Portable cylinder gramophone playerNational Gugak Center
Phonograph introduced in Joseon Korea
Edison introduced the cylinder phonograph in 1888, and the phonograph later made its way to Korea. In 1896, recordings of Korean folk songs sung by Korean students in the United States were made on wax cylinders, and in 1899, Korean government officials recorded Korean vocal music including Chunhyang-ga (“Song of Chunhyang”), gasa(poetry) and japga(“miscellaneous songs”) using a phonograph at Gameunjeong Pavilion in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.
GramophoneNational Gugak Center
The beginning of electrical recording
The 1920s saw the beginning of electric recording, leading to the establishment of many record companies and a booming market for phonograph records. The Japanese Victor Company(JVC) produced Korea’s first record. In 1928, under contract with the Music Institute of Royal Yi Family, the predecessor of the National Gugak Center(NGC), JVC recorded Korean court music.
Performance by Royal Music Institute of Yi familyNational Gugak Center
Recording of court music
Joseon Aak, released by the JVC in 1928, is the first electrical recording of court music by use of a microphone. The series contains 26 tracks of ritual and ceremonial court music from the Joseon dynasty. All of the phonograph records bear red labeling, indicating the highest quality of sound possible at the time.
Victor Joseon AakNational Gugak Center
‘Song of Seoilhwa(Haeryeong)’ in Joseon Aak (1928) released by Victor
Seoilhwa Jigok, also known as Haeryeong and included in Joseon Aak, is a variation of melodies from Yeominrakryeong. Yeominrakryeong is also called Bonryeong and was performed for royal events. The performance featured Master Ham Hwa-jin (1884-1948) along with the first graduates of the Music Institute of Royal Yi Family. This song was also featured on the album of Aak Jeongsu (The Essence of Aak) series released in 1943.
Victor Joseon AakNational Gugak Center
From court music to popular music
After Victor released Joseon Aak in 1928, Korean court music began to be introduced to the public by radio broadcasts and stage performances, driving court music into the realm of popular music. Original transcriptions of scores, including 11 pieces of old transcripts and 200 pieces of five-staff-note transcripts produced at that time, are currently preserved at the National Gugak Center (NGC).
Newspaper article on Chosun JeongakdanNational Gugak Center
Joseon Aak Jeongsu released in 1943 by Victor
In 1943, Victor selected 12 out of the 26 tracks from Joseon Aak (1928) and re-released them as a new series titled Joseon Aak Jeongsu (The Essence of Korean Court Music). The new series was composed of six phonograph records and included a booklet Joseon Eumak Sogo (A Study on Joseon Music) authored by Ham Hwa-jin, then the 5th Dean of the Music Institute of Royal Yi Family.
Study on Joseon Music, a guide to essence of Joseon Aak (1943)National Gugak Center
Guide to Korean court music
Joseon Eumak Sogo enclosed in Joseon Aak Jeongsu is a listening guide to court music. This booklet was essential for the inheritance of traditional music by the National Gugak Center after national liberation. It was a valuable resource for faithfully preserving and passing down court music at that time.
Columbia’s advertisement on the newspaper 'Maeilsinbo'National Gugak Center
Recording of pungnyu eumak
Pungnyu means ‘appreciation of arts and entertainment’, and eumak means ‘music.’ It refers to music comfortably enjoyed by the Joseon literati in everyday life. While Victor’s Joseon Aak series contained Joseon court music, the album featuring Joseon Jeongakdan (Performing Group of Korean Classical Music) released by Columbia Records, included Yeongsan-hoisang, one of the most frequently performed instrumental pieces from the Joseon period to the present day.
Gyeongseong broadcasting station recording commemorationNational Gugak Center
Yeongsan-hoisang performed by Joseon Jeongakdan
Yeongsan-hoisang featuring the Joseon Jeongakdan group was released by Columbia Records and has 11 out of all 13 pieces of Yeongsan-hoisang. This ensemble is precious musical heritage: it preserves the music of Joseon literati, which had nearly become forgotten amidst the upheavals of the Japanese occupation and the tumultuous changes in society.
Columbia (40128) Yeongsan hoesangNational Gugak Center
Yeongsan-hoisang (1930) released by Columbia Records
Columbia released a Yeongsan-hoisang series containing seven phonograph records from September 1930 to November 1932. The order of release of the albums was reportedly influenced by reactions of the audience during the tour concert in Japan. Of the seven albums, the first released tracks ‘Taryeong’ and ‘Gunak’ received high praise as the finest ensemble pieces from Korea.
Yeongsan hoesang 'taryeong' (2018-09-21) by National Gugak CenterNational Gugak Center
Enjoy ‘Taryeong’ from Yeongsan-hoisang, refined music of the Joseon literati, which has been preserved and passed down to the present. This piece is played by members of the National Gugak Center.
Photograph of Yim Bang-ul's performanceNational Gugak Center
Recording of folk music
With the mass-production and mass sales of phonograph records ongoing since the 1930s, folk music genres such as pansori (musical storytelling), japga (“miscellaneous songs”) and instrumental solos also became very popular.
Daegeum SanjoNational Gugak Center
Daegeum Solo (1929) released by Columbia
In 1929, Columbia Records released the Daegeum Solo album. The daegeum is a transverse bamboo flute, and daegeum sanjo is instrumental folk music played solo on the daegeum. Side A is of Jungmori (medium tempo) of daegeum sanjo, and side B is of scene A Commander Goes Out of the pansori Chunhyang-ga featuring a daegeum solo performance. The daegeum was played by Master Park Jong-gi, and the janggu (drum) was performed by master Baek Jeom-bong.
Daegeum Sanjo(Wonjanghyeonryu) (2020-07-01) by National Gugak CenterNational Gugak Center
Enjoy the full version of Daegeum Sanjo played by master musician Won Jang-hyeon in the order of tempo (Jinyangjo – Jungmori - Jungjungmori – Jajinmori) and feel the changes in rhythms as you listen.
Gayageum Byeongchang played by Oh TaeseokNational Gugak Center
Sim Sang-geon and Oh Tae-seok, top stars of gayageum byeongchang
Gayageum byeongchang is a performance where one musician sings a pansori and plays gayageum at the same time. Sim Sang-geon and Oh Tae-seok were the most popular stars whose voices were recorded on gramophone records.
NittoNational Gugak Center
The soft and elegant voice of Sim Sang-geon
Sim Sang-geon was a prominent figure who compiled gayageum byeongchang and master of gayageum sanjo, a duet performance with a gayageum accompanied by a drummer. His style is renowned for soft, elegant, and lyrical qualities, rooted in the typical pansori style of Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong-do provinces. In 1926, Sim Sang-geon recorded whole pieces of gayageum sanjo and gayageum byeongchang repertoires, which were released by Nitto Record.
Oh TaeseokNational Gugak Center
The manly and dramatic voice of Oh Tae-seok
Oh Tae-seok learned how to play the gayageum from his father Oh Su-gwan, a renowned drummer, during his childhood. Having studied the gayageum under Park Deok-gi, and pansori under Song Man-gap, two great masters of Korean traditional music, Oh Tae-seok left a legacy in the field of gayageum byeongchang. Oh Tae-seok was beloved by audiences for his dramatic vocal techniques rooted in Namdo pansori (pansori of the Namdo region) and colorful and vibrant gayageum performances.
Look at Simbongsa and Simcheongi (2022-12-21) by National Gugak CenterNational Gugak Center
Sound from 100 years ago used again today
Traditional Korean music, recorded on gramophone records a century ago, have been preserved and passed down to the present day, serving as a bridge between the past, present, and future. In 2020, the NGC started the Gugak in (人) project to support traditional Korean performing artists by producing videos of their music and dance. You can experience the music of Gugak in (人) performed by members of the NGC, featuring the scene Simbongsa Sees Simcheong.
Learn more about the popular love song Chunhyang-ga and the changgeuk (Korean traditional opera) Chunhyang-jeon recorded on gramophone records here.
Produced by Research Bureau, National Gugak Center
Director General: Kim Yeong-un
Executive Director: Kim Myeongseok
Director: Kim Sori
Project Manager/Editor: Hong Seah
Reference
National Gugak Center, “House of Records, See the Sound,” 2023.