South African sounds meet Korean beats: SA performers play traditional Korean music ‘gugak’ in Johannesburg
Johannesburg - The Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa (KCCSA), together with Korea’s National Gugak Center and Education Africa, held a special nine-day workshop introducing traditional Korean music, “gugak”, to South Africa this month.
This week, the workshop was concluded with concerts in five township schools in Johannesburg where participants of the workshop showcased the unique charm of the traditional Korean music combined with the rich and dynamic African sounds.
The workshop and concerts were organised in partnership with Education Africa, a non-profit organisation established in 1992 with its mission to support disadvantaged South Africans.
The participants were recruited from alumni students of the organisation’s key Marimba Project. The National Gugak Center, Korea’s national primary institution of the traditional music, provided an instructor through its Overseas Gugak Culture School project.
The participants learnt to play a variety of traditional Korean instruments as well as a unique Korean hat dance that’s typically performed as a highlight of the Korean folk music tradition. In addition, during the workshop the participants prepared special concerts for which they incorporated traditional Korean musical elements into their regular repertoire.
Last Wednesday, September 20, the participants visited township schools in Johannesburg to introduce and showcase what they had learnt and practised as a result of the workshop. The concerts drew enthusiastic cheers from the audience as the participants created a unique combination with the traditional Korean music yet with familiar South African sounds and rhythms.
The instructor of the workshop, who guided the participants and prepared the concerts together during the nine-day period, Daewon Lee, said it was an extraordinary experience to witness the participants absorb the unique spirit and style of the traditional Korean music and express them in their own language in such a short period of time.
“It was truly touching to see both the participants and the audience enjoying themselves to the beats made with the Korean and South African music together.”
Joan Lithgow, director of the Education Africa International Marimba and Steelpan Festivals, who co-organised the programme, said the rhythm of the traditional Korean music felt very similar to the traditional South African one.
“I’m so proud of our alumni students that they created such a beautifully crafted harmony bridging the two countries and cultures.”
The workshop was part of the Korean Cultural Centre in South Africa’s annual gugak programme, partnered with the National Gugak Center, which aims to introduce the traditional Korean music to South Africa as well as to facilitate and promote cultural exchanges between the countries through music.
Meanwhile, the centre presents traditional Korean musicians on the stage of WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) this weekend in Cape Town.
The special performances of the Korean troupe, accompanied by South African performers, will showcase another enchanting demonstration of traditional Korean music combined with a unique South African beat.