The term kugak 國樂 discussed in Korean new music has been considered by the varied contexts as past traditional music, a musical element, Korean music, and so on. Those show that assemblage of kugak is deployed according to various standpoints such...
The term kugak 國樂 discussed in Korean new music has been considered by the varied contexts as past traditional music, a musical element, Korean music, and so on. Those show that assemblage of kugak is deployed according to various standpoints such as the view on the times, an opposed to yangak 洋樂 (lit. Western music), creative compo- sition, and nation and community culture. This study attempts to examine how kugak has been deployed and recognized in the various contexts so as to expand the view on Korean new music.
Kugak belongs to the category not only being limited also being opened concept. That is, kugak lies in the limited concept as past music confronting with yangak, and also in the opened to future as our music containing Korean identity. The reason kugak has such paradoxical points is that the view points toward kugak have been vague in the matter on tradition and contemporaneity of our music. The main view to ch'angjak kugak 創作國樂 and ch'angjak yangak 創作洋樂 in discussing Korean new music is mainly focused by the thought centered on yangak. On the issue of music identity, yangak was not the issue of the debate and composition methods was considered inside the category of yangak. Ch'angjak kugak hereby has been criticized by its identity and Westernization.
By virtue of having more wide perspective not only to ch'angjak kugak but to the whole new music, we need to investigate the context between kugak·yangak·creative composition emerged in development of Korean new music. Kugak might be used for musical elements for melody, its peculiar techniques would be applied for acoustic structure, or a related conception becomes the idiom for musical construction. In other words, kugak in new music has been broadly used and applied from sound as concrete musical element to conception as abstract element. The usage of Korean musical instruments and the pertinent idea to kugak are differently interpreted according to how to make assemblage of kugak in the discourses of various aspects such as tradition, contemporaneity, modernity, and the character of Korean culture.
Korean culture of our current times classifies new composed music to music, however which of Korean musical instrument or utilizing elements is vaguely categorized in kugak rather than music. This is because there exists the mixtures of views to new composed music as much as Korean and Western cultures features a blend for a long time.
Assemblage of kugak deployed in Korean new music has connected to how to recognize tradition and contemporaneity. Tradition penetrates the times. This tradition is more wide and opened concept than contempo- raneity of current times which provides periodization. Therefore our musical tradition, kugak, should be acknowledged as a more opened category not limited to past music. We pursue our path to a new inquiry and thought on our music along with our own discourse so that Korean new music would have a new perspective.