Homework Week 8 - Korean Traditional Music vs Western

Traditional Korean music includes both the folk, vocal, religious and ritual music styles of the Korean people. Korean music, along with arts, painting, and sculpture has been practiced since prehistoric times.

Two distinct musical cultures exist in Korea today: traditional music (Gugak) and Western music (yangak).

I made a video with few examples of integration of both Gugak and Yangak...so here it is:

SOREA is a Korean band that plays modern Korean traditional music and made its debut by winning the gold award in the Creative Korean Traditional Music competition. "SOREA" comes from the phrase “Symbol of Korea”, “sound of Korea”, and “Show of Korea” and it represents the Korean cultural art.
http://skranjan.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/girl-groups-thrive-in-traditional-music-scene-sorea-band/ more about Sorea


BYUL MA RU - Fusion Korean Classic Band.
Released their first album in Sept. '07
Byul Ma Ru is made up with Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keyboard - Western instruments - and Dae-Geum, Ga-Ya-Geum, Hae-Guem, and Jang-Gu - Korean classic (traditional) instruments.

http://www.byulmaru.wo.to/ official website
http://www.youtube.com/user/byulmaru youtube page


JANYA is a daring new project incorporating traditional Korean instrumentation (Gayageum-Korean Zither, Daegeum-Bamboo flute, and Janggo- Drum with western vocals. The concept of this music is rooted in the Sinawi, a traditional form of Korean music used to accompany Korean Shamanic rites.
http://www.womex.com/virtual/danza_lola/janya/janya more about Janya


ORIENTAL EXPRESS has tried to present an extraordinary and unique music which incorporates various rhythmical beats such as jazz, rock, latin, funk, disco, and even electric sound into Korean-style melodies.

Synthesizing various different Western music techniques with Korean traditional melodies will make it easier to enjoy for those people who are not familiar with Korean traditional music.
http://www.myspace.com/orientalexpressband link to myspace 


HYORIN`S ful l performance of Night BluesThat It Rains 비 내리는 영동교  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEeafGeQB0U


Sungmin & Hyorin - Chunyang Opera Performance (Lunar New Year special, Pit-a-Pat Shake) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY28NOEdq1Q

Taegeugki Outfit!

The theme of last week`s K-Pop Night was Taegeugki...so i decided to make my unique outfit that follows this theme:D

Here we go:

red ballerinas with an image of Taegeugki:)

Jeans with a print saying "I love Korea!" (i took it from a supporting t-shirt) :DDDD

"Taegeugki" Nail art:

And my cool T-shirt that I ordered few days ago to support Korea at the Olympics!!! 

GO KOREA! Fighting!!!

Dano, 단오 — Spring festival

Dano, 단오 — Spring festival, which follows on day 5 of month 5 on the lunar calendar, which usually puts it in June on the Gregorian calendar.

It was believed that all of the energies of nature converged into one on this day. And, it was believed that Dano was an easy day for young people to fall passionately in love. Given that belief, parts of the Dano celebrations were built around attracting the opposite gender. Women would pout on their beautiful hanboks and swing to get the attention of the men. The men would participate in ssireum (traditional Korean wrestling) to show their strength to the women.

Customs:

Washing one’s hair with Changpo water

In traditional societies, women cut the roots of Changpo and made them into hairpins to prevent headaches. This custom, also called Danojang, included washing one’s hair in Changpo-boiled water to add extra shine on hair.

Marriage under the Jujube Tree
As a method for praying for an abundant year of farmhouse production, people stuck rocks between the roots of a jujube tree. This tradition is called Marriage under the Jujube Tree.

Wrestling and Swing Jump
Swing jump is a popular game between women during Dano. On the other hand, Korean style wrestling, also known as Ssireum, is very popular with men. As a custom, the winner of the Ssireum competition is awarded with a bull.

While in the past Dano was one of the three major Korean holidays (along with Seollal and Chuseok), its customs go largely uncelebrated today. But the holiday and it’s festivals aren’t forgotten. The holiday’s customs can be seen today in the Gangneung Dano Festival (강릉단오제).
 Danoje   Festival   includes  rituals such as  the Daegwallyeong Guksa Seonghwangje (a  tribute to Monk Beomil, believed to protect  Gangneung) and Yeongsinje (a deity greeting  ritual). Folk performances, ssireum wrestling,  swing riding, and tug-of-war competitions  follow these rituals. During the Danoje Festival,  visitors are also invited to participate in various events: watching a traditional wedding ceremony, making surichui rice cake, washing their hair in iris-infused water, and drinking alcohol offered to the gods. There are also regional dialect contests and other cultural programs.