Proto-Three Kingdoms of Korea Not much is known about music from the
Proto-Three Kingdoms of Korea period (before 57
BCE). It is believed that Korean people practiced
shamanistic rituals involving music at agricultural festivals.
Three Kingdoms of Korea The
Three Kingdoms of Korea refers to the period from 57 BCE to 668 CE when the Korean peninsula was ruled by three kingdoms:
Goguryeo,
Baekje, and
Silla. Each kingdom was known for favoring different musical instruments.
Goguryeo In Goguryeo, an oboe called a
piri, a lute called a
pipa, and a zither that is still used today called a
geomungo were popular instruments. A painting of the instrument is found in a tomb in modern-day
Jilin Province,
China. The Chinese historical text
Records of the Three Kingdoms noted "The people of Goguryeo like to sing and dance. Men and women in villages throughout the country gather every night to sing and dance." Surviving songs from the era include, "Song of the Turtle", and "Song of Nightingales", the latter of which was sung by
King Yuri of Goguryeo. The music of Baekje was known to
Liu Song dynasty and
Northern Wei, while some music players were invited to Japan. Notably, a man of Baekje named Mimaji () learned music and dance in
China and emigrated to Japan in 612.
Silla Before Silla unified three kingdoms, the music of Silla is represented by a traditional instrument,
gayageum which was said that Ureuk from
Gaya brought it in the reign of
King Jinheung when his kingdoms were incorporated by Silla forces. Although
Samguk sagi conveys 12 names of compositions Ureuk did, those are not fully inherited. In the 13th year of Jinheung, Ureuk taught gayageum, songs, and dances to three disciples of Gyego, Beopji y Mandeok. Later the famed scholar,
Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn who studied in Tang dynasty away from
bone rank system of Silla chartered five poems of
hyangak (The local music) which depict performing arts in Silla toward the end of its era. These figures are found in history books,
Goryeosa as a court ballet performance consisting of hyangak and dangak in subcategories of Korean music.
North and South States period Unified Silla After unification, the music of Silla experienced the influx of diverse music from Baekje and Goguryeo with the wider development of hyangak, especially in gayageum, geomungo,
bipa of three string instruments and other three pipes. Additionally, music from the Tang dynasty was introduced under the reign of
King Munmu. The Buddhist chant,
Beompae (hangul 범패, hanja 梵唄) was widely adopted with variety of instruments, forming a unique art of Silla. During unified Silla, the royal institute of music (en hangul: 음성서) was established.
Goryeo dynasty Taejo of Goryeo, the founder of Goryeo followed several customs of Silla which can be found in a series of Buddhist celebrations such as Palgwanhoe and Yeondeunghoe. However, the influence of Silla dramatically diminished in the middle of its period owing to the influx of music from Song, establishing a strong influence on Korean court music. Most of Goryeo songs were recorded in
Akhak gwebeom after the 15th century of which features were the lyrics of the Korean language, different from those of previous eras.
Joseon dynasty As
Yi Sŏnggye founded Joseon in 1392, the dynasty adopted anti-Buddhism and pro-Confucianism which affected the musical pattern of Yeak (). Although some scholars like
Chŏng Tojŏn made several songs for celebrating the initial moments of Joseon, the notation followed the trends of Goryeo.
Joseon periods saw considerable developments of its music during the reign of Sejong which were largely attributable to a musician
Park Yeon. Park firstly established an independent organ of music and created
Korean-style notation including Jeonganbo (en Hangul: 정간보). King Sejong himself also composed songs. A son of Sejong,
Sejo who killed his nephew,
Danjong also recorded his score in pitch pipe notation. The two kings above are the only rulers whose musical records are now traceable. Music and dance enjoyed favorable positions in the court banquets and also within the elite yangban class. The feasts hosted by high-rank officers involved several entertainers like clowns and acrobats. After the middle of its period, what-so-called middlemen (중인, Jungin) came to play diverse instruments mixing lyric poems and long cyclical songs. Because of two damaging wars, the culture of Joseon went through a series of hardships which resulted in the loss of instrumental music and songs in court and also a royal shrine. The musical situation in the late Joseon can be described as declining contrary to its expansion period. Ancestor worship ceremonies called
Munmyo jerye and Jongmyo jerye were revived and performed annually, chiefly to commemorate the deaths of Confucian scholars and Korean kings. The public enjoyed the genre of
pansori,
sanjo and
namsadang-nori.
Pansori first emerged as a common culture in the mid-Joseon. Although it is hard to grasp exact points of its evolution, the oral tradition of this genre came to be followed by musical experts only to expand its sphere not only to commoners but also to aristocrats. In 1894, Joseon government dispatched ten court musicians to Boston Exposition in the United States to build an independent foundation.
After Korean Empire Joseon was transformed into the
Korean Empire with a view to organizing its sphere out of the external interruption, while the rituals of empires were revived and practiced Confucian court music to celebrate the expansion of the nation. However, the Japanese colonization of Korea in 1910 brought tremendous change inside and outside Korea with an influence of
western music. After the collapse, Korean court music found almost no way to make celebrations and rituals, which was replaced with marching songs. Instead of pansori and gagok, the musical trends were largely changed into modern-style performances and classical music. Followed by cultural suppression in the 1920s, Korean traditional music barely survived. During the 1930s, despite suppression of folk music, there was some support for some singers. In January 1934
Wang Su-bok was featured in the first live Korean language radio broadcast to Japan. The transmission was organised by the
Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, and she was accompanied by
Kyongsong Broadcasting Orchestra. ==Korean voice (sori/chang) ==