Busan Farmers’ Music

Nongak (farmers' music) broadly refers to music played by farmers organised into communal labour groups (dure) as they worked, performed on percussion instruments such as the kkwaenggwari (small gong), jing (large gong), janggu (hourglass drum) and buk (barrel drum). Classified by purpose, it divides into types such as dangsan-gut, madangbapgi, geollip-gut, dure-gut, pan-gut, giuje-gut and bae-gut; classified by region, it divides into Gyeonggi nongak, Yeongdong nongak, Honam Jwado (left-province) nongak, Honam Udo (right-province) nongak, Gyeongnam nongak and Gyeongbuk nongak. Busan nongak, a type of Gyeongnam nongak, mainly consists of geollip-gut, in which performers go from house to house in early in the first lunar month, playing music, holding rites, and praying for blessings. Compared with other forms of nongak it uses a slower four-beat rhythm, includes many gutgeori rhythms, and features a great deal of dance. It is a form of nongak that well expresses the character of Gyeongsang-do, combining vigour with gentle dance; its dance movements are varied and it incorporates many deotbaegi rhythms, and it excels in the sangsoe (lead gong player) nori with spinning ribboned hat, in beolgu-nori, and in seoljanggu (solo drumming). Its buk-nori (drum play) in particular displays outstanding skill in both dance movement and drumbeat, vividly expressing the region's distinct character. Having continued alongside the history of the Korean people, this nongak embodies the nation's long-standing native folk beliefs, and as a traditional folk art combining dance and rhythm it deserves to be preserved. It is currently transmitted and promoted through the efforts of the Busan Nongak Preservation Society.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seo-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Intangible Heritage · 시도무형유산