Foreigners Flocking to Gugak: Wearing Hanbok and Playing the Gayageum

[Anchor]

As the number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea this year is projected to surpass a record-breaking 20 million, the ways in which foreign visitors enjoy Korean culture are also becoming increasingly diverse. Gugak (traditional Korean music) concert halls, which might have once seemed somewhat unfamiliar, are emerging as popular destinations.

Culture and arts specialist reporter Kim Soo-hyun visited the scene.

[Reporter]

A permanent Gugak performance venue located in Insa-dong, Seoul.

Visitors pick out and wear a traditional hanbok gwaeja (sleeveless overcoat) over their jeogori, and step into an intimate space that feels like being invited into a traditional hanok sarangbang (master's reception room) just as the performance begins.

Just a few steps away, two musicians take turns playing traditional music, ranging from jeongak (court music) performed at royal banquets known as "jinyeon" to gayageum byeongchang (singing while playing the gayageum).

The musicians explain the pieces and instruments, and

[Choi Su-young / Haegum Player: The haegum has two strings made of silk. The bow moves between these two strings to produce sound. It moves like this between the inner and outer strings...]

audience members even get a chance to try playing the gayageum themselves.

Having opened in May of last year, this 20-seat performance venue has spread by word of mouth, holding up to three shows a day and already surpassing 1,000 performances.

[Michaela / Audience Member from Italy: Because it's a small stage, it was great to see everything up close, and the musicians were truly wonderful. I really enjoyed listening to the live performance of traditional Korean instruments.]

[Uhm Yu-jung / Gayageum Player: The composition of the pieces has changed a lot to match the needs of the audience. And then we decided we needed English, so English explanations were added.]

When it comes to permanent Gugak performances, the Saturday Masterpiece Performance at the National Gugak Center, which boasts a history of some 40 years, is the representative example.

Although the performances originally started for domestic audiences, nowadays one out of every three audience members is a foreigner.

Featuring a cast of around 60 performers, the show brings together the essence of traditional Korean music and dance on a single stage, from jeongak and Seodo folk songs to Chunaengjeon (Spring Nightingale Dance) and sogo-chum (small drum dance).

[Stefan / Audience Member from Germany: The duet (jeongak gagok) sung by a man and a woman together was interesting. That was my favorite part.]

As the number of foreign tourists interested not only in K-pop and K-dramas, but also in traditional Korean culture continues to grow, the scenery at Gugak concert halls is transforming.

(Camera: Kim Hak-mo | Video Editing: Park Ji-in | VJ: Oh Se-gwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.