Samul nori

On Thursday, my Korean language class had a special "culture" class, which allowed us all the opportunity to participate in samul nori, a style of Korean music. Samul nori is actually not a relatively old musical style; it is only about 30 years old. But its origins lie in rural "farmer's music" traditions and the shamanistic/clowning tradition of the countryside. It involves four percussive instruments (the "samul"), each of which represent a sound in nature. The most important one is the kkwaenggwari (thunder), which acts as the conductor and sets the pace for the other instruments. It is a small, gold and cymbal-like in appearance and is played with a stick and a cupped hand which can be used to manipulate the sound. The jing (wind), which is like a gong, and the buk (clouds), which is a large drum, keep the rhythm. Finally, the janggu (rain) is played with two sticks alternating between hitting two stretched skins on the side of the drum. In my opinion, it is the most difficult to play from a novice's view. Together, the players follow one of three paces set by the kkwaenggwari player, each of increasing speed. The result is a rhythmic, trance-like sound that is quite infectious. It reminds me of Moroccan gnawa music, except that it sounds completely different. Apparently, samul nori was an important part of the opposition student movement in the late 1970s and 80s, when President Park Jeong-hee had banned most forms of "traditional" Korean artistic and religious expression in the name of "progress" and "modernization." After a short concert played in the Yeongnam style popularized by the most famous samul nori player, Kim Duk-soo, we broke into four different groups and the musicians instructed us in how to play the instruments. I chose the buk, which seemed to be the easiest. However, I was overly enthusiastic and really wore out my arm with some expressive drumming! Afterwards, our groups reassembled and played all together. All in all, it was a great experience. Here is a picture of me playing the buk: