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Capital: Seoul
Official Language: Korean
Current Population: 51,821,669
Area: 100,364
Climate: The climate is marked by cold, dry winters, with an average temperature of −6°C (21°F), and hot, humid summers, with an average temperature of 25°C (77°F).
Main Religions: Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Chundo Kyo
Citation (2)
Court Music
Chinese ritual music (yayue, Korean pronunciation, aak) came to Korea as a gift from the Chinese emperor in 1116 and was originally performed in a number of formal court ceremonies. This is stately, rarified music performed by two alternating ensembles of special wind and percussion instruments of Chinese origin, such as the sets of tuned bronze bells (p'yŏnjong) and stone chimes (p'yŏn'gyŏng) many of these instruments are used for no other purpose. Other court ceremonial music, mainly of Korean origin (for which the native term is hyangak but also loosely called aak), includes two suites (Pot'aep'yŏng and Chŏngdaeŏp) of 11 pieces each, performed by singers and two large instrumental ensembles at the annual sacrifice to royal ancestors at the royal ancestral shrine (Chongmyo) in Seoul and in concert. The history of these suites can be traced in detail through numerous scores as far back as their origin in the mid-15th century.
Aristocratic genres
Non-ceremonial instrumental music of the former ruling aristocracy of the Chosŏn dynasty is essentially limited to one suite of nine increasingly faster movements, Yŏngsan hoesang, which is performed in a number of versions of varying instrumentation and is employed both as chamber music and dance accompaniment. Hyŏnak Yŏngsan hoesang is set for mixed ensemble of strings, winds and percussion; KwanakYŏngsan hoesang is for winds and percussion only; P'yŏngjo hoesang is set for mixed ensemble but is melodically transposed down a 4th and somewhat more ornamented; and Pyŏlgok is again for mixed ensemble but omits some movements and adds three other quick movements at the end. Refined, subtle vocal music setting poetry of high literary quality is found in kagok, sijo and kasa. The repertory of kagok, for male or female solo voice with eight accompanying string, wind and percussion instruments, consists of about 40 interrelated pieces, each setting a poem in the favourite national form known as sijo, consisting of three couplets.
Folk Music
Music considered by Korean to form their folk tradition includes both professional and amateur genres. The highest artistry and training is required for p'ansori, a dramatic narrative form for solo voice and drum (puk), which has developed over several centuries; it employs song, speech and gesture. Only five stories remain in the active modern repertory, but each lasts several hours and provides ample scope for individual interpretation and development. In the recent past, other folk genres have been refined to a professional level. Nongak, farmers’ music, for example, has been performed by bands of percussion instruments for many centuries at both a simple local level and at a professional level by touring bands. Loud music for outdoor events, nongak ranges from simple work rhythms to assist repetitive tasks in the fields to complex set pieces performed by professional bands at concerts and festivals.
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Citation (4)
(2): Location, Climate, Language, Religion, Flag, Capital (The Republic of Korea), in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 07 January 2022 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/kr.is.2
(3): Country Map (The Republic of Korea), in Europa World online. London, Routledge. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Retrieved 07 January 2022 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/kr.MAP
(4): Provine, R., Hwang, O., & Howard, K. Korea. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 7 Jan. 2022, from https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000045812.