Korea has produced music for thousands of years, into the modern day. After the division of Korea in 1945, both North and South Korea have produced their own styles of music.
Korean court music comprises three main musical genres: aak, an imported form of Chinese ritual music; a pure Korean form called hyangak; and a combination of Chinese and Korean styles called dangak.
Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. Gagaku was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794–1185) around the 10th century. Today, it is performed by the Board of Ceremonies in the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
Hyangak, literally "indigenous/native music, folks music" is a traditional form of Korean court music with origins in the Three Kingdoms period. It is often accompanied by traditional folk dances of Korea, known as hyangak jeongjae. These dances are performed in front of audiences—as opposed to the square dance more familiar to Westerners, which is primarily for the participants' enjoyment.
The taepyeongso, also called hojok, hojeok 호적 號笛/胡笛, nallari, or saenap, 嗩吶, is a Korean double reed wind instrument in the shawm or oboe family. It is possibly descended from the Persian sorna and is closely related to the Chinese suona. It has a conical wooden body made from yuja (citron), daechu (jujube), or yellow mulberry wood, with a metal mouthpiece and cup-shaped metal bell. It originated during the Goryeo period (918–1392).
Tōgaku is the Japanese pronunciation of an early style of music and dance from the Tang dynasty in China. Tōgaku was introduced into Japanese culture from China no earlier than the 8th century, and is still performed as one style of the imperial court music called gagaku.
During the Nara period (710–794), music and dances continued to flow into the capital from many parts of Asia. Many styles were eventually organized under two basic categories of gagaku. The first, tōgaku, consisted of pieces of Chinese and Indian origin, while komagaku included Manchurian, Korean, and many of the Japanese pieces. These two styles can be distinguished by their instrumentations.
Yayue was a form of classical music and dance performed at the royal court and temples in ancient China. The basic conventions of yayue were established in the Western Zhou. Together with law and rites, it formed the formal representation of aristocratic political power.
The ajaeng is a Korean string instrument. It is a wide zither with strings of twisted silk. It is played with a slender stick of forsythia wood that is drawn across the strings in the manner of a bow. The ajaeng mainly plays the bass part in ensemble music. Some instruments have as many as nine to twelve strings. similar to the koto but bowed
Dangak (Korean: 당악) is a genre of traditional Korean court music. The name means "Tang music", and the style was first adapted from Tang Dynasty Chinese music during the Unified Silla period in the late first millennium. It was continued through the Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1910) dynasties, when, along with hyangak and aak it was one of the three approved genres of court music. Dangak performances were accompanied by Tang-style dances known as dangak jeongjae.
The hun is a Korean Xun-like globular flute made of baked clay or other ceramics.
Jongmyo (Korean: 종묘) is a Confucian royal ancestral shrine in the Jongno District of Seoul, South Korea. It was originally built during the Joseon period (1392–1897) for memorial services for deceased kings and queens. According to UNESCO, the shrine is the oldest royal Confucian shrine preserved and the ritual ceremonies continue a tradition established in the 14th century. Such shrines existed during the Three Kingdoms of Korea period (57–668), but these have not survived. The Jongmyo Shrine was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1995.
Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. Many traditional Korean musical instruments derive from Chinese musical instruments.
Sujecheon is a Korean court music composition in four movements dating to the mid-7th century Baekje era. It is the most representative piece in the jeongak repertoire. It is performed by an ensemble composed primarily of wind instruments, including the piri and daegeum. It originally had a vocal part, but today is performed instrumentally. The title Sujecheon may be translated as "Long Life, Immeasurable as the Heavens."
The National Gugak Center (Korean: 국립국악원), located in Seoul, South Korea, is the primary institution of learning for Korean traditional music, including both court music and folk music. It was founded in 1951 through a merger of Korean musical organizations.
Munmyo is Korea's primary temple of Confucius. It is located in central Seoul, South Korea, on the campus of Sungkyunkwan University.
Jongmyo jerye (Korean: 종묘제례) or jongmyo daeje (종묘대제) is a traditional rite held for worshipping the deceased Joseon monarchs in Jongmyo Shrine, Seoul, South Korea. It is held every year on the first Sunday of May. The jongmyo rite is usually accompanied with the court music playing (Jerye-ak) and dance called Ilmu or line dance. Jongmyo jerye and jeryeak were designated as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001.
The chuk is a traditional Korean musical instrument used in Confucian (Munmyo) and Royal Ancestral Shrine (Jongmyo) ceremonies to signal the beginning of a ritual music performance. It is played at the beginning of music, meaning that the music begins by opening the sky and the ground. It consists of a square wooden box, played by striking the bottom with a mallet to mark beats or sections. The chuk is derived from the Chinese zhu, and was imported from the Song dynasty of China to Goryeo.
The Seokjeon Daeje (Korean: 석전대제), also sometimes called Seokjeonje, is a ceremonial rite performed twice annually to honor Confucius. It is held at Confucian sites across South Korea including hyanggyos and the Confucian temple Munmyo located at Sungkyunkwan, on Confucius' birthday in fall and the anniversary of his death in spring. Seokjeon is made up of the two Chinese characters, 釋 and 奠 (alcohol), and Seokjeon Daeje means "Laying out offerings ceremony". It involves an elaborate ceremony with sacrificial offerings of alcohol and foods, as well as an elaborate dance known as munmyo ilmu accompanied by musical performances munmyo jeryeak.
The yak (Korean: 약) is a small flute used vertically, which has three holes and is used in court music. It is a wind instrument, a small carved instrument, which was imported from China in 1116. This wind instrument was called a wiyak because it was made of reeds, not bamboo. It is currently made of thick yellow bamboo. It is used for Aak, and according to the instrument classification method, it belongs to Jukbu (竹部) or Gongmyeong instrument (共鳴樂器).
The Chinese ritual and music system is a social system that originated in the Zhou dynasty to maintain the social order. Together with the patriarchal system, it constituted the social system of the entire ancient China and had a great influence on the politics, culture, art and thought of later generations. The feudal system and the Well-field system were two other institutions that developed at that time. According to legend it was founded by the Duke of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou.
