KOREAN HERITAGE

Farmers’ Music, a Definitive Korean Folk Tradition

Nongak, literally meaning “farmers’ music,” is an ages-old performance tradition in Korea. It is also known by terms such as pungmul, pungjang, dure pungjang, and dure pungpul. Koreans have long performed nongak for diverse communal purposes such as appeasing gods, driving away evil spirits, and praying for and then celebrating a good harvest. They have also turned to farmers’ music to add ecstatic excitement to everyday life. When agriculture was the economic backbone of society, Koreans lived a life deeply intertwined with nongak.

The process of modernization and industrialization gradually reduced the frequency and intensity of the nongak tradition among the Korean people. However, there are still vibrant forms of nongak being transmitted across South Korea, and the uproarious sounds of nongak still arouse a feeling of excitement among many contemporary Koreans. After being inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List in 2014, this important South Korean folk tradition is part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Nongak Percussion Music

Farmers’ music is primarily based around a percussion ensemble. The percussion instruments used are all primitive in form and are crafted from either leather or metal. The wooden instruments include the buk (barrel drum) and janggu (hourglass drum), while the kkwaenggwari (hand-held gong) and jing (large gong) are made from metal. It is assumed that the two drums were used before the introduction of the metal instruments.

The buk and janggu are both membranophones, meaning sound is produced by the vibrations from striking animal skins stretched over a hollow wooden frame. The janggu features different types of skins on either side of its heads and they are struck by different sticks, allowing a colorful array of rhythms to be produced. It is believed that Korean janggu have historical associations with such membranophones as the djembe of West Africa and tabla of India.

The kkwaenggwari and jing belong to the category of idiophones since these two metal instruments produce sounds via the vibration of their bodies when struck. Kkwaenggwari and jing play distinct roles in farmers’ music. A kkwaenggwari is struck on its outer surface by a stick held in one hand. The hand holding it can be used to adjust the sound. Kkwaenggwari can divide a rhythm into smaller units, and their distinct tones allow them to lead the other instruments playing farmers’ music. A jing is larger and heavier and creates deep, resonating sounds. These large gongs play the role of defining the units of a rhythmic pattern.

These four percussion instruments provide the primary base for farmers’ music. Such an ensemble is sometimes accompanied by a taepyeongso (conical oboe), a wind instrument characterized by its high-pitched sound. This instrument is known to have originated in Central Asia. It is interesting that an instrument born across the continent travelled all the way to Korea and took on the role of assisting traditional percussion instruments in nongak.

Composition of a Farmers’ Music Band Community bands

performing farmers’ music express their identity through flags. Flag carriers march at the head of a band. Nongak flags can differ in size, material, and design by region, but they are generally categorized into nonggi (“farmers’ flags”), yongdanggi (“dragon flags”), and yeonggi (“command flags”). Nonggi bear the written inscription “agriculture is the foundation of the universe,” stressing the significance of farming. There is a distinct version of farmers’ flags known as nongsanggi, referring to the farmers’ flags produced in some areas at the order of the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry in the final years of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Yongdanggi are generally found in the Chungcheong-do and Jeolla-do Provinces. These are known as “dragon flags” since they carry a representation of a dragon, a legendary animal believed to have the power to control rain, along with the image of the mythological Chinese ruler Shennong, or Divine Farmer. Dragon flags could also be decorated with constellations and diagrams related to Daoist cosmology. Yeonggi carry the Chinese character meaning “commands” on their surface, indicating that they are intended for delivering orders. During a nongak performance, gods descend into the band’s farmer’s flags or dragon flags and use the yeonggi flags to signal their divine orders.

Flag carriers are followed by instrumentalists and then by dancers and actors. They are often described as apchibae (“front players”) and dwitchibae (“rear players”). Rear players are clad in diverse costumes and sometimes wear masks to represent particular social groups such as artillerymen, aristocrats, brides, Buddhist monks, prostitutes, and grandmothers. They present diverse characters from across society, suggesting that nongak was not just for farmers but for people at large.

A nongak performance is largely comprised of two parts, one led by the front players and the other by the rear players. First, the front players perform their instruments while forming various configurations. During this session, the instrumentalists move dynamically about following the musical directions given by the lead kkwaenggwari player. When the initial musical part concludes, the second portion begins. The rear players offer diverse performances involving dance, music, and theatre. One of the skits popularly featured in nongak performances is about the loss and recovery of the lead kkwaenggwari, delivering messages on religious concepts such as death and resurrection. It is assumed that the nongak tradition served as the basis for the Korean performance tradition known as talchum, or “mask dance.”

The Acrobatic Side of Farmers’ Music

The rear players for a farmers’ music band include children known as mudong, or “dancing boys.” Among the performances offered by the rear players, those involving mudong exhibit high levels of gymnastic skill. Their acrobatic feats include dancing boys standing on the shoulders of adults. Nongak performances associated with late-Joseon vagabond troupes known as namsadangpae and those transmitted in the southern portions of Gyeonggi-do Province place a strong emphasis on the acrobatics of dancing boys. In these practices, performers form a kind of human tower: one adult climbs onto the shoulders of another and then lifts a dancing boy onto his shoulders. The adult in the middle of the three-person tower sometimes supports an additional dancing boy on either side by the hand.

Left Five nongak performers form a human tower, the most difficult acrobatic feat a farmers’ music band can perform
Right An acrobatic performance by nongak dancers

Not all local variations of farmers’ music found across South Korea focus this much on entertainment, however. There are also nongak practices centered on prayers for a good harvest. The rear players in a farmers’ music band in Gangwon-do Province and the northern part of Gyeonggi-do Province reenact the process of farming during nongak performances as a form of wishes for abundant crops. A focus on either entertainment or the ritual act of imitating the agricultural process is one of the divisions that help categorize Korean nongak traditions.

Nongak as a National Tradition for Koreans

Nongak is a typical folk tradition that is transmitted across South Korea. This national custom has distinctive local variations with each region developing and transmitting its own versions.

Nongak is also practiced in what is today North Korea and in the Yanbian region of China wherever ethnic Koreans reside. The nongak tradition among ethnic Koreans in the Yanbian region is also inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The nongak practice by Koreans in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula has been recently designated on North Korea’s national list as well. These farmers’ music practices performed outside the borders of South Korea require more active discussion within the framework of the widespread and active transmission of the traditional Korean performance of nongak.

The influence of nongak in Korean culture is deep and expansive. Examples can be found in Korean pop songs that enjoy enormous global popularity but feature traditional percussion instruments. These Korean songs make use of a percussion quartet tradition known as samul nori to create exciting sounds appealing to global audiences. Samul nori is derived from nongak. Nongak has long accompanied the Korean people, profoundly affecting their social, cultural, and religious lives. The distinctive uproarious sound created by a nongak percussion ensemble is quick to awaken ecstatic excitement in Korean people. As it has to the present, nongak will continue to provide an important contribution to the definition of what is to be Korean.