SamulNori: Contemporary Korean Drumming and the Rebirth of Itinerant Performance Culture

217 Pages·2012·2.321 MB·English

by  Nathan Hesselink

SamulNori
CHICAGO STUDIES IN ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
A series edited by Philip V. Bohlman, Ronald Radano, and Timothy Rommen
Editorial Board
Margaret J. Kartomi
Bruno Nettl
Anthony Seeger
Kay Kaufman Shelemay
Martin H. Stokes
Bonnie C. Wade
SamulNori
Contemporary Korean Drumming and the Rebirth of
Itinerant Performance Culture
NATHAN HESSELINK
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
Nathan Hesselink is associate professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Brit-
ish Columbia. He is the author of P’ungmul: South Korean Drumming and Dance, also
published by the University of Chicago Press, and editor of the volumes Music and Politics
on the Korean Peninsula and Contemporary Directions: Korean Folk Music Engaging the
Twentieth Century and Beyond.
Th e University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
Th e University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2012 by Th e University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2012.
Printed in the United States of America
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-33096-9 (cloth)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-33097-6 (paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-33096-6 (cloth)
ISBN-10: 0-226-33097-4 (paper)
Th e University of Chicago Press gratefully acknowledges support of this publication by
the Academy of Korean Studies of the Republic of Korea.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hesselink, Nathan.
SamulNori : contemporary Korean drumming and the rebirth of itinerant performance
culture / Nathan Hesselink.
p. cm. + 1 sound disc (4 3/4 in.) — (Chicago studies in ethnomusicology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-33096-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-33096-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-33097-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-33097-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. 880–01 Samul-Nori (Musical
group) 2. Folk music—Korea (South)—History and criticism. 3. Percussion
ensembles—Korea (South) I. Title. II. Series: Chicago studies in ethnomusicology.
ML421.S25H47 2012
786.8′162957—dc23
2011027200
Th is paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper).
To E. Park, who introduced me to the intricacies and joys of this art form;
to N. Abelmann, who reminded me of the dignity of scholarship;
to C. Park, who inspired me with the passion of performance;
and to S. Hwang, who makes it all worthwhile.

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations(cid:2)ix
Acknowledgments(cid:2)xi
Orthography and Pronunciation(cid:2)xiii
INTRODUCTION
Pŏpko ch’angshin (Preserve the Old While Creating the New):
The Challenges of Tradition 1
1 The Namsadang: Itinerant Troupe Performance Culture
and the Roots of SamulNori 17
2 Coming to the City: Urbanization, Scale, and
New Loci of Cultural Authority 39
3 On the Road with “Och’ae chilgut”: Stages, Professionalization,
and Mediation 61
4 Cosmological Didacticism:
Sacred Geometry and Educational Outreach 83
vii
viii Contents
5 East-West Encounters in the Nanjang: Hybridity, Red Sun,
and Cross-Cultural Collaboration 103
CONCLUSION
Pŏpko ch’angshin (Preserve the Old While Creating the New):
The Meanings of Tradition 131
Appendix One Minsokkŭkhoe Namsadang (“Folk Theater Association
Namsadang”) Founding Members(cid:2)139
Appendix Two Major Divisions and Personnel Changes during
the First Decade of SamulNori/samul nori Activity(cid:2)141
Appendix Three SamulNori Instrumentation(cid:2)143
Appendix Four Electronic Media(cid:2)151
Appendix Five Contents of the Compact Disc(cid:2)157
Notes(cid:2)159
Bibliography(cid:2)171
Index-Glossary(cid:2)189
ILLUSTRATIONS
Table 2.1: Traditional music concerts at the Sejong Center, 1974–84.
Table 2.2: First decade of concert activity for the Folk Music Society
“Shinawi.”
Table 3.1: Comparison of rhythmic patterns by stage.
Table 4.1: Table of contents, SamulNori Workbook I (1992).
Table 4.2: Table of contents, SamulNori Textbook (1999).
Table 5.1: Red Sun • SamulNori (1989) and Th en Comes the White
Tiger (1994) compositional elements.
Table 5.2: Rhythms incorporated in fusion recordings.
Table 5.3: Nanjang: A New Horizon (1995) and From the Earth, to the
Sky (1997) compositional elements.
Table 5.4: Listening guide to track 3, “Nanjang (Th e Meeting Place).”
Table 5.5: Listening guide to track 4, “Burdens of Life.”
Figure I.1: SamulNori concert tour promotional literature.
Figure 1.1: Namsadang organizational structure.
Figure 1.2: Th e performance space (norip’an) of a namsadang troupe.
Figure 1.3: P’an kut performance by namsadang, 2006.
Figure 1.4: Early namsadang photograph, c. 1910.
ix