Tag: Gugak

Gugak

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Argentine Embassy marks Independence Day with a fusion performance in Seoul

The diplomatic mission marked 210 years of self-determination with a performance highlighting cultural ties with Korea ahead of President Lee Jae Myung’s visit.

2026.7.10

KARDI takes the stage at the Hero Rock Festival on April 25 at at the Oil Tank Culture Park in western Seoul [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Gugak gets funky as traditional Korean music slips its classical bounds

A growing roster of artists rooted in gugak — Korea's traditional musical heritage — are turning up at rock festivals and indie venues, fusing centuries-old instruments and vocal techniques with rock, punk, reggae, dub, electronica and hip-hop.

2026.5.12

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Composers Son Da-hye, left, and Hong Min-woong [NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF KOREA]

Gugak's next evolution? Korean composers expand on traditional music with Western orchestral flavor.

When tradition meets globalization, what becomes of the new generation of creators who are tasked with finding a sweet spot between the old and the new? The National Orchestra of Korea takes a shot at giving what could be an answer.

2026.3.19

A scene from the ″Granny Poetry Club″ [LIVE CONTENTS GROUP]

The productions that you need to watch in 2026

The Korea JoongAng Daily compiled a chronological list of its recommended productions — including anticipated musicals, plays, contemporary dance performances and classical concerts — slated for Seoul stages next year.

2025.12.31

Dancers from the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater perform a scene from ″Ilmu.″ [SEJONG CENTER]

Traditional performances adapt to the times as fans bring new energy to the scene

Sword dances woven into solemn royal ancestral rites, a stripped-down undersea romance in the sorrowful sound of Korea's traditional musical genre of pansori, performed only by a drummer and singer — and a new "Shimcheong" is born.

2025.8.19

The Crown Haitai Confectionary in-house traditional music club performs on stage. [CROWN HAITAI]

Crown Haitai Confectionery employees to perform Korean traditional music at Osaka Expo site

Executives and employees of a Korean confectionery company, Crown Haitai Confectionery, will take center stage in Japan later this month — not to sell sweets, but to perform centuries-old Korean traditional music before a global audience.

2025.6.16

Yanggeum (hammered dulcimer) musician Yoon Eun-hwa puts on a short performance for reporters during a press conference for the 15th Yeowoorak Festival at the National Theater of Korea in central Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Yeowoorak Festival celebrates 15th edition with traditional Korean music in central Seoul

The 15th edition of the Yeowoorak Festival will be held from July 4 to 27 at the National Theater of Korea in Jung District, central Seoul.

2024.6.6

The Blue House is pictured in November 2022. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Culture Ministry to host five open air concerts at Blue House through November

Fall is looking like a musical season for the Blue House this year. The Culture Ministry on Thursday announced a series of alfresco concerts at the former presidential compound will be held through November.

2023.9.8

Three keys to promoting our traditional music

I sincerely hope that gugak will be loved by more people and reborn as our great traditional culture.

2023.8.10

Actor Cha Ji-yeon as pansori (Korean traditional narrative singing) performer Song-hwa in the ongoing musical ″Seopyeonjae″ at Kwanglim Arts Center’s BBCH Hall in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [CONNECTED COMPANY]

Cha Ji-yeon learns to live with suffering in final 'Seopyeonjae' run

German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche famously said that to live is to suffer. But is there a way to avoid that suffering? Musical “Seopyeonjae” says there isn’t. But this bleak answer is oddly consoling after sitting through a 150-minute show ...

2022.9.8