” at the Amphitheater of Opera Bastille, in March 2009, in conjunction with the Festival de l’Imaginaire (Festival of the Imagination), organized by the Maison des Cultures du Monde, of Paris, France. Praised as an extraordinary performance of harmonious melodies with tones of reverence and intrigue, Baramgot’s appearances at the festival received standing ovations from the Paris audiences. Of note, this enthusiastic reception, among music lovers and critics, led to the group’s receipt of additional invitations to perform in Europe.
RASA Centre for World Cultures in Utrecht, Netherlands, is a prominent venue that hosts diverse performances of traditional and world music. As such, Baramgot’s appearance at RASA represented another meaningful step in the group’s efforts to gain recognition for its unique form of Korean music from international audiences. Baramgot was able to fully capitalize on this opportunity to display its distinctive style of world music with exquisite adaptations of “Bari Sinawi” and “Chaeollim,” which are highlighted by improvisational segments and a highly refined style. At the conclusion of the performance, the audience rose to give the group a rousing ovation.
Following the performance, RASA Director Wieland Eggermont and Artistic Director Martin Rover expressed their great admiration for the group’s elegant music, along with noting the rarity of such an animated reaction from the audience, since people in the Netherlands tend to be somewhat reserved in their behavior. First Secretary Cho Young-joon of the Korean Embassy in the Hague exclaimed his surprise and appreciation for Baramgot’s marvelous performance. Moreover, a music critic highly praised the Korean group: “I listened to all the sounds played by the Baramgot members. They are really wonderful. I hope they can have a concert tour across the country because all Dutch people should enjoy such beautiful music.”



Festival de l’Imaginaire
First staged in 1997, the Festival de l’Imaginaire is an annual event organized by the Maison des Cultures du Monde, which actively explores and introduces the unique performing art cultures of countries from around the world to audiences in France. Baramgot was the first Korean group to be invited to perform at this festival. This appearance was made possible through the cooperative efforts of the Maison des Cultures du Monde, Korean Cultural Service in Paris, and Guimet Museum, which houses the most extensive Asian art collection in Europe.
Due to the success of Baramgot’s previous performances in Paris, the group’s festival appearance was entirely sold out, causing the event organizers to offer SRO tickets. Director Choi Joon-ho of the Korean Cultural Service in Paris extended invitations for the event to distinguished figures from Korea and France, which included Korean Ambassador to France Park Heung-shin, then-Korean Ambassador to the OECD Kim Choong-soo (current Governor of the Bank of Korea), and Korean Ambassador to UNESCO Jang Ki-won.Representatives of the French cultural sector included Jack Lang, the longest-serving Minister of Culture, who also spent time in Pyongyang as President Sarkozy’s special envoy to North Korea, and Dominique Roland, Director of the Centre des Arts d’Enghien les Bains and Representative of the Media Art Festival Bains Numeriques. They both expressed their personal appreciation of Baramgot’s wonderful music. A member of the audience excitedly mentioned his amazement with the group’s enchanting musical sounds, which were described as conveying a mysterious influence and sense of tranquility at the same time.
The members of Baramgot have worked hard to vault the group into the top tier of world-music performers. Nonetheless, the group’s successful European tour would not have been possible without the financial support, strategic advice, and thoughtful assistance provided by the Korean Cultural Service in Paris, Korea Foundation, and Korea Arts Management Service. Baramgot thus looks forward to another opportunity to make its unique brand of improvisational Korean music known to the audiences in countries around the world.

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