There are no records about the exact era when the
haegeum was first introduced in Korea. According to several sources, references to the
haegeum can be found in (the unrhymed verse and songs of the royal scholars) made in the
Goryeo dynasty, so it can be inferred that the
haegeum has been played at least since then. In the
Joseon Dynasty, the
haegeum was used in various music: that of royal ancestral rites, parades, festivals, and (Korean music). The way the
haegeum is played changed dramatically since the Joseon Dynasty. Before middle Joseon period, musicians played the string in method (placing and stopping with no pulling on strings like western bowed-string instrument), but since then they have begun to play in method (pulling the string). Accordingly, it is possible to make a wide variety of sounds by pulling and releasing strings since it has no fingerboard. To improve the acoustic ability of the
haegeum, various modifications have been introduced since the 1960s. In 1965, Park Hun-bong and Kim Bun-gi developed a low-tune Haegeum, and in 1967 Kim Gisu made a small
haegeum. ==See also==